Trying to get Stereo on my TV

[hd man]

Hi. Just a dumb question OK?

I've been researching this HD stuff for about a year now. I'm still confused. I want my 57" HDTV to have the best sound and picute as it can with what I gear I have.

I have a Zenith 57" HD projection TV, Philips DVD/Home Theatre 1000 watt and an HD set top box.

At the moment, I have it running with component cables (red, green, blue), but I still dont think it's right. I want digital video and sound, but my TV only has DVI. Can I buy an HDMI cable and a adaptor to hook up my set top box which is DVI only?

Do I need a new HD set top box with hdmi? I'm so confused and when not using home theatre I want my TV in stereo. It always reads mono. But the other day, screwing around with the cables, I got it to read stereo ,but now it's gone again.............ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Can you give advice on with the gear I have to hook it up the right way for best sound and best picture? When on HD channels, the speakers from TV go out and can only hear home theatre. With regular TV, it comes out of both tv and home theatre.

I'm very frustrated. I've tried many hours and diagrams in the books to hook it up but no one talks about going through set top boxes.

Please help. Thanks

[57U]

In order to get stereo sound on your TV, you should simply be able to connect the analogue red/white cables from the STB to the TV (the same input as you're using for the video signals)

If you want digital audio on your HTiB, you need a digital audio connection from the STB to the HTiB (optical or coaxial audio). You also need the appropriate audio "settings" in the STB (usually Dolby Digital). Sometimes the digital input on the HTiB also needs to be "assigned" to a particular input. Read your manual for that.

You should really run one or the other - TV or HTiB for the sound.

You can buy a DVI/DVI cable to run from your STB to your TV for the digital video. Monoprice.com has good pricing and service, or you can go to a computer store. Cost under $20.

See the Digital Home FAQs:

- DVI/HDMI Information
- Cables & Connections.

Generic equipment descriptions are not very helpful. We need make and model for all your equipment if you need more assistance.