Attaching cables to a flat screen TV can often be a tedious task. One can easily get confused looking at the tangle of wires not knowing which cable goes where.
Here are some steps that will make the task easier and save time.
1. First and foremost get the equipment in place. Be sure to have all components at hand when you begin to connect the cables to the flat screen TV.
2. Mount the flat screen TV on the wall. House the AV receiver, cable box, DVD player and games console in cabinets or put them up on shelves. Remember to connect the AV cables to the TV screen prior to installation as it’s difficult to access the back of the screen once it’s up on the wall.
3. Ideally each component should have a power outlet of its own. This way your entire setup won’t be dependent on a single switch. The arrangement would enable you to record your favorite shows without having the TV on. Also this prevents any break in recording if the switch is turned off by mistake.
4. A popular way of connecting the devices is to use a power strip with built in surge protectors. This way it will be easier to connect the different devices while also ensuring longevity of the equipment.
5. An easy way to make out which cable goes where is by matching the color of the wire with that of the socket. Usually audio and video cables are different in color with most systems having red for audio and yellow for video.
Start connecting all the cables into their respective sockets and the wires into the power strips or sockets.
The logical order of the connection process is as follows
- Antenna cable to the cable box
- The cable box to the DVD player or VCR
- The DVD player/ VCR to the TV
- From the TV to the AV receiver
- From the receiver to the speakers
1. The cable box will have 2 sockets usually labeled as “Cable In” and “TV Out”. Hook the cable jack to the socket marked as “Cable In”.
2. Connect the other cable from the “TV Out” socket to the VCR or DVD player.
3. Then connect the DVD player (the Out socket) with the coaxial or HDMI cable on the TV set.
4. The AV cables already connected to the screen will go in their respective sockets on the receiver.
5. In case you have additional speakers the receiver can be connected with the speakers using extra cables.
Label the connections
Bear in mind to mark everything with a label describing the equipments connected using the “In and Out” methodology. This way you won’t be overwhelmed in case you have to remove the connections due to the TV screen freezing and then reconnect again.
Finally make sure all connections are secure before switching on the power.
HDMI standard
Use high quality cables for better sound and picture. If your TV supports HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) standards you can get compatible cables and equipment like Blu-ray DVD player, set-top box, PlayStation and receiver for high definition picture.
Connect your PC
You can also hook up your PC to the setup provided it supports HDMI standards or if your flat screen TV has a VGA port. You can also use an adapter to make your PC, HDMI or DVI (digital visual interface) compatible along with upgrading your PC video card to support the interface.
TiVo DVR
For recording enthusiasts a TiVo DVR offers the best option wherein you can program the DVR to automatically record your favorites. TiVo also connects to the home network enabling users to access broadband features like data transfer from the DVR to a PC and video on demand services.
