Question:
Dear Big Picture Big Sound,
I own a home theater system and it is always a problem for me to figure the best way to connect my components to the amplifier. All my components are Sony. The amplifier is an STR-DA5300ES with six HDMI inputs and one output. It has optical inputs (5 I think). My Sony TV is HD and it has only one HDMI input, and I have HD DishNetwork box and a BluRay player coming. If my understanding is correct, I should let all the audio come from the amplifier to my 5:1 speakers (2 rear surround, 2 front, one central and a sub woofer); obviously, all components should be connect to the HDMI inputs on the amplifier, and the HDMI output should go to the TV. Now the questions:
- BluRay will have an optical audio output, should I connect the optical audio to the amplifier?
- The DishNetwork box has also an optical audio output, should this also be connected to the amplifier?
- Should I make any other connections (Component, composite, S-video, etc) between these components?
Thanks for your answer,
-Tomas H.
Answer:
Dear Tomas,
As long as your audio receiver supports HDMI audio (yours does), then the only connection you need between your Blu-ray Disc player and your Sony receiver is HDMI, and the same is true for your DISH Network receiver. HDMI carries both the audio and video signal digitally so there is no need to run additional audio or video cables from source to receiver and no advantage to doing so.
You can use S-video, component or composite to connect older (or non-HD) source components to the receiver if you wish.
The receiver is then connected to the Sony HDTV using the HDMI monitor out in order to get your picture routed to your display screen.
Hope that helps.
Regards,
-Chris
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