Proper setup for home theatre?

MOAR_PRONZ · 20-01-2010

After many years and tons of use, my H/K AVR120 has come across a few problems, so I went and replaced it with a Denon AVR 588 7.1. Too bad, it may seem old by today's standards, but man that thing can drive quality sound... she'll be missed. I get that the 588 is entry-level, but thats all I need. I'm not putting on concerts or screening movies to the entire neighbourhood.
In that process, I also came home with a new LCD flat panel so I could start making use of of the 1080 definitions being passed by my PS3. Now, I'm not a newbie, but I'm no pro either, and thought I would reach out to some of you that will have more advanced understandings than I will.

Using HDMI 1.3 cables from the PS3 to the television meant I could only use the TV speakers for the PS3; for some reason I could never figure out, it would not pass the audio to the H/K through the optical cable. Thats one thing I want to get past; the Denon has HDMI capability, which the H/K did not (understandable, as the H/K is almost 10 years old). So, if I use HDMI from PS3 to Denon, and then again from the Denon to the TV, will I get the 1080 definition on the screen and be able to get the audio through my home theatre? The Denon 588 is HDMI switcher, not repeater, so I know it won't pass the audio to the television. I just want to know what headaches to avoid in detting up the home theatre; it's still in the box, and although it gets a lots of worth reviews, a common negative theme with Denon is that they are not user friendly when it comes to initial setup.
My HD cable box is component only, not HDMI ready, so thats easty enough to take care of, but should I pass the video though the Denon as well as the audio? With component video, I can just put the vido cables right into the TV, but would it be better to pass them through the receiver? I only ask because I don;t (yet) know if this will have anything to do with Auto Lip Sync Support, which the 588 does not have.

**eric93se** · 21-01-2010

I know it sucks how brand new receivers have HDMI limitations still on them. A buddy of mine has a $700 onkyo that has a bug with his cable box, where the relays switch on every channel change, its going to burn them out and there's huge lag.

Can you return yours for another model to get another model with pass through? Its a good idea to read a lot of reviews before making the final decision, amazon also has a lot of reviewers when it comes to receivers.

moving your thread over to the 'Getting Started with High Definition' forum.

*DiiZzY* · 21-01-2010

I hate to say it but I think you aimed a bit too low in some regards, the Denon (as far as I can tall) doesn't decode/handle audio it just passed it thru when using HDMI which means that you need to use either coaxial (coax), optical or analogue cables to get sound to the reciever. It will pass audio but you need to setup the PS3 properly for it to work at all but you'll need an additional optical cable to pass the audio to the receiver and will only be DTS/DD (5.1) or 2 ch PCM (uncompressed) at best. As for the STB (cable box) you may/may not have any digital output so you need to hook it up using RCA plugs which means 2 ch only. The lip sync function needs at least HDMI 1.3 all the way otherwise it's just going to be disabled so if your TV doesn't support HDMI 1.3 it wont work/be disabled. I would highly recommend you to switch to an Onkyo TX-SR607 but Yamaha RX-V665BL or Denon AVR-1910 should have video processing also. By doing that you can hook everything up to the reciever and it'll handle everything including upscaling, conversion and HD Audio (Onkyo does, Yamaha seems to have deinterlacing and conversion only and the Denon seems to be somewhat similar to the Onkyo). Audio will be passed on and it'll upscale to 1080i tops (720p is recommended though). In short, you'll only need one HDMI cable to your TV and everything else will go thorugh your reciever. I have to admit that I find my rather old by now Onkyo TX-SR875 very nice but it also gets quite warm and I have a couple of friends using the 607 and are very satisfied with it.

@ eric93se
Turn off HDMI CEC and it'll work most likely, there are also new firmwares available for pretty much all recievers that are newer than 3 years.
//Danne

**eric93se** · 21-01-2010

yeah there's few updates with onkyo receivers. What is CEC?

