Does anyone use the TV audio in your setups or do you run all audio through the receiver? For basic TV viewing the tv audio would be sufficient (and sometimes preferable), but I'm thinking that it's more complicated to have to switch on and off the TV audio sometimes and switch on and off the receiver at other times. What's the general rule on this?

This is the reason (among others) that we use universal macro capable remote controls. The customer has one or two button pressses to put all the components in the system to the correct power, input and whatever else state the selected activity needs the system to be in. You could have "TV system" and "TV" only as seperate activities on the remote.

My thought... you just paid like 20 grand for just incredible sound. !2" woofers 6" drivers 4.5" 3" and 1 inch tweeters. 200 watts a channel and you want to listen to the speakers the size of a quarter with a 5 watt amp? You can always turn the system down...

Well that usually convinces people that they don't want to use the TV speakers. But most of our jobs are Plasma or Projection. Most of wich don't have speakers. Well unitlll yesterday when I saw speakers for a Fuji.

I agree with Springs. I try to convince the client to USE their investment, especially considering the "quality" of the TV's speakers. Express the fact that HDTV default audio is 5.1 and they usually want to disregard the TV speakers.

Makes remote programming so much simpler. Once in awhile still get the oddball client who wants to be able to use both at will, just means a few extra programming dollars.

Same here. Once you explain that half of hdtv is DD5.1, discussion over. Would you want to have a mode to watch 4/5ths less pixels also?

We are sometimes forced to use tv speakers. Last time was an 8x8 matrixed av and all the walls were concrete and had to run cable in the baseboard, no room for floorstanding spks and could not penetrate the structural concrete walls. gotta do what ya gotta do

I really hate to bring this up, but,

BOSE 48 system you have to use the audio out of the TV, if your client wants to use a basic cable TV input.

He is not using a Satellite receiver or VCR or a DVR for his audio to BOSE connection.

We just went throught this on Thursaday, (yestersday) with a customer.

He had us pre-wire the room, purchased a BOSE 48 system, has only basic cable TV.

He was less than happy, his 42 inch Phillips Plasma was on the other side of the room, where is equipment was located.

Mike