Picking out a new receiver with HDMI

Meatwad · 03-11-2007, 05:18 PM

I'm looking for a new stereo to simplify my wiring in my home theater setup. What I'd like to do is get a receiver that has HDMI input and audio processing and upconverts all video inputs to HDMI and get any kind of resolution upgrade if possible. From what I have seen of the receivers that do this none of them less than $1000 will do 1080p.

I'm not necessarily set on 1080p since my current TV is still pretty new and will only do 1080i but my PS3 will and I've always been a long-term planner. I don't have a lot of local places near me to look so I'm trying to get any suggestions of models and prices.

I have 3 digital input sources:

PS3
Xbox360
DishNetwork Receiver/DVR

My TV is a Sony KDL-40S2010

Alon Goldberg · 03-11-2007, 05:28 PM

Hi Rob - your TV has a resolution of 1366x768p, so there's no real need for a receiver that will upconvert to 1080p. In any case, I would personally choose audio capabilities over video processing features when selecting a receiver. My first choice under $1,000 would be the Denon AVR-2807. The 2807 is capable of 7.1 LPCM (for future Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD), and is more than capable of switching 1080p when the time eventually comes. This model performs video conversion from analog to HDMI, but not video upconversion.

Meatwad · 03-11-2007, 11:02 PM

Alon, thanks for the reply. Concerning the video upconversion I'm mainly interested in getting all my component and HDMI video sources to 1 HDMI out cable to the TV. That and any kind of upconversion I can get from video that runs in 480p(dvds ps2 games) to 720p or higher.

I'll check out the Denon, thanks.

Stephen Hopkins · 03-12-2007, 08:59 AM

The Denon is a great unit and one of the few HDMI switching receivers with no known HDMI problems... but depending on your budget there are some less expensive options as well. On the low-end the JVC 401/402/411/412 digital-amp receivers all offer this functionality and can be had under $200 refurbished from eCost. Middle of the road and a very solid unit for the money is the Onkyo SR674. The slightly higher-end SR804 also does everything you need and is in the same league as the Denon 2807 and can be found for less (under $650 from authorized online dealers). Denon also offers the 887/2307ci which are in the same league as the Onkyo SR674 but priced more like the SR804.

Darryl · 03-15-2007, 03:53 PM

Sony is coming out with some new receivers that are 1080p capable, supposedly this month. See this zdnet review. All but the lowest end model do HDMI audio processing (as opposed to HDMI audio pass-through that most HDMI-capable receivers currently do). The exact specs haven't been released yet.

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Stephen Tu · 03-16-2007, 01:28 AM

Those Sony's switch 1080p but probably don't upconvert to 1080p. But the upconversion part doesn't really matter. Your set (+ any future fixed pixel display you get) already has internal circuitry that converts/upconverts everything to its native resolution. It's quite unlikely that any current receiver would have significantly better scaling performance. Also, since you have a 1366x768 panel, the set has to rescale the receiver output anyway, which is likely more damaging than a single scaling operation.

Also upconversion doesn't really "upgrade resolution". It doesn't make anything sharper, and on your set you are already watching the result of an upconversion. You are always stuck with the limitations of the source material. It's just a matter of which deinterlacer/scaler circuitry does a better job of translating the source to the native resolution of the display, and the differences will be small. Don't buy into any marketing garbage about upconversion making things "near HD quality". There's no substitute for actual HD sources.

Until some of the newer fancier video processing chips get into the receivers (that might perform better than a given TV's), upconversion is really only a convenience feature, so that you can run only one video line to the display, and switch everything just using the receiver, instead of having to switch both receiver and TV input But in my view a better solution would be a good universal remote to accomplish that automatically, running an extra cable or two shouldn't be a big deal.

Adam_R · 03-16-2007, 10:12 AM

well since I never got the answer in my 2807 thread, I'll post the question again:

If I run my xbox 360 @ 1080p over component into the 2807, what are my 1080p output options?

Will it go 1080p out over HDMI? Component Only?

SherardP · 03-17-2007, 02:02 AM

sony dg1000 or 5200es then the denon models of course

John_Yanotka · 03-22-2007, 11:28 AM

I am also in the market for new receiver. I have the KDSR60XBR1 for my television set.I use my PS3 for my dvd player.Is 1.3 hdmi worth waiting for?

Spirit_Moon · 03-23-2007, 03:39 PM

How about Marantz SR7001. It has 4 HDMI port and the price just 400$.

Stephen Hopkins · 03-23-2007, 03:49 PM

If you can get a SR7001 for $400 then jump all over it... but that's a $1500 unit and Marantz has a pretty tight supply network. You may be thinking of the SR4001 which can be had around $400 but only has 2 HDMI inputs and no upconversion of analog video sources.