It’s a couple of days after Christmas, and I had just pulled my new receiver out of the box. I couldn’t believe the complexity of connections that were available on the back of my new toy. Besides the usual connections for speakers, antennas, and traditional analog “RCA” hookups, there was also close to a half dozen different types of video and audio connections.

I’m no novice when it comes to hooking up stereo equipment, but I was speechless (outside of the expletive noted above). Where does one even begin, and which connections should I utilize? The 70 page owner’s manual did little but confuse me even more. This wasn’t the usual “left” and “right” hookups that I’ve lived with my entire life. Now I was looking at variously-shaped connections labeled analog, digital, composite, component, coaxial, optical, and some weird inputs and outputs that looked similar to my computer’s USB ports. What the hell?

I decided to delay the installation for a couple of days, and not only did some online research but chatted with a couple of so-called “experts” at the retailer where I purchased the receiver. A couple of hundred dollars of cables later, I set aside the following Saturday to hook up not only my new receiver but a new blu-ray DVD player and hi-def television.

The speakers were a breeze, as nothing has changed unless you’re using a wireless system. You still have the usual “+” and “-” connections to your 5 – 8 speakers (depending on your setup). The rest of the system took quite a bit longer. Five hours (and one more trip to Best Buy) later, and the installation was complete just minutes before the kickoff of the historic Patriots/Giants football game. Well, almost complete, as there were a few tweaks over the next couple of days.

Now that everything is hooked up and running perfectly, I decided that it’s my duty to share my findings. There are various tweaks and quirks that sales reps may not realize or understand, and the owner’s manual is better at confusing a person than giving useful information. OK, it does accurately describe the various methods to connect audio and video devices, but it lacks explanations on the pros and cons of each method.

Of course, one can always go the simple route and just hook everything up the traditional way with audio and video “RCA” cords. Given the money you’ve invested in hi-tech equipment, though, this would be foolish. Why not take full advantage of your equipment’s features? Here’s what I’ve learned about connecting devices to my receiver:

1. Blu-Ray or HD DVD. The newest and most hi-tech device is also the easiest to connect. The odds are that your new player, receiver, and television have a connection called HDMI, which is a purely digital input/output that carries video and multi-channel audio. If that’s the case, just plug one HDMI cord from the player to the receiver, and another one from the receiver to the television. The HDMI out from the receiver also acts as the main output of the receiver, and will carry any video signal to the television…with one major exception (more on that later).

One note about HDMI cables, though. There’s much debate surrounding the costs of these cables, which can retail for up to $100. Many websites claim that there’s no additional benefit to utilizing the more expensive cables, and that one which retails for $14 on eBay has the exact same quality as those found at local retailers.

2. DVD Players. Since I have a collection of both SACD’s and DVD-Audio releases (which are incompatible on Blue-Ray or HD players), I still have a need for my existing DVD player. You may also want to keep your old DVD player for burned discs, as your new player may not accept certain formats.

If your player has an optical digital audio output, this is the connection you’ll want to use for the audio from standard DVD’s and CD’s. For video, the best method is what’s called a component video cable. This cable has red (Pr), blue (Pb), and green (luminance) connections. If your player does not have component video capabilities (although it should), then use either the S-video or composite video connections.

We’re not done with your DVD player, though. For whatever reason (probably copyright concerns), SACD and DVD-Audio material cannot be digitally transferred. You’ll need a multi-channel analog RCA cable to connect each of the six channels to the multi-channel “in” on your receiver.

3. iPod. To simply play audio from your iPod, all you need to do is purchase a “Y” connector to connect RCA cords to your iPod’s charging base (or you can also connect it to the headphone jack for slightly lower quality). The other end will go to one of the stereo analog inputs on your receiver.

If you want to show pictures or play video material that’s stored on your iPod, you will need a different base for your iPod. There are a number of them on the market, including one by Griffin that comes with a remote control and on-screen menus for not only your video material but also the audio. You’ll just need to add a “S-video” cable.

My receiver recommends a product called “The Bridge” which integrates both the audio and video into one cable, and allows you to control your iPod from the receiver’s remote. (Too bad I had recently purchased the Griffin base a few weeks prior to upgrading my receiver.)

4. XM or Sirius Radio. Many receivers are now satellite radio-compatible. All one needs is to hook up a special antenna (not the standard one found at most retailers), and subscribe like you would for a car system. The only glitch is that one must find a sweet spot, such as a window on the south side of your home. Once you’re subscribed, you just use the receiver’s remote to tune in your favorite channels. My receiver also allows me to set up to 40 preset channels.

5. Cable Box. Easily the most confusing and frustrating part of the whole installation was the cable television connection. Theoretically, one should just be able to hook up a HDMI cord from the cable box to your receiver and you’re all set. If only it was so simple.

Inexplicably, our local cable system is not a fan of HDMI. They have some HDMI-compatible boxes, but they don’t allow you to make a preference. Even if you luck into one, though, I’ve been told that it doesn’t utilize its full video capabilities.

Your best bet is to once again use the multi-colored component video output on your cable box. Instead of going to your receiver, though, you’ll need to connect the video directly to your television (or run sets to both your television and receiver).

Here’s that one exception I noted earlier. Although the receiver will pass on your blu-ray or HD hi-def video signals through the HDMI cables, they’re not allowed to pass on full hi-def video that comes in through a component video connection. You’ll be able to watch the majority of cable channels passing through your receiver, but not the hi-def channels. I don’t get it either, but I’m sure it’s once again copyright infringement paranoia. (Video game systems may also run into this situation.)

Audio is also more complex than it needs to be. For the majority of programming, an optical digital audio cable will give you the highest quality audio. However, basic cable channels, along with much local programming and commercials, are in analog.

You’ll either get no sound, or extremely tinny audio from an analog source. Trust me, there’s nothing more jarring than to go from the surround sound of a sporting event to the ear-piercing mid-range of a locally-inserted commercial.

The solution is to also hook up a RCA cord from the cable box to the receiver. The receiver will automatically sense whether the source is digital or analog, and you won’t even notice when that local commercial is aired. (One other difference between an analog and digital channel is the volume. Analog channels are generally much louder than digital, so keep that remote nearby when channel surfing.)

6. VCR’s, Tape Decks, etc. One hooks up the majority of other items as they had in the past. Left and right RCA’s are the norm for audio devices, and a composite (yellow) cable or S-video for any video inputs.

One final note for hooking up a new receiver – it’s wise to take notes on what connections you have used on each device. Once you’re completed, you will need to use the receiver’s on-screen menu (if one is available) to match the audio and video connections to each device.