The etiquette question is tricky... I've always been somewhat of a geek, especially with hooking up components. (I go into a "Beautiful Mind" trance when I stare at the back of some device, imagining in 3D all of the possible configurations, connections, etc. Kinda scary, but anyway...
What I do know is setting things up (computers, A/V systems, etc.)
I've been at many houses that had components set up in the most in-optimal way (is that a word?) I have such a reaction to seeing things hooked up wrong because I KNOW that they are missing out. I have some weird compulsion to re-hook everything up, but of course, this has to be done tactfully. Often, I'll gently inquire about their set-up and if the opportunity arises, offer some minor suggestion that their cable/sattelite or big box folks set-up wrong and I can tweak it for them.
I've seen too many HD TVs hooked up with RCA video (not component, just the vid), or RF cables coming in from the cable box to the TV instead of HDMI or anything else! It drives me mad.
Too many people are not aware what they are watching and think that it's HD when it's not and they aren't educated by the sellers of the products on how to do it right. I've used that line with people too, letting them know that it's common for things not to be hooked up right and for information not to be passed onto them, in order to make them feel less foolish or stupid, since it's not about intelligence, but some people are a bit more tech-prone than others.
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The etiquette question is tricky... I've always been somewhat of a geek, especially with hooking up components. (I go into a "Beautiful Mind" trance when I stare at the back of some device, imagining in 3D all of the possible configurations, connections, etc. Kinda scary, but anyway...
What I do know is setting things up (computers, A/V systems, etc.)
I've been at many houses that had components set up in the most in-optimal way (is that a word?) I have such a reaction to seeing things hooked up wrong because I KNOW that they are missing out. I have some weird compulsion to re-hook everything up, but of course, this has to be done tactfully. Often, I'll gently inquire about their set-up and if the opportunity arises, offer some minor suggestion that their cable/sattelite or big box folks set-up wrong and I can tweak it for them.
I've seen too many HD TVs hooked up with RCA video (not component, just the vid), or RF cables coming in from the cable box to the TV instead of HDMI or anything else! It drives me mad.
Too many people are not aware what they are watching and think that it's HD when it's not and they aren't educated by the sellers of the products on how to do it right. I've used that line with people too, letting them know that it's common for things not to be hooked up right and for information not to be passed onto them, in order to make them feel less foolish or stupid, since it's not about intelligence, but some people are a bit more tech-prone than others.