Switching up to HDMI

[Replicon]

Hi all! I haven't posted here in years, but I'm glad to see it's still all here!

I recently updated to the latest Panasonic projector, and I thought this would be a great time to start looking at switching all the wiring to HDMI and fully benefit from it. Right now, I've got just component cables.

I have a couple of questions about it.

First, the general stuff:

I was under the assumption that in general, the standard setup would basically be the same as it was years ago, with the input devices all going into a switch, and the switch going to the output devices (video/audio), like this:

However, I noticed that my projector has 3 HDMI ports, which looks a little odd to me. When I asked some friends, they all said that these days, people just connect all devices (PS3, Wii, etc.) to all output devices, and use a universal remote to do the switch... Something like this:

This seems kind of inelegant to me, and makes the huge assumption that all devices have the right number of ports, which can't be right. I have a DVD player right now, and it has just one HDMI out. Is this really the standard way of hooking it up these days?



Second part, some specifics:

Really, all I care about is updating it so I can get proper HD video. I'm not enough of an audiophile to update to the latest and greatest speaker system - my current logitech 5.1 Dolby setup is way awesome as it is. However, it doesn't have an HDMI port (I'm using optical cables for my audio needs).

Finally, I have a PS2, with several PS2 games I have yet to get through, and I hear the new PS3s aren't backwards-compatible anymore. I'd like to be able to still use my PS2 with the new setup, at least until I've played through a few games.

Are there any good ways to facilitate this upgrade without breaking the bank? Searching online, it's looking like HDMI switches aren't too pricy, and there are HDMI-to-optical-audio converters available for fairly cheap as well. Unfortunately for my PS2, component-to-HDMI converters are a bit more pricy than I'd like, so I might just have to deal. Either that, or have both the HDMI switch for when using HD devices, and a parallel hookup with the older component stuff.

Thoughts? Thanks a million!

 

[nsafreak]

Have a budget in mind? I'm going to be honest and state that the hodgepodge you're looking at of HDMI to optical converters & HDMI switches looks like it'll be hell in switching between components. I'd just suggest a decent HTIB from somebody like Onkyo and call it a day. Easier to setup and you get a better experience overall.

 

[Replicon]

Thanks for the suggestion! An HTIB would include lots of speakers and a sub, and I'd like to avoid that overhead if at all possible. I don't mind investing in a proper switch box that handles all these things, and actually does conversion (most switches I know of can't convert one signal to another). I guess that would be the equivalent of getting just the "main block" of an HTIB.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

What you need is a receiver. However, this may not be compatible with your existing Logitech speakers.

 

[velillen]

editted......the driz beat me to it

 

[Replicon]

Ah, that looks like the right way to go. I did a bit of research, and found that something like a Denon AVR-791 would do the job.

I could hook my PS2 into the component/optical, and use HDMI for everything else, and it should switch with impunity, if I read the specs right.

The only hangup is that, while it should handle the speakers just fine, I don't know if it'll handle my subwoofer, which seems to connect via some sort of serial port. My sound system is the Z-5500. Is there an easy way to salvage my sub (maybe connect the sub output to the Logitech controller, but only use it for sub, since speakers will connect directly to receiver), or do I need to spring for a new sub to make this work?

 

[poofyhairguy]

You need a new sub. For sound you have to go all in.

 

[Binky]

The Z-5500 has optical and digital inputs so that shouldn't be a problem (look on the back of the volume box). Sound and video will run from the playback device (e.g. DVD) to the receiver, then the video splits out via hdmi to the TV, and the sound also pipes out through the optical/digital connection to the sound system. It should work fine.

Unless I'm looking at the wrong model, the Denon that you linked doesn't have component inputs. You may want to think more about spending more money to get component input conversion rather than just ditching the PS2 or connecting it diretly to your TV.

Edit: it appears to have component inputs.

 

[nsafreak]

The Z-5500 has optical and digital inputs so that shouldn't be a problem (look on the back of the volume box). Sound and video will run from the playback device (e.g. DVD) to the receiver, then the video splits out via hdmi to the TV, and the sound also pipes out through the optical/digital connection to the sound system. It should work fine.

Unless I'm looking at the wrong model, the Denon that you linked doesn't have component inputs. You may want to think more about spending more money to get component input conversion rather than just ditching the PS2 or connecting it diretly to your TV.

Edit: it appears to have component inputs.

Yeah, it has component inputs but it doesn't have optical or coaxial digital outputs. To get that he'll have to step up to at least the AVR-891 if he wants to stick with Denon. Again you can easily get a very nice Onkyo HTIB for $300 - $400 that will do everything that the op wants. I understand that the op wants to keep his Logitech speakers but believe me even the stock HTIB speakers that the Onkyo comes with will spank them.

 

[Replicon]

Yeah the AVR I'm looking at doesn't have optical out.

nsafreak: I am unfamiliar with Onkyo HTIB models. Can you recommend one in the $300-$400 range that does all this stuff? I'm looking at the HT-S3400 right now, which seems to at least have the inputs and outputs I need... but it's weird to me that a receiver WITH speakers/sub that has all those features is cheaper than a receiver all by itself that has similar features. Also when I search for my logitech speakers, they are also not exactly cheap. What's the catch? Does it do actual conversion, or is the optical audio in/out basically a pass-through? Looking at the specs when I search for it on newegg, it doesn't say anything about conversion (and the Denon one does), so I want to be sure. I can probably go to their actual website and download the manual, which I'll do before purchasing anyway.

Thanks for all the help by the way, everyone. It's much appreciated.

 

[Binky]

The Z-5500 system isn't a bad system. I don't know how it performs compared to a typical HTIB setup, but my guess would be that they are similar.

You can get a low-end HDMI receiver for $250 or less (without component input/conversion). You should consider this option.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

The z-5500 seems to have a decent resale price on craigslist. You could always sell it there and put the money toward either a HTIB or buying components individually.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I think you are getting to the point that a good universal remote should be in your future as well. If you see a good deal on a Harmony 880 or Harmony One, I would really recommend that it would be worth it to you. It would also let you deal better with just a HDMI switch for certain things, and component for others.