# Old guy needs help setting up his home theatre.



## shawnshank (Jun 9, 2010)

Hello all,

I recently purchased a home theatre system and although buying it and bringing it home was difficult, setting it up has proved to be frustrating and confusing.

I have no idea what half of the inputs and outputs do on my components and although I managed to set it up once and have the surround sound work, it never sounded quite right (the subwoofer hummed loudly at low volume levels). I have since moved and now I'm trying to set it up again with very little success.

Everything has HDMI outputs and inputs and I'm not sure how they should be hooked up, what would give me the best performance and what I'll never need.

Here is what I have and I'll post images of the backs of the components in an attempt to make this a little easier. 

I apologize if some of the images are small. They were the best I could find.
The skinny thing next to the tv is the blue ray disc player. and below that are the television inputs.
*I have three HDMI cables*

O.k. so I have the following equipment:

Yamaha Rx V465 Cinema DSP Digital Receiver

Yamaha YST-FSW050 Subwoofer

Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blue Ray disc player

Panasonic TC-P42S1 HDTV

Motorolla DCX 3400 DVR cable box


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## mdrake (Jan 31, 2008)

You use your Yamaha AVR as your HDMI switcher. So the blu-ray palyer and cable box connect to the HDMI inputs on the back of the Yamaha AVR (audio video receiver). The TV hooks up to the HDMI output on the back of the Yamaha. 

The subwoofer hooks up to the subwoofer pre out on the back of the yamaha with a single RCA cable. 
The speakers plug in just above that into the Front Center and Surround black and red speaker terminals. 

I hope that helps. I would start with just hooking up one component at time and then working from there. 

Matt


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hello And welcome aboard the Shack,

Have a look at this post here as it will guide you through the proper connection process.


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## shawnshank (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks!

What hdmi inputs do I use on the receiver for the blue ray and cable box (1 & 2)? Do I use HDMI input 1 on the tv from my receivers output? Also, how do I set up the input screen on my HDTV when it goes into setup mode following start up?

Any suggestions for the humming subwoofer issue?

Question...what is the digital audio input on the tv for? Does the hdmi over rule that?

Oh and why are there two HDMI inputs on the back of the television? 





mdrake said:


> You use your Yamaha AVR as your HDMI switcher. So the blu-ray palyer and cable box connect to the HDMI inputs on the back of the Yamaha AVR (audio video receiver). The TV hooks up to the HDMI output on the back of the Yamaha.
> 
> The subwoofer hooks up to the subwoofer pre out on the back of the yamaha with a single RCA cable.
> The speakers plug in just above that into the Front Center and Surround black and red speaker terminals.
> ...


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

shawnshank said:


> Thanks!
> 
> What hdmi inputs do I use on the receiver for the blue ray and cable box (1 & 2)? Do I use HDMI input 1 on the tv from my receivers output? Also, how do I set up the input screen on my HDTV when it goes into setup mode following start up?


Its really your choice but most use the DVD HDMI input for BluRay You will probably need to assign the HDMI input your using to the DVD input in the receivers on screen menu. Use the HDMI out and attach that to the HDMI input #1 on the display.



> Any suggestions for the humming subwoofer issue?


Probably a bad rca cable or it could also be that your receiver and subwoofer are on different breakers.



> Question...what is the digital audio input on the tv for? Does the hdmi over rule that?


HDMI is the better choice but you can use either one at the same time as long as its not on the same input.



> Oh and why are there two HDMI inputs on the back of the television?


This is so that you can have another sourse like a game console or other device hooked up so that you dont necessarily have to have the receiver on in order to use the device.


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## mdrake (Jan 31, 2008)

Looks like we typed the same thing at the same time... lol I will still leave mine since I already wrote it. 

What hdmi inputs do I use on the receiver for the blue ray and cable box (1 & 2)? _*Yes 1 and 2*_

Do I use HDMI input 1 on the tv from my receivers output? Also, how do I set up the input screen on my HDTV when it goes into setup mode following start up? _*Yes use input 1 You will want to set the tv to HDMI 1 *
_ 
Any suggestions for the humming subwoofer issue? _*If you use a single RCA cable to the subwoofer pre in you should not have a hum. Let us know if you do and we will help figure out why.*_

Question...what is the digital audio input on the tv for? Does the hdmi over rule that? _*Yes, HDMI is the input of choice.  Digital Audio or optical cable predates the HDMI cable.
*_ 
Oh and why are there two HDMI inputs on the back of the television? _*You would use those if you did not have the AVR. *_


​


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## shawnshank (Jun 9, 2010)

I was just reading some of the posts and man are you guys good. Very smart.

