Which cables ?

[fastestlouigie]

I am in the process of upgrading my system and I have the following components-Panasonic Th-37px80Plasma Tv(3 Hdmi slots and various other less "digital" connectors), Panasonic Dmr-ez27eb Dvd Recorder(Hdmi+Scart+Optical),Samsung 2110c Virgin Digibox(Scart+Optical), Tannoy Sfx 5.1 Speakers and a Yamaha Dsp-ax563 Av Amplifier(a 7.1 amp.2 in 1 out Hdmi,2 optical).
What will be the best way for me to hook all this stuff up? Should I use Hdmi and Optical cables to the Amp'? I'm very confused after reading the manuals of my Amp' and Dvd Recorder. 'Thanks for your help in this matter.

 

[fastestlouigie]

Anybody out there?

 

[roaster]

I don't claim to be an expert and am not familiar with your specific boxes, but my choice would be:

hdmi wherever possible; it should do audio too, but check your device manuals. It may be necessary to configure how the audio is handled.

hdmi av amp to screen.

Optical audio plus best compatible video for digibox to amp. (probably s-video unless you splash out on an RGB to component conversion box)

The amp should digitize analogue video and put it out on HDMI to the screen.

Figure out the cables you need and buy cheap ones on ebay or at cpc.co.uk

Get a Harmony remote and set it up on your PC.

relax.

If you want to record from digibox to DVR, it gets a bit more complicated; I have two separate ways to view digibox (Sky HD in my case) - one direct to the AV amp, and one using analogue video and optical audio via the DVR.

Whatever you do, don't use composite video anywhere; at the very least use s-video for analogue video.

Edit: The thing to do is just start hooking it up, and then figure out why it doesn't do what you want. There will almost certainly be a couple of things you get wrong first try, then you'll need to experiment. That's why it's a good idea to get all the cables you may need first.