Semi well informed newbie looking for receiver advise (1 Viewer)

[Locut0s]

Ok so here's my current setup to start things off:

TV 50" Sony Grand Wega model KF-50WE620 (720p/1080i) (DVI in)
HDTV cable box from our local cable company here in Canada (a Motorola DCT6200)
XBox 360
PS3 60GB
old VCR
cheapish DVD player with HDMI out (NOT currently hooked up)
Pioneer VSX-D608 receiver

Cheap set of Sony home theatre speakers (one of those cheap 5.1 home theatre speakers in a box set ups you can find at most home audio stores).

The Pioneer receiver is an A/V receiver that can only handle low def RCA jack and S-Video inputs, though it does have 3 optical inputs and an optical output. All the audio is routed through the receiver using the 3 optical inputs for the high def sources and analogue inputs for the rest. The VCR is the only source to send its video to the receiver.

The video sources are hooked up to the TV as follows:

Cable box - Component
Xbox 360 - Component
PS3 - HDMI to DVI cable
(the now unhooked DVD player has both HDMI out and component but there are no more high def inputs on the TV)

The Sony KF-50WE620 is as I mentioned above capable of a max of 720p or 1080i, not 1080p. Anyone know if this will be a problem in the future with 1080p movies when and if they enforce the encryption bit turned on on all discs(forget the name of it)? Currently blu-ray movies look very good at 1080i on this screen! We are VERY UNLIKELY to upgrade this TV anytime soon (frankly I don't see the need so long as I can play any sources at 720p or 1080i I'm a happy man and don't notice much of a difference. The receiver and speakers are another story and need an update. So here's what I want in a receiver. The receiver must be able to do the following:

* Switch between the 2 DVI/HDMI sources (having a 3rd source for a DVD player would be a definite plus! but not mandatory)
* Have one HDMI/DVI otput to the TV
* Be able to at least pass all sources of video to the TV via HDMI/DVI (up conversion to 720p or 1080i is a REAL plus!!!)
* Have enough optical inputs for said sources as well as the usual compliment of analogue sources.


Those are the MUST haves. Anything else might be nice but is optional. As for price I'm a little constrained. I don't want to spend any more than $2000 Canadian, about $1700US and hopefully less. Name brands are nice but mean nothing to me all I want is quality at a good price. If I can get the same quality by going with a no name brand I will. But I won't sacrifice quality to get more features. All I need is in the list above.

One reciever that I am looking closely at is the Pioneer VSX-81TXV. Not sure where I could find it in Canada though, or a good place on the net that would ship it here. Also it's a little pricey.

Many thanks in advance for ANY help I can get!

 

[Heresy]

You can get a Yamaha HTR-6090, it will do everything you are asking and can be had for ~$650 US. It only has 2 HDMI in and one out but I think you should be able get an HDMI 'switch box' (search for HDMI Switch at monoprice.com to see one) that would allow you to put 2 HDMI sources into one of the in ports on the receiver.

P.S. sorry about the non-link but I don't have enough posts to put links in posts yet.

 

[Locut0s]

Thanks for the suggestion! Someone else recommended the Yamaha RX-V1700 to me which is in the same price range as the Pioneer 82 but I didn't notice the 6090. Seems the two Yamaha's have almost identical features with the exception that the 1700 is a little more powerful and has a few more zone features. One question I have is what would the quality of the Yamaha video up conversion output be like, any idea?

 

[Heresy]

I'm not sure about the upconversion on the receiver but your PS3 will do upconversion (not sure about XBOX HD-DVD if you have that) and it is supposed to look great.

 

[JeremyErwin]

It might be best to find a set of speakers to your liking, and shop for the receiver afterwards, or simultaneously. Some speakers are low impedence, and some receivers will not be able to drive them properly.

As for the upconversion in the receiver, I don't see why that's a bad idea. An upconverting DVD player only upconverts DVDs. A receiver can upconvert any source. Besides, it cuts down on the mass of cabling.

Make sure that the HDMI supports at least multichannel PCM-- some of the newer HD-DVD players, for instance, do not come with analogue outputs.

I don't think that the 720p limitations of your television will come into play. It's only people using the analogue outputs that have to worry.

 

[Locut0s]

Actually no the PS3 will NOT do up-conversion. This was one of the hot topics that got some people upset when it came out. Seems Sony never included a hardware scaler with it when they designed it. It will do down-conversion though. The Xbox 360 on the other hand will do up-conversion. I don't have the HD-DVD player though that might be something to get in the future depending on which one wins the format war.