My receiver has this option where it has an electronic ear of sorts that I am supposed to place at ear level and then run a dignostic to optimize the sound. Could that fix the humming sub issue?

If not, what does it mean that my "receiver and sub could be on different breakers"? That sounds scary.






tonyvdb said:


> Its really your choice but most use the DVD HDMI input for BluRay You will probably need to assign the HDMI input your using to the DVD input in the receivers on screen menu. Use the HDMI out and attach that to the HDMI input #1 on the display.
> 
> 
> Probably a bad rca cable or it could also be that your receiver and subwoofer are on different breakers.
> ...


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

> I was just reading some of the posts and man are you guys good. Very smart.


Not any more than you, we have just been doing this for a long time, it comes with allot of practice and trial and error.



Yes, Run the YAPO auto setup using the mic Place it at ear level and follow the on screen instructions to the letter it will walk you through each step. Simply plug the mic into the jack on the front of the receiver and it will start the sequence (do nopt stand in front of the mic when doing the tests) and use the remote control to advance through the steps as it calls for it.
Make sure you do it with no other noises going on in the house or it will confuse the readings. You will hear some strange sounds coming from the speakers this all normal.


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## shawnshank (Jun 9, 2010)

One more and that's it for now I swear. Do you know if the volume settings need to be set to a certain level for the test or does it tell me what to do as far as that is concerned also?




tonyvdb said:


> Not any more than you, we have just been doing this for a long time, it comes with allot of practice and trial and error.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

No, the receiver will automatically set the volume once the test begins.
Oh, and one thing to do is make sure the subwoofers volume control is at about 12 o'clock or halfway up before you run the test.


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## shawnshank (Jun 9, 2010)

Thanks! You've been a great help.



tonyvdb said:


> No, the receiver will automatically set the volume once the test begins.
> Oh, and one thing to do is make sure the subwoofers volume control is at about 12 o'clock or halfway up before you run the test.


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## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

I went out to find more information regarding your subwoofer. You have to sign up to download the user's manual. I hate that!

The blurb mentioned a "System connection terminal". Can you describe this? Is it a standard RCA type plug? Does it look like speaker wires should connect to it? Some subwoofers especially older or cheaper subwoofers use speaker connections. This is not as good as using the subwoofer out from the back of your receiver. 

You really need to plan to upgrade your subwoofer. The one you have doesn't go very deep or very loud. You'll be astounded at the difference a good subwoofer will make. Go internet direct, get one from SVS, Hsu or Outlaw. Let us know when you're ready and we can point you in the right direction. Plan to spend at least 
$350, a budget of $600+ would put you in the reach of some really good subs.

Update:
I did find the manual for your sub. It does use an RCA cable from the receiver. How long a cable are you using? You should have the volume on your sub set at about 12 o'clock for starters.


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## selden (Nov 15, 2009)

shawnshank said:


> My receiver has this option where it has an electronic ear of sorts that I am supposed to place at ear level and then run a dignostic to optimize the sound. Could that fix the humming sub issue?


It'll make things sound better, but it won't do anything for the hum. Running the equalizer is not necessary for getting things to work, just to make things sound better -- more like what the moviemakers want you to hear.



> If not, what does it mean that my "receiver and sub could be on different breakers"? That sounds scary.


 All of your hifi gear, TV and cable box should be plugged into the same wall outlet. If you haven't already, get a multiple-outlet power strip which includes surge protection. 

Most houses have two alternating-current power lines coming into them. They provide two different phases coming from the power company. If you plug some audio equipment into one of them and some into the other, when you cable them together, you'll hear humming noises coming from your speakers because they're getting different power.


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## shawnshank (Jun 9, 2010)

Oh man...I tried the setup instructions you guys gave me and my surround sound is still not working. The frustrating thing is that I had it working in my old apartment, moved and changed my cable provider (upgraded to a dvr) and now I can't get it to work.
I think the issue is either with the stb or with the input assignments on my television because those are the only things that have changed. I plugged the blue ray and the cable box into the receiver (HDMI 1 for the blue ray and HDMI 2 for the stb) with the HDMI out going to HDMI 1 on my television but when I go into the television menu to view the input assignments, it had Audio 1 set to "component" (no idea why sisnce I don't have any audio cables hooked up) and HDMI 1 to Blue ray (which is correct) but for some reason when I tired the blue ray to test it, I didn't get any sound out of my surround sound speakers or my television. I do get sound from the television when I put on the cable but not surround sound.

As for the humming subwoofer, I'm not concerned about that right now. I just want to get my surround sound working. FYI though...the subwoofer is using the rca cable it came with and is hooked into sub out on my receiver. I'm not going to be buying a new subwoofer anytime soon (I just got this one) but I appreciate the suggestions you made.


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