Expert: Wayne Tapia - 3/26/2008

Question
QUESTION: Greetings Wayne,

We recently purchased a brand new Sony 52" Bravia LCD, a Sony DAVX501W and trying like heck to get it all connected with a Comcast box (Motorola DCH3200).  
I also have 2 new HDMI cables.

I don't understand the audio portion that goes with this new stuff. I have plenty of red and white cables, but not sure about (or if I need?) digital audio cabling.

Although my wife is willing to endure a call today to Comcast for help, I thought I'd ask you.

I have been reading many of the comments and while they are somewhat helpful, none match my situation. Every day is a new challenge for you, right?!

I've ripped everything apart and am ready to start all over again with some professional suggestions.

Thank you in advance for your help.



ANSWER: If you have HDMI cables, you probably won't need separate digital audio cabling (since HDMI carries digital video AND audio) depending on how you want to route your signal path.

If all of your units have HDMI ports, the simplest path would be Comcast box > Sony DAVX > LCD.

One note: I could not find any info on the DAVX501W. Is it a receiver, a DVR, a surround encoder? This info could help in getting you more options.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the fast follow-up!

The Sony DAV is an all-in-one AM-FM-CD-DVD-MP3 compatible with surround sound.

Comcast and DAV devices only have 1 HDMI port (out) per unit. The LCD has 3 (in) ports! I don't think I would be able to connect (like daisy chain?) as you say with the limit of ports.

Answer
OK - With that info, I'd suggest this routing:

Comcast > LCD (HDMI)
DAV > LCD (HDMI)
Comcast Digital Audio Output > DAV Digital Audio input(Digital Audio Cable) - This will allow your cable TV audio to be monitored thru the TV and/or the receiver.

Concerning digital audio cabling, there isn't any performance differences between coaxial (rca type) and optical cable. DO NOT allow anyone to tell you differently. Digital audio is a bitstream of either electrical signals (coax) or light pulses (optical). Digital is 1's and 0's basically, a cable will not change that. Also, don't pay big bucks for any digital audio cable. ANY RCA cable will work for digital (unless you have optical ports, obviously). You could use your existing rca cabling (one the stereo pair - red or white), and get perfect results. As long as that digital signal is getting from point A to point B, it will sound perfect. Expensive cables will only thin your wallet, so avoid them.

A good resource for broadcast quality cable that's US made and NOT ridiculously priced would be www.bluejeanscable.com. Once again - stay away from retail cabling (Monster especially). it's usually overpriced anywhere from 200 to 400%.