DVD->Denon 3803-> TV or DVD->TV directly? (1 Viewer)

[RichB]

I'm getting a new Denon 3803 and Panny RP91 DVD player in about 5 days (I cannot wait!). Now in the past on my old Denon AVR 3300, I used to have my DVD player connected to the receiver through the component jacks and then from the receiver to the TV. At one point I tried just connecting the DVD player directly to the TV (Sony WEGA 32XBR250) and the picture seemed clearer. Now the 8803 has this component "upconversion" feature, which would (I suppose) allow me to have just one component output connection from the receiver to the TV as the sole video source. This would make switching between sources very convenient, but will I lose anything in image quality?

 

[Brian_Dunstan]

I also have a Panasonic RP91 and just upgraded my receiver to the Denon 3803. Previously, I had been running the Panny directly into my RPTV via component cables. Now, I'm running into the 3803 via component, and connecting the 3803 to my RPTV via component.

Personally, I don't notice a difference visually. It could just be that I'm so much happier with the audio now that I haven't yet noticed a difference in video.....but, nonetheless, I haven't noticed a difference.

 

[jeff_coil]

Rich
I run my 1600 through the 3803 and still looks great. The upconversion in my system works well too!

 

[Adam.Gonsman]

You probably will get a cleaner picture (at least in theory) by connecting the DVD player directly to the TV. The upside to a direct connection other than this is that you will have fewer cables to buy.

The downside is that you may not have enough inputs on your TV to get away with this for all your devices. You will also lose OSD from the receiver while using anything that is directly connected to the TV. And perhaps least important, you will also lose the convenience of being able to simply hit a source switch on the remote and having everything switch over although with a little effort, you could set up a macro to acheive the same effect.

Especially on a unit like the 3803 that has the upconversion to component, I would run things through the receiver unless you can really tell a difference in quality. This just seems much simpler from a user standpoint.

 

[Mark All]

Hi Rich,
I used both the direct to TV method and the switching capability of the Denon 3803. I didn't notice a difference in picture quality with switching. I have a Panasonic and a Toshiba going into the receiver now. My TV has two component inputs and I use the second one for an HDTV tuner. The 100Mhz switching in the receiver should prevent signal degradation. However, I would recommend using quality cables, at least at the Monster 2 level to take advantage of the good shielding in the cables. I'm using their level 3 cables, which is pretty expensive since I have to have four sets of the cables (one for each input to the receiver, one for the receiver output, and one for the HDTV tuner). Another consideration is that you need to turn on the receiver to watch a DVD when you use the switching capability of the receiver. Sometimes if I watch an old TV show that is now on DVD, I don't necessarily want to see it with the whole system on.

Good luck with your new receiver and DVD player.