Blu Ray with non-HDMI receiver

[amarmistry]

Harman Kardon AVR 335 (no HDMI)
Panasonic 42" Plasma 42PX600U. Has two HDMI Input. (720P, 1080i resolutuion)
Dish Network (forgot the model) receiver (HDMI? I do not know, need to check)
Harman Kardon DVD 31 (no HDMI)

Dish Network component out to Receiver component in.
DVD component out to Receiver component in.
XBOX RCA out to receiver RCA in.

Receiver Component out to TV Component in (for DVD and Dish network).
Receiver RCA out to TV RCA in (for XBOX).

Above is my current Setup. How can I go better than component video?
How can I hook up Blu Ray to get maximum audio/video capability?

Also, when I connect the audio for DVD Player/Dish network (red and white) to receiver, does receiver automatically converts the soudn to 5.1 channel audio output? Is there a better way to transform sound from DVD/Dish network receiver to Receiver?

Any advise will be helpful.

[This Guy]

Harman Kardon AVR 335 (no HDMI)
Panasonic 42" Plasma 42PX600U. Has two HDMI Input. (720P, 1080i resolutuion)
Dish Network (forgot the model) receiver (HDMI? I do not know, need to check)
Harman Kardon DVD 31 (no HDMI)

Dish Network component out to Receiver component in.
DVD component out to Receiver component in.
XBOX RCA out to receiver RCA in.

Receiver Component out to TV Component in (for DVD and Dish network).
Receiver RCA out to TV RCA in (for XBOX).

Above is my current Setup. How can I go better than component video?
How can I hook up Blu Ray to get maximum audio/video capability?

Also, when I connect the audio for DVD Player/Dish network (red and white) to receiver, does receiver automatically converts the soudn to 5.1 channel audio output? Is there a better way to transform sound from DVD/Dish network receiver to Receiver?

Any advise will be helpful.

With my Blu Ray setup (PS3) I just have an HDMI going straight to the tv and an optical digital audio cable going to the receiver, because I, Like you, don't have a receiver with an HDMI input. And you're not going to get 5.1 audio unless you use a digital connection. You're only capable of two channel audio right now because you're using the analog rca outputs (the red and white cables). Use the optical or coaxial digital outputs from your DVD player and Dish receiver to get 5.1 audio. Both outputs will sound the same, so just use whatever's available. You can use a single RCA cable as the coaxial digital cable, it's cheaper than the optical (toslink) cable.

[Mr Peabody]

Really if your TV is 1080i you are fine using component for video. If your Blu-ray upconverts, it won't output via component the upconverted signal but your TV will upconvert to it's native resolution from component any way.

IF, your Blu-ray player has onboard decoding for the HD audio AND multichannel analog outputs AND your receiver has multichannel inputs, this would yield the best Blu-ray audio in your set up. HD audio (Tru-HD/DTS-MA) will not pass via optical or coaxial digital connection. If this multichannel connection isn't possible for you the optical/coaxial output from a Blu-ray player will still sound some better than standard DVD because it's a higher bit rate.

As stated, red/white the best you get is Pro Logic. Make those digital connections and you'll like what happens.

If the Dish receiver is HDMI you might want to make that connection to your TV for regular viewing without HT receiver.

[amarmistry]

This is the back of the receiver...

http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/electronics/detail-page/AVR335-3.jpg

I will check out my Dish Network receiver. Its the newest one so I am certain it has HDMI.
May be I will connect my Dish network receiver and Blu Ray (when I get it) directly to my TV via HDMI cables.

[nightflier]

Using 3 pairs of RCA cables, connect your BR player's analog outputs to the 6-ch inputs on the receiver, and let the BR player do the sound decoding. This will give you the best sound when playing BR disks. Connect the HDMI output of the BR player straight to the TV, this will give you the best picture.

You can adjust what your BR player outputs using it's on-screen menu:

- the HDMI should output only video
- sound should be output via the 6-channel analog outs

If you can select the video output resolution for standard DVD, then you'll need to choose which one is better. Put in a standard DVD and try it with 480p first, then compare that to 1080p. If 480p looks better, that means that your TV is a better upconverter. If 1080p looks better, than than means your BR is better. Select the one you like best.

If your BR player does not have a resolution setting, then you will need to let it do all the converting internally based on what is in the drive. if so, your TV will probably not do any upconverting at all. This may be the simplest way to set it up.

For the rest of the gear:

Your xBox and Dish network should just use Component inputs into the receiver and digital connections for sound (you have enough inputs on the back of the receiver for all of them). You'll need to run component to the TV, and select Component input from the TV's on-screen menu when you use these.

You won't need the DVD player anymore because you'll use the BR player for standard DVDs as well. Sorry about the long post, I really thought I could do it with less words. But it's not as complicated as it sounds.

[Mr Peabody]

I have a Dish 722 and it's HDMI. My other box has it as well, I can't remember the model but I'm thinking 622. Be careful with those Dish optical outputs they're fragile.