Difference between HDMI Input & HDMI Output? And how do I connect everything?

Question

I just purchased my first HDTV (Samsung 40" LN40A550), Toshiba DVR (DR410) and Yamaha Home Theater System (YHT-390BL). I also subscribed to Direct TV with the HD receiver (they are coming this weekend). My first question is what is the difference between HDMI Input and HDMI Output? Secondly, I would like to know how do I connect to get surround sound from my TV and my DVR? Is it also possible to get regular sound from my TV when I'm just watching a normal tv show and I don't want surround sound, or will I get surround sound everytime I turn on my TV? I also purchased (online) 3 HDMI cables, but didn't purchase any other cables. I still have the red, white, blue cables from my old TV. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Answer 1

I assume that you have the HDMI in and out on your home theater set-up, if that's the case it simply means that your system can switch your other HDMI components that you have, so you can run 1 HDMI cable from the HDMI out to the TV, the other HDMI components plug into the HDMI in. This set-up may or may not process sound through HDMI, as for surround sound, if your receiver does not process sound through the HDMI cables, you will need to get digital optical cable(s) and or digital coax cable(s) from each component to the receiver, your home theater instructions will come in handy for all of this. As for sound without being surround, you can do one of 2 things, change the settings on the receiver to stereo or you can just run your RCA cables from your satellite box to the TV, but issues may arise with inputs matching and things of that nature. There are many ways to make everything work the way you want but you will need instruction manuals to all components and a weekend to read and experiment. Good luck and have fun.