Old Sony Receiver with new Blu-Ray Player (1 Viewer)

[Wishoosier]

Receiver is a Sony str-de435 (bought in 2000. Seriously). Our then-DVD player had its 5/1 ch. output with one cord per channel. The player lasted a few years, and I had a little trouble finding a new DVD player with appropriate connections. Current player (Toshiba) now needs to replaced. Haven't gotten the blu-ray player yet. I have a 720p Samsung tv, but plan on routing the new blu-ray player's audio through the receiver. Subwoofer and 5 speakers all work fine. Am I going to have connection issues when I get a blu-ray player? What can I expect to find on the back of one? In short, am I going to need a new receiver sooner rather than later? I figure it'll give out at some point. We'll be using the player for audio CDs as often/more often than movie viewing. Would I be better off getting a separate component for CDs to save wear and tear on a nice BR player? What is my wife going to let me spend?

 

[Todd Erwin]

First of all, welcome to the Forum!


You didn't mention the model of the TV. Does it have at least 1 HDMI input?


I would look into replacing the receiver with something newer that includes HDMI switching for 3 or more components, possibly an Onkyo, Yamaha, or Pioneer. Most low to mid-range Blu-ray players do not have analog multi-channel outputs, and you can use the receiver to switch from Blu-ray, cable/satellite, etc. You'll also likely have less of a tangle of cables! You may be able to use the existing speakers for the time being, but plan to upgrade later on.


For audio CDs, you may want to pick up a cheap DVD player if you are concerned about wear and tear on the Blu-ray player.


You will need HDMI cables, but do NOT purchase them at a major retailer, as they are usually over-priced. You can get decent 6-foot or shorter HDMI cables at a reasonable cost (often less than $15 each) from Monoprice.com or even Amazon.com. This post is a good read on what to look for in an HDMI cable.


Hope this helps!

 

[Wishoosier]

Yes. TV is Samsung LN32A330J1D; has 2 HDMI inputs (one used for cable box).

 

[Todd Erwin]

The nice thing about a new receiver is that everything will connect to the receiver, then the receiver to the TV. HDMI can carry both audio and video, so only one cable will run from each HDMI component to the receiver, and the receiver can handle all the decoding.