Help me - 1000$ on home theater wasted?! (1 Viewer)

Okay, so I'm a little worried here. I just bought a Marantz 5200. This is what I had:
JVC 501-B? dvd player
JBL NSP1 center, rear, fronts
Sony WM-SA 40 sub
jbl rear center
I hooked everything up and set things up...speakers to small, sub, rear center. Then i test toned things and got the speakers sounding about the right level, but i wanted to get a dvd in and here it. I put in Gladiator b/c I wanted to test the 6.1....now, here are the issues:
First I noticed the picture had kind of waves in it, hardly noticable, but definately there, even though I have a good S cable to receiever and then good S cable to tv.
Next was the sound...there was a definate hiss when i turned the volume to movie level, you could totally hear it. So i thought i'd try some different modes...dts, dd, etc...no matter what dvd i put in if i try dts i get no sound. Also DD doesn't light up the DD display on my reciever, just DPL. I'm using a digital cable from the only pns or p something stream from my dvd player...it is it's only digital out. Is it not sending the right signal or is my reciever decoding wrong? How can I determine this? Also what is the hiss? Is this bad speakers? speaker wire? set-up? reciever? reciever settings? I realize it could prolly be all these but was hoping someone might know.
I've had the dvd player hooked up to a yamaha with infinity towers with same digital cable and it sounded great...don't know if it was doing DD, reciever had no dts, but it didn't matter b/c we just had the 2 fronts and center. Also same story with dvd player hooked up with rca cables to a pioneer with Cerwin Vega fronts and it sounded great, although prolly only doing DPL.
Please help....please..., I was all excited to get hooked up and now i'm just frustrated.

I can help with some of this. The hiss must be comming from the reciever- no way wires or speakers can generate hiss. Is the hiss comming equally to all speakers ? You may have to exchange receiver to get rid of it.
Second, silent DTS is a setup problem with the DVD player. Most DVD players are shipped with DTS output diaabled as the default believe it or not. Look at setup menus and find "DTS bitstream on" or something similar.

You may want to try the reset procedures for the 501. I got them off of the JVC Canada site. Is video connection going straight through to the tv or through the receiver?
DVD EEPROM Reset Procedure XV-501BK.
1) Make sure there is no Disc in the tray.
2) Shut off the unit and unplug it from the AC outlet.
3) Press and hold the "On Screen" and "Title" Keys, simultaneously.
4) While holding these keys, plug the AC cord back into the outlet. (TEST JC3 or JC2 will appear on the display)
5) Release these keys and then press the "Enter" key.
The "Resume" light will illuminate. (initialization is complete)
6) Press the "Power button" to turn the unit off.
7) Press the "Power button" to turn the unit back on. (your player should be functioning properly now.)
8) If your DVD player continues to malfunction, we recommend that you have the unit examined by a JVC Factory or Authorized Service Facility.

Sucks that I might have to bring that back after setting it all up, but if I have to I guess I will. The video goes from DVD player to reciever, then to tv, both using S cables.
I have had to reset the JVC before when it wouldn't play dvd's, that is after I had hooked it up and it sounded good with the digital cable to the Yamaha -- maybe that has something to do with it.
Anywone know how to turn on that Dts bitstream with my player specifically? Also though it looks like the DD isn't getting sent out correctly either.

Norm,
First the waves in the picture and the hiss...
The two problems can be caused by a ground loop which is commonly caused by you cable TV hookup. Try disconnecting your cable...do the waves go away??? If so, you will need to buy or make an isolator. I have the JVC 701 DVD player and love it, but I had the same problem.
Gene

Gene,
where did you get or how did you make your isolator?

Norman,
I don't know if this applies to the 5200 also but I have the SR7200 and the receiver has an s-video problem. The "video noise" you are decribing is similar to the problem i have with the 7200. Many other have reported this s-video issue with their receivers also(7200, but it probably applies to the 6200 and 5200 also). Try making a direct connection to your tv set with the dvd player and it will probably solve the problem with your picture(it has worked for the rest of us with this problem). If there is a problem with s-video switching(seems very likely), then Marantz needs to address it. As for the hissing, i don't know. My 7200 performs excellent on the audio end.

Norm,
I went to Rat Shack and bought two 75 ohm / 600 ohm antenna matching transformers and connected the 600 ohm sides together. I then put this adapter in series with the cable box output. Wavy lines gone with no degradation to signal !!! It's a cheap ( < $10.00 ) to try.
Gene

