I have:

 Yamaha Surround sound receiver (RX-V888RDS)(No scarts, no HDMI sockets, but Digital co-ax and digital optical input/outputs)

SKY HD box (2 scarts, 1 HDMI, 1 optical digital output)

Panasonic TH37PX70 HD ready TV (2 HDMI, 2 RGB scarts, )

Sony RDR-HXD970B DVD recorder (1 HDMI, RGB Scart, Digital co-ax input)

Can anyone suggest the most effective way of connecting up the units to get the best TV picture with surround sound (via the Yamaha); the best DVD HD recordings with 5.1 sound; and the best HD and surround sound playback from the DVD (via the TV and the Yamaha)?

   Is it possible to get the HDMI from the SKy box to more than one receiver without constantly switching the leads around?

   This must be a common proble?

             Looking forward to the expert solutions,

                        Philip.

I'm in a similar sort of position right now, my Denon AVR2106 doesn't have any HDMI switching so i'm looking at a possible upgrade.

If I was you, I would do the following...

• HDMI from Sky HD box to the TV, Optical from Sky HD to the Receiver.
• Component (Red/Green/Blue + Red and White Audio) from Sky HD to your DVD recorder. If the DVD recorder doesn't have a Component input, your only option would be to use RGB Scart or S Video.
• HDMI from DVD player to TV, Co-axial to Receiver.

Hope this helps!

Dear Gave,

             thanks.  I was thinking along those lines, but since it means getting severel new inter-connects, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing any tricks.

  Does anyone else have any alternative suggestions?

          Philip.