Need advice on the best way to connect my cable box to HDTV and receiver

[Kindjal]

Alright, so I picked up some new A/V equipment this weekend:

Toshiba Regza 40"

Toshiba HD-A30

Onkyo TX-SR605

I'm not a complete amatuer at A/V setup but HDTV and HDMI are a new wrinkle. Time Warner cannot guarantee a HDMI cable box and actually, they claim the HDMI is currently not working on their boxes. I do not have the actual HD cable box in my home yet - so I am not sure of my exact cable box model.

If a working HDMI connection is absent from my cable box, what are my best options for hooking up my HDTV and receiver? (It is possible that a DVI connection might be present but if not, my connections are probably component connections.)

IF this is my new cable box, Scientific Atlanta 3250HD what am I up against?

 

[Slick5150]

If that's your box, then you'll just want to run a DVI->HDMI cable to the receiver along with an optical audio cable, then an HDMI cable from the HD-A30 to the receiver (no need for a separate audio cable here), and finally an HDMI from the receiver to the TV.

 

[Jumpem]

HDMI. I have TimeWarner cable, and my box has HDMI.

HDMI for the DVD player and cable box into receiver. HDMI out to the tv.

 

[Kindjal]

Thanks for all your quick replies.

Well, here's hoping I have an HDMI connection to my cable box. If not, I hope I get a DVI connection with optical audio. If all else fails its component connections plus optical audio.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: Kindjal
Thanks for all your quick replies.

Well, here's hoping I have an HDMI connection to my cable box. If not, I hope I get a DVI connection with optical audio. If all else fails its component connections plus optical audio.

You don't really lose any quality with component, its just another set of cables to run to the TV.

 

[Kindjal]

UPDATE:

I was fortunate enought to get the 8300HD Cable Box from Time Warner. This box has a working HDMI connection so everything was fairly simple to setup.

 

[Jumpem]

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: Kindjal
UPDATE:

I was fortunate enought to get the 8300HD Cable Box from Time Warner. This box has a working HDMI connection so everything was fairly simple to setup.

The new 8300HDC's should be released soon for general public use, a lot better with a better GUI too. I've been beta testing one for a few months now.

 

[Kindjal]

I was just on the Scientific Atlanta page this morning and was planning on comparing the differences between the 8300HD and 8300HDC - what a coincidence.

 

[Kindjal]

Originally posted by: Danman

Originally posted by: Kindjal
UPDATE:

I was fortunate enought to get the 8300HD Cable Box from Time Warner. This box has a working HDMI connection so everything was fairly simple to setup.

The new 8300HDC's should be released soon for general public use, a lot better with a better GUI too. I've been beta testing one for a few months now.

After I posted yesterday, I went home an reexamined my cable box - and it is indeed an Explorer 8300HDC cable box. From the looks of the interface, I believe it has the SARA GUI. I'm still reading the lengthy posts about this box on the AVSForums.