Hiya Jim,
Congrats on the Denon - you really will enjoy it when you get it all hooked up. Let’s see if we can get you started.
SPEAKERS FIRST.
Look at the back panel in Tom’s post. On the bottom, just right of center are a series of red & black connectors. Since you don’t have a “zone 2”, you want to be connected as follows:
FRONTS - R & L for “A”
CENTER - Only one choice
REAR SURROUNDS - Top & bottom Surround R&L (NOT “Surround Back”)
Here’s the fun part - you need to go into the Setup Menu. See page 8 of your manual and look at the remote. On the left side, about 60% down is a key titled “Setup”. If you press this key, the setup menu will appear, item by item, on your receiver screen (you don’t have the “On Screen Display” feature for use with the TV).
Now, go to page 18 in the manual. This table shows what shows up and in what order. See the picture of the remote to learn how to use the buttons to navigate. Unless you have a subwoofer, set all of your speakers to Large.
Here is your frustrating problem - Page 19 of the manual shows how to set your speakers. On page 20, item 4 (4. S, Back) set your surround speakers to “SMALL”. I suspect they are currently SET TO “OFF”.
COAX OR OPTICAL
If you are going to use a COAX or Optical for connecting one of your devices (TV, DVD, etc.), you will need to “assign” it in the Setup menu. We’re back on page 18 of the manual in the table. See the box titled “Digital In Assignment”. The defaults are shown. For simplicity, I’d suggest you just plug the Optical from the DVD into “Optical 1. It should work without any further tweaking. If it doesn’t scroll through the Setup Menu and when you get to the Digital In Assignment, click on the device to the right until “DVD/VDP” shows up - that’s how you “assign” it. See page 26 of the manual - you can assign the Coax or Optical to any of your devices here.
NOTE - if you are not using COAX or Optical, you will need to run red & white audio cables form the device to the red & white connectors on the left side of the Denon (second set of connectors in titled “Audio”). This is where you will connect your CD Player (unless you are using Coax or Optical)
VIDEO INTO the DENON
I’ll assume you are connecting your DVD and SAT (Dish) using component cables. Look at Tom’s picture again. Just above the black & red speaker connections is a box called “Component Video” with sets of green/blue/red connectors. Use these as your video IN to get all of it into the Denon.
DVD - come from your DVD player with the green/blue and red component cables and plug them in here.
DISH receiver - from the Dish receiver into the set named TV/DBS (DBS is shorthand for satellite).
VCR - same thing.
NOTE - if for some reason you are using Svideo instead of component, for some or all of your devices, run the Svidoe (instead of component) to the Svideo connecter on the Denon. These are in a vertical column below and a few inches to the left of the Component connectors.
VIDEO OUT of the Denon and Into the TV
Back to the “Component Video” on the back of the Denon. Connect a set of component cables running from the Denon (from the connections in the checker board design) to the TV. Again, if you are using Svideo (I strongly recommend the Component cables so you get the video upconversion), run an Svideo from the checkerboard Svideo connector to the TV.
IMPORTANT - GO TO PAGE 27 OF THE MANUAL. ONCE AGAIN YOU WILL NEED TO TWEAK THE SETTINGS. SET EVERYTHING TO “AUTO” AND THIS WILL ALLOW THE DENON TO SWITCH EVERYTHING AUTOMATICALLY TO WHATEVER DEVICE YOU ARE WATCHING.
Final point. Go to page 35 of the manual. This page explains how to set everything to AUTO. This is what you want - it makes everything just work.
Once all of this is done, open a beer, call the wife in and look smug like only an electronics whiz can as you change devices and the Denon makes you a hero..
