Any Audio/Video Home theatre gurus? - I need help

[creatix]

The topic says it all.

images are attached at the bottom for ease of help if anyone can lend some advice.

I am out of my league with this stuff. I am trying to hook up my Denon receiver to my DLP tv. While trying to get an XBOX360 I thought I would revamp my sound and although I bought a relatively cheap Receiver - it offers me the ability for Digital surround sound. Now Im stuck though!

Nothing is working. Any advice and/or input is greatly appreciated!

This is what I am trying to do. Plug my DVD player, XBOX, future XBOX(360), PS2 and whatever else (VCR) into the Receiver. Then have one set of cables going from the Receiver INTO the TV.

I have a top of the line Monster Component cable running from the 'Monitor' component ports on my Receiver INTO the Y,Pb,Pr 'Component 1' slot on the back of my TV.

I "thought" that was all I needed in order to get the Receiver to hook up with the TV but I see nothing in both my Receiver and TV menu options...

I feel like I am missing something. Any advice on what cables I would simply need to buy and where to put them to get it all to work? Based on the those pictures - what cables would you have and put where? Maybe I have the right cables but am putting them in the wrong input/outputs?

I can play with menu settings and interface stuff on the Receiver and TV all day but I just feel like my wiring is wrong :(

Its well off the art topics but my gaming consoles and DVDs are a huge inspiration for me artistically. Now that I am finally piecing together the stuff I want I don't know how to get it all to work.

here are the pics of what my rear panels look like.
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Denon AR1705 Receiver
http://www.gladiatornation.com/imagedump/denon_rearpanel.jpg
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Samsumg DLP 50" 1080p
http://www.gladiatornation.com/imagedump/tv_rearpanel.jpg

Thanks very much!

[jubilee]

I wire the tv and junk everytime we move... and we have a LOT of crap hooked up so I dont know if I am a guru but I know where stuff is sposed to plug in.

The thing you gotta remember is your audio goes from source -> receiver -> speakers.

If your tv is your source then the audio has to go FROM your tv to your receiver. If you have a cable box then wire it from the cable box to your receiver. Everytime you leap from another device you're degrading your signal and just plain adding too many wires :D Your XBOX should have some pretty fine sound outputs. Probably optic or 5.1. Plug those into the back of the reciever too and the video output to the TV. Following me so far? :D

Ever hear the expression 'reads like stereo instructions'? Well sometimes its easier just to draw it out. This is how we have our crap wired.

http://www.jsantart.com/Personal/tvsetup.jpg

[Idiot Apathy]

O lord, diagrams... oof.

Do you have anything hooked up to your reciever yet? Like DVD? It might not be displaying because it doesn't have anything to display.

Also... you umm... dumb question but... you tried the different inputs on your tv? Not the ones in the back, the ones on your remote, you know for different devices. If your have your tv hooked up to your reciever with component it might be like Component 1 channel or something.

Oh and uh, doesn't get much if any better than Monster Cables.

[creatix]

Thanks much jubilee. I am following and I got a little bit to work with your input.

It is not all running through the receiver though with the touch of one button (on the receiver)..

I have the 3 component cables for my DVD in my TV and a red/white audio cable into my Receiver.

Thats the logic im going with now, so I guess its like your Xbox example.

Now I just have to switch over the inputs in menu options on my TV to see things and also switch over the menu options on my Receiver to hear things for that device.

It just seems tedious that way. I will soon have to plug in my PS2 video to the TV, then an optical cable to the Receiver. Xbox 360 - Video to TV, optical cable to Receiver. My TV itself to hear HD channels and MTV in Surround sound will also need an optical cable to go to the Receiver...

If this logic is correct I'm gonna run out of inputs. I only have 2 optical inputs as it is on my Receiver. There has to be a more efficient way to get it all working on Surround...I have TONS of inputs (component, svideo, composite, etc) with nothing in them on my Receiver..then again, we get back to my original problem.

Thanks though Jub.
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Idiot - Yes, It was all hooked up and I did have the menu input selected correctly on my TV. That part is easy - as I've been running 3 consoles a DVD and a VCR through my TV with no issues. Its only since today that I tried to get it all to flow with Surround that im screwed.

Monster Cables are great for visuals but I am returning ALL of them. I CANNOT stand how difficult they are to 'twist and push'. They are so hard to remove and put in that my actual connectors on the back of my TV may break. There has to be another "easier to connect" set of cables that give the quality of Monster.

Thanks for the input though Ididot.