This is for all those audio/video geeks out there; I am perplexed by connectivity options for our audio and video gear, and have been overwhelmed by options. I think we may need a new receiver….
We mostly watch a DISH Network Dish DVR 508 that has S-Video, Composite video, RCA Stereo, and TOSLINK (optical for Dolby Digital and PCM Stereo) connectors on the back.
We regularly watch DVDs on our Panasonic DMR-ES35V dual VHS/DVD-RW that has Component video, Firewire, S-Video, Composite video, RCA Stereo, and SPDIF optical port (for Dolby Digital and DTS depending on the DVD or VHS tape).
I have an old Pioneer CLD-D703 LaserDisc/LaserVision player with S-Video, composite video, RCA Stereo, Coaxial digital audio and optical digital audio (DTS can come out both on some laserdiscs).
I regularly watch my AppleTV with HDMI and component video output, RCA Stereo (for stereo and Dolby Pro Logic) , and TOSLINK optical (for DTS).
We listen to an Airport Express with RCA Stereo cable converted from the 3.5mm mini-jack to listen to AirTunes over ethernet from music server.
My very old Denon AVR-3200 receiver sounds fabulous for music, and decodes Dolby Digital as well as Dolby Pro Logic, but it only has three digital audio inputs: TOSLINK, Coaxial, and AC-3 over RF via Coaxial. Since none of my components delivers AC-3 over RF – I suspect I only have two digital audio inputs… and the receiver does NOT do DTS decoding (which is becoming more and more common on DVDs and Lasers).
I suspect I am in the market for a new receiver unless there are external DTS decoders with multiple TOSLINK connections… are there?
So – I think I need a receiver that decodes DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Pro Logic (pretty much all of them do), and that also has at least three (3) optical TOSLINK inputs on the back and an additional Coaxial input. The shocker is that these appear to be rare… many of them have 2 optical inputs and 3-4 coaxial inputs… but the ones with 3 or more optical inputs are both rare and expensive….
Am I missing something?
How good is audio quality when carried over the HDMI cable? I might be able to hook up the AppleTV through an HDMI cable and trim the need for optical ports down to two optical ports; but only if HDMI audio quality is good and DTS encoding can be passed over the HDMI cable. Anyone know? If so, that dramatically improves the selection of moderately priced receivers.
Another option is to chuck out the VHS/DVD deck and replace it with a better unit with coaxial digital output or HDMI or both… The Panasonic has been reliable, but it was cheap and probably has very limited audio/video quality.
It is also somewhat likely that we will either upgrade our DISH DVR to a newer unit (probably still without HD programming – DISH wants too much money for HD programming), but one that might have coaxial digital audio outputs… or replace DISH with a Comcast Digital Cable DVR (assuming they have a good one) and HD programming (which probably means HDMI cable and possibly Coaxial digital audio).
Looking forward three years, we might possibly have 2-3 HDMI inputs, 2-4 coaxial digital inputs, and 1-2 optical inputs.
I’d love some feed back from audiophile/videophile geeks on which receiver is a good value and still meets our needs.
Update: So, a little more reading, and friendly tips from friends (Thanks Scott and Bruce) I have learned that HDMI cables can and do carry DTS and AC-3 digital surround audio from DVD players and AppleTV to Receivers; though you must be careful to get a good receiver that can decode DTS/AC-3 from an HDMI port. HDMI 1.3 can also carry DTS-HD and TrueHD encodings (nice to have for future devices).
That bit of good news means I can find any receiver that has at least four digital audio inputs, but the mix can be the far more common and affordable: one or more HDMI, two or more optical, and 1 or more coaxial. This vastly improves the list of receivers that will work…. ah choices… too many choices. At least they are cheaper ones.
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http://www.crutchfield.com/p_580TXS606B/Onkyo-TX-SR606-Black.html?search=tx%2bsr606&tp=179
2 hdmi inputs, enought for my bluray and dvr box, the several other input choices including optical
stop by the house and you can listen…
b
I looked at that Onkyo (which has rave reviews) and I am not sure it will work – it only has two optical inputs and I have four devices with optical out (though two of them may have alternatives). The LaserVision player has both coaxial and optical digital out – so that is not a problem, but the Apple TV has only TOSLINK (optical), HDMI, and RCA Stereo. I know basic audio can come out over HDMI, but does that include Dolby Digital and/or DTS surround as well?
If so – then I can snag any of these much cheaper receivers that have only two optical inputs and use HDMI and coaxial instead…. If not, I have to spend more for a receiver with three optical inputs. Possibly a Yamaha RX-863 (ouch – expensive).
Man, this is a reminder of how happy I am that I have just stopped caring about these things (and I don’t mean that as a dig in any way). I know that as soon as I let myself start paying attention to my own setup (a frankenstein mix of high end Onkyo, low end Polks, and who knows Tivo equipment), I’ll have committed hours upon hours to squeezing out some undecipherable improvement from my system . . .
Yep, it is a truly insidious affliction, this audiophilia…. I have just burned away a couple of weeks trying to tweak some relatively minor improvements… probably would have been happier not knowing.
Oh, I scored a Yamaha RX-V1800 that was a display model, but it was missing power cord, remotes, optimizing microphone, manuals, etc… so I got it for a good price and ordered the parts online. We’ll see if it works out.
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