MOAR_PRONZ · 21-01-2010

Meh - I'm fine with using optical cable for the audio from the PS3, I only have a 5.1 home theatre anyway and adding more surround will be unnecessary overkill for my home. My TV passes HDMI 1.3, as does the 588. Rather than me aiming too low, I'd say I didn;t want to aim to high. I went and looked at Denon's AVR990, and even Yamaha's DSPZ7, and yes, there was much drooling involved. But, at the end of the day I realized that I still loved my HK AVR 120 as it did what I wanted it to do, and moving to a unit like those monsters I noted was the equivelent of having your '83 honda die and replacing it with a 2010 RR DropHead Coupe (not that I consider the HK to be an '83 honda, but the scale is there for reference). The 588 I bought does everything the HK did with similar strength, and came with some of the much more modern bells and whistles.

@ eric93se: CEC = Consumer Elactronics Command Support. It's a 1 wire bidirectional s-bus that uses standard AV protocol to control remote functions. The wiring for it is mandatory, but the implimentation is optional, which is why units like my 588 don;t have it, but more expensive ones do. (the entire "8" line of denon receivers do not have this function, all the way to 988). Basically, it allows you to control all your CEC enabled devices with one remote, which is certainly not something that particularly intrests me.

Last edited by MOAR_PRONZ; 21-01-2010 at 15:14.

*DiiZzY* · 21-01-2010

You do realize that you will need a DD or DTS track to get 5.1 at all and you dont have any upscaling and/or conversion?

@ eric93se
There's a setting for controlling other devices over HDMI, I don't recall what its called in the handbook but its there somewhere :-)

//Danne

*crossg* · 22-01-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiiZzY

You do realize that you will need a DD or DTS track to get 5.1 at all and you dont have any upscaling and/or conversion?

@ eric93se
There's a setting for controlling other devices over HDMI, I don't recall what its called in the handbook but its there somewhere :-)

//Danne

This is off my Onkyo manual, it's CEC just renamed to Control for the Onk.

Control
This function allows CEC-compatible components or
RIHD-compatible components connected via HDMI to
be controlled with the AV receiver.
Disable:
HDMI Control disabled.
Enable:
HDMI Control enabled.
Notes:
• Select Disable if a connected component is incompatible
or you’re not sure about its compatibility.
• If operation is unreliable when set to Enable, select
Disable instead.
• When the HDMI Audio setting is set to On, or TV
Control is set to Enable and you’re listening through
your TV’s speakers (see page 37), if you turn up the
AV receiver’s volume control, the sound will be output
by the AV receiver’s speakers. To stop the AV
receiver’s speakers producing sound, change the settings,
change your TV’s settings, or turn down the AV
receiver’s volume.
Power Control
To link the power functions of CEC-compatible components
or RIHD-compatible components connected via
HDMI, select Enable.
Disable:
Power Control disabled.
Enable:
Power Control enabled.
Notes:
• The Power Control setting can be set only when the
above Control setting is set to Enable

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MOAR_PRONZ · 23-01-2010

So, at the end of the day, no one actually knows and the best advise is to go out and buy a different brand or model.

*DiiZzY* · 23-01-2010

Exactly what are you talking about? Your question has been answered and we've explained why you might want to upgrade and the current limitations including have a lot more cabling if you want it switchable having the limitations in mind you might just run all video cables directly to your TV.
//Danne

**platinumsword** · 23-01-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOAR_PRONZ

So, at the end of the day, no one actually knows and the best advise is to go out and buy a different brand or model.

HDMI from PS3 TO Denon
HDMI from Denon To LCD TV
Optical from PS3 To Denon

HD Cable Box Component To LCD
HD Cable Box Optical To Denon

Audio RCA Jacks From HD Cable Box To LCD

As long as you are a where of the limitations of your audio, and your satisfied with them then this is your be option.

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*DiiZzY* · 23-01-2010

Why would he run video to the reciever when it doesnt process HDMI signals in any way?
//Danne

**platinumsword** · 24-01-2010

The Denon AVR 588 contains Faroudja DCDi Video Processing and Scaling FLI2310 which would be better then the LCD TV scaler.

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3643.asp

__________________
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"The best confidence builder is experience."

*DiiZzY* · 24-01-2010

It doesn't scale or covert unless Denon forgot to mention it anywhere (including the manual).
//Danne

**platinumsword** · 24-01-2010

My bad.

I was looking at the wrong AVR specs.

HDMI from PS3 TO LCD TV
Optical from PS3 To Denon

HD Cable Box Component To LCD
HD Cable Box Optical To Denon

Audio RCA Jacks From HD Cable Box To LCD

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Proper setup for home theatre?

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