Have you setup your DVD to pass the digital bitstream? DOH! This is why you are only getting DPL/DPL II. If you have it enabled, it should not be set to PCM, which will also default you to DPL.
As for the video, as stated, unless you need to do switching of some type, just run it directly to your TV.
Next thing, IMO, don't buy JVC.
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[Edited last by John Garcia on September 12, 2001 at 02:00 PM]

i would also be curious as to whether the problem is related to some part of the s-video "path".
have you tried changing the cabling to composite? that should help determine if the problem is related specifically to s-video.
as far as the hiss goes, do you hear it all the time? even when listening to cd or fm? just what do you consider "movie level". is that really loud? i'd say, if you hear the hiss no matter what, then it's the receiver. you'll have to check your dvd player once you configure it to output dts.
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Okay, first let me say you guys rock. All the suggestions have been great. I've been a little out of it the last few days b/c I'm winding down a project at work that ends today and have been working a ton, along with the tragic events.
As for my HT concerns, the PCM stream thing worked, now i'm getting DD and DTS, and using the 6.1 mode it sounds fantastic coming out of the rears and rear center.
Now, as for the waves from the S-video, here is how that is working. If i go directly from the dvd player to the TV with either of my S-cords it works great, if i go from the DVD to the reciever in, from the reciever out from VCR, TV to the TV it works great as well, however, if I go from the DVD to the reciever in ,from the reciever monitor out, the one that gives me the on-screen display as well, this is when i get the waves. I disconnected cable from the tv and moved the cord away and still get this. The cable was still connected to the wall jack but the cord wasn't near anything. B/c it works with all outs to tv from the reciever except the monitor out i'm pretty sure it is a reciever isssue.
Now the hiss. I don't have a separate cd player to hook up to see how that sounds, but I always here the hiss for movies. The sound for movies is great, i love the sound and the way it decodes, aside from the hiss. It is at louder volumes where the hiss becomes apparant. At say, movie theater levels, or perhaps a little louder, it is pretty apparant. You can really here it during quite parts, but during a loud part the sound is fantastic as the hiss is covered up. The hiss goes away when you pause the dvd, but i think then the signal to the reciever goes away as well. I guess i'll have to test by hooking something else up to it, perhaps even a different DVD player to see if my player is outputing this, but I don't remember the hiss when i had this dvd player hooked up to a yamaha reciever with the digital out.
Any info would be great as i'm goign to talk to the dealer today. They are a great local dealer in Mnpls, and I think they will really work with me to get things figured out (StereoLand on Hennepin in Uptown if mnpls people are on). I'd like to know as much as possible when i go in.

Keep in mind I have hastely set up the speaker settings on the receiver. I have the rears louder than they prolly are supposed to be b/c I wanted to really hear what is being sent to them. Also I have the mains set to small, and the LFE level set to 0 i think. I really don't know what all the settings do, but maybe they have something to do with it. The reciever also takes in how far the speakers are from you, and i just guessed on that. while we are on the subject, what is the best dvd to use to set up the sound?

it sound like you'll still have to do some troubleshooting regarding the hiss. did you try fm?
about the s-video, since it only occurs when using the monitor-out, then it's obviously your receiver.
i'd take it in to the dealer to see if you can duplicate the problems there too.
if possible i think you should exchange it.
good luck...
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But the water has moved on.
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Without a doubt, you should have that receiver exhanged.
However, about the hiss...
From what you are telling us, you are turning the volume up quite considerably when you hear the hiss. No matter how good your equipment, if the volume is turned up high enough, you will hear some sort of hissing. I have a fairly nice pioneer/yamaha setup and I hear the hiss as well if I turn the volume up enough. Just something to think about. I'm just playing the devil's advocate here. You very well could have something setup wrong or bad equipment also.
Let us know how it turns out...
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I'm not really turning it up as high as I think I gave the impression. I mean it is definatly there at a level that I would like to watch movies at, and then the louder you go the worse it gets.

It might be a ground loop problem. Try hooking up the power on your receiver using a "cheater" plug (about a $1 at WalMart). It won't hurt anything and could smooth things out.
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September 11, 2001
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What the hell is a "cheater" plug??
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-- Chicago is New York done right. --

it's an adapter that allows you to insert a three-prong plug into a two-prong outlet. usually, it also has a wire that you attach to the faceplate screw.
i guess they're illegal in some places...
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But the water has moved on.
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I have an SR 6200.
I don't recall alot of hiss. I only hear hiss if I have the volume cranked over 0 and its not very loud hiss. In the listening position, I don't hear hiss. I hope I don't have any S-video problems myself, as I could use the ability to switch between my SVHS and LD players. I haven't picked up my SVHS yet, so I haven't tested that feature.
My SR 6200 does not have a 3 prong plug. It is a 'keyed' or polarized 2 prong plug. Polarized meaning you can only plug it in one way, as one prong is narrow and one is wider, to match up with the wall socket.
[Edited last by Chris PC on September 14, 2001 at 03:49 PM]

Here is how I have things plugged in. I have a newer AT surge protector strip, and I have that pluged into my wall (3 prong connection), and then my tv, vcr, dvd, reciever, and phone all plugged into that. Where would you put the cheater prong?
Yeah, my reciever plug in is the 2 prong polarized as well. As for the hiss i hear it at -20, it starts getting decently bad at -15, then at -10 or more it is terrible.
[Edited last by norman_maclean on September 14, 2001 at 04:35 PM]