I'm pretty weak in this area. How should I connect my tv to my 5.1 surround sound receiver? Will hdmi work or should I use the optical tos link? I would like to enable my surround sound with all of my hdmi devices. To do this, I think I have to connect all my game systems etc into the receivers hmdi in and use the hmdi out to the TV? This way, the receiver acts as a switch between the devices vs connecting them directly to the tv? With my 5.1 pre-wire. there's a thicker black cable among the 5 black/red thin wires. Does anyone know what this black cable/wire is for?
Have everything run through the receiver... think of it as the "brain" of your entertainment system. You should be able to have enough inputs on the receiver to connect everything (cable box, video game system, DVD), and run the HDMI out to the TV. If you use HDMI, you shouldn't need any optical cables... HDMI is digital audio/video combined.
Yeah that's what I did. Uverse, chrome dongle, and Xbox run through it. Also have a bluray player but only 3 inputs on my system. Any way to get extra HDMI ports?
You could buy an HDMI switch that could add another few inputs... but I'd still try to plug as many things directly into the receiver as possible. The other option would be to get a new receiver as most standard ones now have at least 5 inputs (I've got a blue ray, cable box, apple TV, and xbox plugged into mine, which was bought in 2008).
Yes, but you can also Do it manually. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0049S6ZUS?cache=66130c2e9154ee63fdabaacff068caa7#ref=mp_s_a_1_3&qid=1392597067&sr=8-3
Nick/Yung-T, do you guys know if I need to attach anything on the black cable (power wire for sub)? on either ends (receiver to sub).
If it is a subwoofer cable, or may look like an RCA jack type connector, and it needs to be plugged into the LFE/sub output on your receiver and into the corresponding input on your sub. Did your receiver or speakers come with a sub unit?
