BS Button Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 In laymans terms, would someone please explain this to me. Now, I've recently gotten into a little more of the home theatre area and this term video switching keeps coming up. My problem is that I'm not ready for the 5.1 or 7.1. I still listen to two channel on movies, which sounds great to me. I have a 47 HD LCD with three hdmi inputs I have two speakers to use I can monitor my TV for Two channel, I can monitor my DVD player for two channel, Right? I can stomach 2-channel for the foreseeable future, but feel the need to go with a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver with HDMI. What does a darned receiver got to do with video? Why do they have HDMI inputs and outputs? This is really frustrating for a two channel junkie...Help!!! Currently looking around for my receiver or processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 It's primarily for selecting/controlling different things like Bluray players, CD players, DVD players, some new computers, etc. I use external switches that switch component and HDMI feeds from several different machines. Your TV itself has many input selections also. I basiclly do not use any of the video switching in my Denon receivers as they are on the other side of the room anyway. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Video Switching means that you can run one cable into your TV, and leave the TV on the same input all the time. Then, with only one remote, you can change the video and audio, rather than switching to a different input on your receiver with one remote, and then switching inputs on your TV with another remote. So it's a convenience thing. There are some other reasons to have HDMI inputs on your receiver as well. For one, many receivers will "up-convert" whatever signal you send it to a higher resolution. For another, to get the highest quality audio formats from Blu-Ray discs (Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio) you need HDMI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS Button Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Video Switching means that you can run one cable into your TV, and leave the TV on the same input all the time. Then, with only one remote, you can change the video and audio, rather than switching to a different input on your receiver with one remote, and then switching inputs on your TV with another remote. So it's a convenience thing. There are some other reasons to have HDMI inputs on your receiver as well. For one, many receivers will "up-convert" whatever signal you send it to a higher resolution. For another, to get the highest quality audio formats from Blu-Ray discs (Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD Master Audio) you need HDMI. That sounds like the answer I was looking for. So, basically you'd need to run HDMI from your receiver to your TV, then run HDMI from DVD to your receiver, then run HDMI from your cable or satillite box to your receiver and swith between the two from your receiver only. Basically, I'll only turn on my receiver for movies on Friday and or Saturday nights, however. So it's no real big deal for me to swith the input on the TV, once a week. My current set up is HDMI cable from the Satillite box to the TV and HDMI from the DVD player to the TV, then I monitor the DVD player with RCA's to the receiver or integrated. If I wanted to, I could just run the HDMI cable from the DVD to the Receiver, dish the RCA's, and run another HDMI to the TV? Thanks again I have other questions about this stupid bass management on most of these 5.1 or 7.1 receivers. Set your speakers to "big or small"? What happened to the loudness buttons on these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Yep. With HDMI switching, you don't need any RCAs (provided your receiver accepts both audio and video from the HDMI--not all do). If you aren't going to use your surround sound for regular TV, this might not be the solution for you, though. In order to do video switching, your receiver needs to be turned on. Me, I use the surround sound even when I'm watching the news. As far as the "big or small" question, ask 10 different people you'll get 10 different answers. The majority of the people will just tell you what someone else told them, and don't really understand what it means. It's really going to depend on your speakers. I recommend using the small setting, and then setting the crossover to the level just above the low end of your speakers frequency response. For example, your speakers are rated 30Hz to 20kHz, set the x-over to 40. And then turn the crossover on your subwoofer OFF (or turn it to the highest frequency). As far as loudness buttons, I'm sure there are receivers that still have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.