Have read all faq and am still confused on what i should be using.....Here's what i have..
Sony-42WE620
Denon-2106 AVR
Denon-1920 DVD
VERY OLD shaw stb (dont know model#)
Boston Acoustic a400 speakers-(old too)
All Monster Cable wires and cables-(old too)

I just bought the tv,avr, and dvd the last few months...I want to run it in stereo for now.....im lost as to what will give me the best audio and video...
Thanks for your guidence....

Oh....Can anyone post for me any Canadian sites for audio/video that they know of ???? All i ever seem to find is U.S.... Thanks again..

OK, here are the recommendations.

1. Audio and video travel separately and can be handled separately.

2. Use the best available TYPE of connection between the various components that both components connected will allow (see the Digital Home FAQ on "Cables & Connections".) Example, component video is better than S-video and coaxial audio is better than red/white analogue audio.

3. Any "good" connection brand will do the job.

4. Think of how the signal "flows" from one component to the other, like the flow of a river.

Congratulations on the new equipment.

Depending on your point of view you are fortunate or unfortunate to have many ways of connecting your system up. I’ll go through a few of the options you face and recommend a selection. This is not necessarily going to be the best for your situation but should at least outline one approach.

First problem. What Shaw cable box do you have? Are you renting or did you purchase it? If rented, you could have a DCT1000 or a DCT2000. If you purchased, then you would probably have a DCT2000HT. The model of cable is usually on a label on the bottom of the box, a very inconvenient place to access if you have an equipment rack.
I don’t know the A/V output options from the DCT1000 but am assuming it is the same as the rental DCT2000.

Rental DCT2000-Broadband coax or Left (White) and Right(Red) stereo audio and composite video (Yellow).
Purchased DCT2000HT-has the same outputs as the rental DCT2000 plus a SPID (coax digital audio) and an S-Video connection.
Later models have other options for A/V output. Simple isn’t it.

One option, if you want to watch your Shaw analog cable channels on the TV without turning on any other equipment is to split the cable coax and feed both the cable box and the TV. I would pass on this option to start with but keep it in mind to add later if you wanted this flexibility.

First, hook up your DVD, TV and A/V receiver. Component video out from the DVD player to an input source on the A/V receiver. Connect a digital audio cable from the DVD player to a digital audio input on your receiver. I prefer a coax digital audio cable as it is easier to plug-in but the optical video cable can be used and in some cases may be better. (That’s another story). You’ll have to check in your Denon A/V receiver manual whether the Denon has a default link between each digital audio in to a source input or whether you have to select which digital audio in goes with which source input in one of the Denon setup menus. Then connect the component video output of the A/V receiver to one of the component video inputs on your TV.

Now your cable box. As described above your options will be limited by what type of cable box you have and the deficiencies of the Motorola cable box. Most of these cable boxes deliver poor quality video for the analog cable channels if you use an S-Video or component cable video connection. From what you have said, I doubt you have the option of S-Video or component video cable so you are probably limited to the analog stereo audio cables and the composite video cables. If so, connect them to one of the A/V receivers input. If you have a cable box with S-Video and/or a digital audio output then post back here and I’ll give you some hints and cautions on using them. As your A/V receiver converts composite to S-Video to component you do not need to add any other video connection from your A/V receiver to the TV.

In my opinion this is the simplest connections that should give you good video and audio but it may not because of gotchas or limitations in your equipment. Certainly if you have a cable box with S-Video, digital audio output or component video output, there are complications depending how your equipment interacts. I suggest that you give the above a try first, though.

I don’t know what your thoughts are for further upgrades but I would suggest:
1) A set of 5.1 capable speakers
2) A High Definition cable box, preferably with PVR
3) A good universal remote.

OK, here are the recommendations.

1. Audio and video travel separately and can be handled separately.

2. Use the best available TYPE of connection between the various components that both components connected will allow (see the Digital Home FAQ on "Cables & Connections".) Example, component video is better than S-video and coaxial audio is better than red/white analogue audio.

3. Any "good" connection brand will do the job.

4. Think of how the signal "flows" from one component to the other, like the flow of a river.

I have just been told by a Video 2000 Salesman that a 75 ohm RCA Video cable is the same thing as a 75 ohm RCA Audio coaxial cable. Is this correct?

I have just been told by a Video 2000 Salesman that a 75 ohm RCA Video cable is the same thing as a 75 ohm RCA Audio coaxial cable. Is this correct?
Yes, a composite video cable is identical to an audio coaxial cable.

I have just been told by a Video 2000 Salesman that a 75 ohm RCA Video cable is the same thing as a 75 ohm RCA Audio coaxial cable. Is this correct?

If you can find a 75 ohm audio cable I would think it should behave the same as far as transfer of signal through the connector to cable. A video cable should be able to transfer the video signal better down the cable than an audio cable but it depends on the cable used in both. A video cable should be able to transfer high frequency signals better down the cable than an audio cable which is normally designed to transfer low frequency signals.

However, normal audio cables are 50 ohm and not 75 ohm so it would usually matter on both signal transfer and signal conduction doown the cable.