Comparing two Onkyo AV receivers (1 Viewer)

[WinstonCely]

I'm comparing the TX-RZ610 to the TX-NR777. There are two differences I'm concerned about; the first, and there's no clickable link for me to find information via the Crutchfield website, for the HDMI to HDMI Upconversion. What exactly is this? Does it really matter when I plan on having my PS4 and a future 4K Blu-Ray player hooked up to it via HDMI? The only other sources be a VHS player hooked up via composite?

The other difference I'm concerned about is "HDR-compatible" section. The RZ is HDR10, while the TX also has Dolby Vision and HLG. Is Dolby Vision taking a strong enough early stance that I should worry about future proofing? I won't be buying for another month so no rush. No to mention, I won't be upgrading the TV until the holiday's at the earliest.

If you can point me in the right direction for information on these, I'll be happy to research, but I trust the opinions on these forums, so I figured I'd start here. Thanks!

 

[Edwin-S]

I think upconversion and upscaling are being used interchangeably which can create confusion. I believe that HDMI to HDMI upconversion, in this case, is that a digital source, hooked up through an HDMI input, that is not in a format native to the device, will be up converted to the native format. For example, an older PS4 cannot output native 4K; however, if it is hooked to an HDMI input and the receiver is capable of outputting in 4K then the input from the PS4 will be upconverted or upscaled to 4K.

I think that any conversion or scaling should be done either by the player or the display, while the receiver just passes the signal through. I think a manufacturer making players and/or displays will be better at doing video scaling than an audio manufacturer. However, that is personal preference.

As for Dolby Vision. If it is a choice of having and not having it, I would err on the side of caution and buy a receiver that supports DV. A number of streaming services do have DV encoded material. Netflix is one of them. I've watched some of it and I can say there is a noticeable difference between non-HDR and DV encoded material. It is harder to compare HDR10 encoded material to DV encoded, but watching it on Netflix, from a purely subjective POV, DV encoded material looks somewhat better to me than static HDR10. DV enabled UHD players are starting to come out now; although, they are still pretty expensive. Of course, UHD players as a class are still expensive.

I think buying a receiver that supports DV and HLG is good insurance in terms of "future proofing", at least over the near term. Of course, the HDR related material is moot if one does not own a HDR enabled set.

 

[WinstonCely]

I think upconversion .... moot if one does not own a HDR enabled set.

Thank you so much for your input! This is exactly what I was looking for. You cleared things up for me. Looks like I'll be waiting a bit longer to save up the money for the Dolby Vision TX model.