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Topic:
confounded about connections Sony STR-DE685
This thread has 4 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Monday December 4, 2006 at 14:00
yardbird
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I have a Sony STR-DE685 receiver. Dishnetwork dual tuner PVR. I just bought a DVD recorder. The object is primarily to give my kids a place to dump stuff they've been saving on the PVR to DVD to clear out space. I also have a DVD player and a VCR connected to that receiver. (all SD ... no HD)

My thought is to remove the VCR from the system (rarely used...can't remember the last time we played a tape). On the receiver, video1 has input and output for both sound and video and teh TV itself is connected to another "section" called "monitor". All sound is handled by the A/V receiver.

If I connect that DVD recorder to the input/output of video1 using svideo and rca (to keep it simple for now... I can check out digital audio later)... does that sound right? I am guessing that we would PLAY a selection from the PVR, hit RECORD on the DVD recorder, and that "monitor" out to the TV will have us essentially watching whatever is being recorded.

I can't remember ever recording to the VCR this way (and the VCR is currently on that video1 section).... in fact I can't remember ever recording to the VCR period.

I just have no idea if I'll be doing this right.... PVR playing... in order to WATCH it direct off the dish receiver I would select video2 on the receiver as that's where the dish is connected.

I'm getting confused...
Panasonic TH42PX60U, Yamaha RX-V667, DirecTV HR24, Sony DVP-NC80V, URC MX-980, PSX-2
Post 2 made on Tuesday December 5, 2006 at 00:04
DBrown
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I've just done the same thing, essentially.

My DirecTV HD PVR receiver has component output going out to my TV's Component1 input. This PVR also processes/records my local OTA channels.
I took the spare Svideo/RedRCA/WhiteRCA outputs from the DirecTV PVR and connected them to the rear similar inputs on the DVD recorder. Best input available to the DVD recorder.
The DVD recoder has component output and HDMI output connected to the TV's Component2 and HDMI input.
My Sony Home Theater 5.1 amp gets Dolby Digital Audio from the TV, DirecTV PVR, and the DVD recorder.

I am NOT passing any video through my Sony receiver. I could take it in composite or Svideo form, but both of those are lesser than the HDMI or component paths directly to the TV. Of course my TV has seperate video inputs for all my sources, so that's why. My TV also has Picture-by-Picture, where it can show any digital source beside any analog source on the screen.

When I'm recording to the DVD recorder something I'm watching on the PVR (recorded or currently playing) I set the Sony to the TV's (source) audio input and listen input the TV is set to. If the TV is set to Component1, then I see and hear what the PVR is playing. If I switch the TV to Component2 or HDMI I can watch whatever is passing through the DVD recorder. Assuming the DVD recorder is recording the input from the PVR, both TV inputs will show the same content. If I enable P-b-P on the TV, I can watch the HDMI (DVD) source on one half and the PVR source on the other half of the screen, with the audio following whichever is in the left window. Windows can be swapped, and the audio then will be with the new source showing on the left of the screen.

I can also let the DVD record what the PVR plays while I watch and hear local TV OTA programming on the TV. The Sony, remaining on the TV's audio input, will play whatever I'm looking at on my TV. If I want to HEAR the PVR or the DVD I can switch the Sony to those inputs, even if I'm WATCHING something else on the TV.

So by seperating my Audio from my video (all audio going to the Sony and all video going straight to the TV) I can watch and hear any combination. Useful to verify that what's being recorded on the DVD has the right audio with it.
OP | Post 3 made on Tuesday December 5, 2006 at 10:23
yardbird
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Hopefully I will get somewhere near that kind of setup with my next TV. See... my problem currently is that my 31" Mitsubishi TV (tube type and about 14 years old now) only has a single svideo input.

I have to keep things easy to operate at my house or everyone complains and quite frankly they get frustrated when they can't figure out how to simply watch a dvd movie or watch satellite TV. SO.... I do everything in the A/V receiver and I have a Harmony remote. If tehy want to watch satellite they hit the TV button and the remote sets it all up for them. If they want to watch a DVD they hit the movie button on the remote and it switches everything over so they are watching the DVD.

At this point I am not terribly concerned about being able to record to the DVD recording while watching something else from a different source. If we need to do this such that you can only record to DVD when you are ONLY recording to DVD....that's ok.

In the manual for my receiver it shows a VCR being connected to that video2 section. (Video2 has both input and output). I guess I'm hoping that I can take a DVD recorder and connect it to that video2 the same way as I now have the VCR in there. The VCR would get replaced by the DVD recorder.

Eventually, when we replace this TV, I hope to have one with more inputs and be able to do something more along the lines of what you describe. My current TV is just too old to have all of those inputs on it :)
Panasonic TH42PX60U, Yamaha RX-V667, DirecTV HR24, Sony DVP-NC80V, URC MX-980, PSX-2
Post 4 made on Tuesday December 5, 2006 at 11:10
DBrown
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I see, yardbird. My last TV ( A Sony 27" box) also had limited inputs, so at that time I was processing everything Audio and Video through my Sony receiver.

Yes, I would simply use a VCR input/output connection on your receiver to hook up the DVD recorder. Then all output from the receiver (no matter what other source you may be watching) should be available via the video2 output and recordable on the DVD. To watch your PVR tune the receiver to the PVR input. Hit record on the DVD recorder and it should start recording the PVR material. If you want to monitor what the DVD recorder is recording, you'll need a second video path from it. That could be to a second input on your TV (if it had a spare one) or to a completely different video monitor like a small LCD screen or cheap little TV parked nearby.

Good luck. The cable entangle behind my component rack is a nightmare. At some point this Christmas break I'm going to pull every cable and start over. I found some nice "Cable Zipper" that can be slipped over groups of cables. My hope is to end up with one "zipped" line to the TV with all the video sources in it, and two main "zipped" bundles running up and down my rack for inputs and outputs. I'm also going to sort my cables by length and quality, and use only the shortest "best" cable for each path if possible. If someone would invent an "easy" stripper/crimper tool to make quick RCA cables and Svideo cables, I'd make custom very short replacements for 90% of the cables I'm currently using. I'll put in a new power strip for the right side to add to the one now on the left side. Different devices have their power either on left or right, and having an outlet strip on each side will let me plug everything in without crossing the back.

It's a plan, anyway. ;-)
OP | Post 5 made on Tuesday December 5, 2006 at 16:26
yardbird
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Thank you for helping to dissipate the clouds. :)

I know what you mean about the cable nest behind the rack. In fact the only advantage I see to having things the way they are now is that I only have one cable going to my TV.... svideo. However I'll be moving everything in the spring. My current family room is going to become office space for my wife and I and the AV equipment is going up into the living room. It is also quite likely that I'll be building the AV rack into a half-wall I'll be building. It's not even designed yet, but one thing I know it will have is SOME kind of provision for cable management. And while it may be built to take the Mitsubishi... it has to be easily converted to whatever new TV we get (whenever that happens.)

I'm used to dealing with network cables and server racks. You'd think my own stuff would be neater!
Panasonic TH42PX60U, Yamaha RX-V667, DirecTV HR24, Sony DVP-NC80V, URC MX-980, PSX-2


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