Do I connect video out thru receiver or to TV?

Hi. Don't worry it's not a dumb question at all, actually you can do it either way.

The easier, less costly method would be to hook all your AV cables into the Denon and run only one video cable from your Denon to the TV. If all your components have S-video outs and your Denon video switches internally in S-video than you might not lose any noticeable video quality. You'll save on video cables this way too. My pre/pro will only switch in all RCA or all S-video, but not a mix of them, so everything I own has S-video outs that run into my pre/pro, and I run a single S-video cable to my TV.

However, there are many people that are more disciminating about video quality and will run individual video cables - S-video or component - from their sources directly to the monitor. If you have expensive equipment or can see a difference and have the budget by all means do it. If you only have one video cable on hand, try hooking up a component like your PSX2, DirecTV or DVD directly to the TV, and then through the Denon and see if you discern any difference in quality. Hopefully you won't and will be able to get by with only the one cable.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!. And remember, there are no dumb questions here, only an occasional goofy answer.

Ooops, I didn't address your last question regarding optical, coax and RCA. I'm assuming you're talking about audio only here. The optical and coax inputs are for audio and video sources that themselves have digital outputs, such as your DVD player and DirecTV receiver. Does the PSX2 have one also?

The optical and coax inputs on your Denon mean that it has an internal digital to analogue converter that will take the digital audio signal from your source and convert it for Dolby Digital or DTS playback. There are many people who favor using the optical [Toslink], but I happen to be one of those that like to use the coax with RCA termination. With either of these methods you only need to run one audio cable from your source to the Denon. The other method, and I don't favor this, is to utilize the internal D/A converter in the source and run multiple RCAs to the Denon, meaning the output from the source will have already been converted and will be analogue in nature before it gets to the Denon.

I hope this helps. I'm sure others will add to this discussion.

Glad we could help Sailinfla. What Edesilva may be referring to is the difference between composite and S-video in that S-video separates the color and picture detail into two different carriers whereas composite does not. I have noticed a big difference in picture quality in certain applications between these two methods. The S-video was brighter and more detailed, while the compsoite signal was darker and plugged up in the shadows. But, the difference between component video and S-video seems to be much narrower as you've found.

As for which is better, optical or coax for your digital audio? Well, although I built a home theater system before I built a 2-channel music system, music reproduction has displaced HT as my true passion. And it seems audiophiles almost always choose a coax digital connection over an optical one with the exception of when using a CD changer because often times optical is the only offering with these units. I know that Bel Canto Designs promotes the use of optical cables when using a DVD player as a CD tranport when hooked into their DAC1.1, but I've heard many owners of the DAC, which I am, mostly prefer the results when using a coax cable.

But this really all comes down to personal taste. If you can, I'd suggest you borrow both types and compare them.