Connecting receiver to TV or TV to receiver

[newattvsound]

Hello,
I have a Panasonic Plasma TV about 3.5 years old, a Harman Kardon AVR 1700, a DVD player, and surround sound. I get the TV signal from Cable TV and have a DVR. I want to connect the AV receiver so that when turned on I get surround sound, but when off I get the TV speakers. Everything I have read says to connect the DVR to the AV receiver, then the receiver to the TV. My thought is that if I do that, the signal will never get to the TV when the receiver is off and I will get nothing. What is the best way to connect this? I will probably always want surround when playing the DVD, but rarely with the TV.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Have you tried the DVR --> AVR --> HDTV connection? The AV Receiver is never really powered off, but set to a low level "stand by mode" (for lack of a better term). I believe there is enough power to allow the audio signal to pass through to the HDTV. It's certainly not going to hurt anything to try it.

-Wolf sends