AV reciever/Cable box question

[07ROUSHSTG3]

well i was messing with my reciever last night while watching the game. i found out that my reciever, an onkyo sr606, will only upconvert signals from the components, not the hdmi feeds. so the question i have for you tech gurus is, actually two of them. my cable box is a motorola dcx3400, do you think that if i hook up the component cables along with the HDMI that the box will send the signal along both lines?? or do they usually only supply the HDMI if hooked up??? the second question is, if it is not possible to have both hooked up, do you think that i would be better to hook up the cable box via the component cables and let the receiver upgrade to 1080p??? i would then need to run another line for the audio i am guessing to get 5.1?!?!? sorry, that was 3 questions. i watch most my stuff on HD channels anyway (1080i), but it would be nice to be able to have the receiver upconvert the nonHD channels. now that i think about it, without an HDMI hooked up, would the HD channels be broadcast over the components?? then i could call charter and cancel my HD programming and still get 1080p picture via the reciever upgrading it?!?!? i am just thinking outloud.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

well the guy at work here says that he would ditch the HDMI hookup on the cable box, run components and a fiber optic instead??

i guess that brings up the next question: will my reciever upgrading the signal look as nice as the pass through 1080i. i would hate to lose some picture quality on the current HD channels to only pick up a little on the nonHDs??

[domokun]

on traditional cable you will NOT see a difference between 720p and 1080i.

I also have the SR606 and feed everything hdmi besides the Wii

[07ROUSHSTG3]

on traditional cable you will NOT see a difference between 720p and 1080i.

I also have the SR606 and feed everything hdmi besides the Wii

well i am looking to upgrade the nonHD channels, that according to my tv, are being broadcast at 480. i though that the reciever was automatically doing that until last night. i think i may give it a try this weekend. hook up a set of components with a fiber optic. i would like to see what a standard channel looks like upgraded through the reciever.

i still wonder though, do you think that cable box will send signal down the hdmi and the components at the same time??

[Neal Steffek]

I have an Onkyo 705. Rule of thumb is run your cable box componet/optical. Everythign else HDMI. Ther ewas a thread on this some time ago where we got more into it if you want to look it up.

[Neal Steffek]

http://brewcitymuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33836&highlight=cable

[domokun]

optical is obsolete. it can only car throughput lossless 2.1 audio since it doesnt have the bandwidth for more.

as for HDMI or component, thats your call on what looks better on your tv.

[Neal Steffek]

optical is obsolete. it can only car throughput lossless 2.1 audio since it doesnt have the bandwidth for more.

as for HDMI or component, thats your call on what looks better on your tv.

Then how am I doing 5.1 with my optical.......

[WilliamZ]

Use the HDMI out of the cable box. Use the best quality output from your source instead of having the receiver try to up convert it for you from analog.

[Neal Steffek]

Use the HDMI out of the cable box. Use the best quality output from your source instead of having the receiver try to up convert it for you from analog.

From a cable box, HDMI is NOT the best way. Please refer to the link above.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

well turns out that i do not have to choose one or the other. i piicked up an optical audio cable and a set of component videos last night. hooked them up and left the HDMI hooked up also. the cable box broadcast signal out of both the HDMI and the components. i am pretty sure that my other HD/DVR box in the house makes you choose?!?! not sure, but i was kind of shocked to be able to use both at the same time. i must say that i think it was a waste of money and time, lots of time, all those damn wires. the picture is not that much better, if at all on most stations. the only stations that i could see an improvement from the reciever upconverting, was on the nonHD movie channels. all the other channels looked the same, if not a little worse. the tv was picking up 1080i, which is all my reciever is capable of, but it didnt translate to any better picture. the audio actually seems a bit cleaner through the optical, that could just be my imagination though?!?! so right now i have my cbl/sat input running the HDMI audio and video and my vcr/dvr input running the component and optical audio.

note: my reciever seems to pick up 5.1 through the optical audio.

thanks for the tips guys. i will get all this shit figured out sooner or later. actually, got it mostly figured out. i did realize on Friday that i wasted $30 on "3.10 to Yuma" because i thought i could get 7.1 sound out of it. turns out it is "PCM Multichannel", which my reciever has the hookups for, but by Blu-Ray player does not, LOL! i even asked the guy at Best Buy and he assured me that no matter what reciever or player i had, it would work. should have bought RAMBO instead i guess.

[WilliamZ]

From a cable box, HDMI is NOT the best way. Please refer to the link above.

Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[Got Boost]

Optical cable can pass 5.1 ,,, I use component cable from cable box to my processor , works fine , the only two good things anout HDMI is it passes all the newest audio codecs and its a 1 wire soultion ,,,I feel a high quality component cable will yeild a better 1080 I/ 720 P picture....

[domokun]

lol

[CannotPost]

the only two good things anout HDMI is it passes all the newest audio codecs and its a 1 wire soultion

Agreed. 100%

[Got Boost]

lolwhats so funny,,,, are you making reference to a hi-quality component cable giving a better picture than HDMI....????? Stop over and see and hear real reference quality equipment...

[domokun]

no, optical running LOSSLESS UNCOMPRESSED audio in 5.1

[Neal Steffek]

no, optical running LOSSLESS UNCOMPRESSED audio in 5.1

And time warner does not offer that, so whats the point again?

[Got Boost]

And time warner does not offer that, so whats the point again?
+1 on that ,, nor does SD DVD

[domokun]

I was just saying in general, schmucks