How do i set this up? playstation 3, samsung 46", and sony home theater system????

Question

i am purchasing a

1. HDTV (Samsung LNT4665F 46" 1080p LCD HDTV)

2. Bluray/DVD Player (playstation 3)

3. Sony DAV-HDX500/i BRAVIA Home Theater System

how do i connect these? i know im supposed to use HDMI cables but i dont know which to connect and which are compatible.

my sole purpose is to watch blu ray disks and tv over cable from time to time.

Answer 1

Well, let's see....for ease of use, I would suggest that you plug the HDMI cable from the Playstation 3 into one of the two rear HDMI inputs on the back of the TV.  Then run an digital optical cable (not an HDMI cable) from the TV down to the DAV home theater system's digital optical input.  This will allow you to switch easily between the PS3 and television without having to switch more than one device.  To use, simply turn on your TV.  Use the TV remote to select between television or HDMI source (selecting between sources is explained on page 22 of the TV manual).  Sound will normally come out the TV speakers.

If you are not familiar with digital optical cables, they are available in most electronic stores, Walmart & Target, etc, and Radio Shack, and are usually in the same place as HDMI cables (and often cheaper).  When installing, remove any opaque plastic cap that covers the connector (generally the connector won't go in unless the cap is off anyway).

When you want to hear audio through the DAV HTS instead, just turn it on and tune it to whatever input is receiving the digital optical in (this may require a little setup to tell the HTS that when it is set on TV it should be using the digital optical feed - this is explained in the HTS manual, which I can help you with if you need it and I can download the manual).  Then just leave the HTS on this setting.  You will probably want to hit mute on the TV remote as well, so sound doesn't come from both the TV and the HTS speakers.  The HTS will continue to receive sound even when you mute the TV (page 36 of TV manaul for details).  

If you want to listen to radio, then you will select that source on the HTS instead.  You will need to set the HTS back to TV for it to play the television/PlayStation sound again.

HDMI is important for supplying the best video feed, but for audio the optical is just as good (for audio, the HDMI mostly just makes things simpler by handling audio and video in the same cable/same connection).

This setup has the advantage of simplest ease of use.  You don't need to mess with the HTS when you turn on your TV, and you don't have to switch it if you want to change between movies and TV.

However, it's possible you may wish to use the DAV HTS's resolution scaling features if you are not happy with the way the TV automatically handles them.  Or, if you find you want to show other things on the TV that don't have HDMI cables, and you want to use the back panel on the HTS for that.  In that case, you will want to hook up the cables a different way, in which case you can send me an email and I will explain that way.

You may also find that the audio is slightly out of sync with the video when using the HTS for TV audio.  This can be due to lag in the TV as it processes the signal before displaying, although it should delay audio output by the same amount.  If you find the audio out of sync, your HTS should have an adjustment to delay audio by variable fractions of a second to match with the video. This would be something you would only need to do once (unless the HTS is unplugged for a period and loses all its settings).

Answer 2

You will need:

2 HDMI cables

1 Optical Cable

Your TV has 3 HDMI inputs.  You will be using 2.  One is for the Sony DAV-HDX500/i and the other is for the PS3.  You will need the optical cable to run from the PS3 to the Sony DAV-HDX500/i.  This is located next to the Coaxial input.  You will most likely have to change the input on the player to get audio from the PS3.  So the set up would go  

Sony Player----HDMI----TV----HDMI----PS3----O... CABLE----Sony Player.