*Official* Denon AVR 1909/789 Thread - Page 368

For what it's worth, my BD player is a Samsung BD-C6500. Not sure if that makes a difference or not, but as BatPig mentioned, it still would not explain the lack of DD from my ATV2.

just note that despite the "buzzwords" of 1080p and DD+ do not expect anything close to Blu-ray quality with a streaming service. Yes it's 1080p but it's going to have a lot of compression to get that much resolution into a network stream. Same goes for the audio side. Most "HD" stuff on Netflix is probably going to more akin to HD cable/sat broadcasts at best in terms of quality (video and audio) and not quiet Blu-ray level.

if you haven't watched "Mad Men" yet that's a great place to start.

It might be a result of the ATV being connected to the TV (HDMI) so that Netflix will then only pass a PCM 2.0 signal even through the optical. When you are playing a DD 5.1 show, if you don't get an option to play either Stereo or DD 5.1, then Netflix is not providing the DD 5.1 audio track. Why do you have the ATV HDMI going to the TV in the first place?

Flexibility, really. There are many times I do not want or need to fire up my 5.1 surround system ad would rather just turn on the TV and keep it as quite and simple as possible in the living room. For example, my kids watching Netflix TV series shows at 10pm at night, or my 5 year old nieces and nephews watching kids shows over and over and over an over that I'd rather not subject either myself or the 789 to!!!

Interestingly, last night I rented a movie off of VUDU from my Samsung BluRay player that was also supposed to be in DD+, and the 789 also showed it only received 2ch PCM. I know in the past I'd received 5.1 from this configuration from VUDU, so now I'm thinking there must be some sort o setting on the 789 I'm missing. Ugh...

Check that the "Decode Mode" setting (p. 37) is set to "AUTO" and not "PCM."

Hi Rob Taylor, the problem is with Vudu. Some movies like "Gone" (I rented a few weeks back) should have been 5.1 but it only played as 2.0. I played the "Gone" preview and its 2.0 as well. Other movie previews (like Act of Valor) thats 5.1 played as 5.1. So now I watch the preview first before renting.

I have an AVR-1909 that shuts off and will cost too much to fix at this point. I can't find original remote and I am keeping audessey mic.

I do have the small remote. I live in North Dallas area. If someone wants it for parts and can meet me somewhere in my area, you are welcome to it.


No, I will not ship it

I don't have the box. If one responds in the next couple of days. I will just donate.

Thanks

I want/need your 2nd remote as mine does not have one. I will pay you for. It and shipping. Pm me and we can arrange it.

Is there a way to set the 789 to its factory, default settings? I might try that route and start from the beginning again.

Yes ... follow p. 60 in your Owner's manual.

My 3 1/2 year old Denon AVR 1909 worked fine yesterday. This morning I tried to play a CD---no sound. Turned on the TV: no sound or picture. Same with Blu-Ray player and tuner. I rebooted the processor, but I cannot even get the on-screen menu to appear on the TV monitor. All my components are linked up by HDMI, except for the CD player, The receiver itself seems to be behaving normally; it lights up and everything. But it doesn't seem to be talking to anything else in the system. Am I missing something really obvious? Any help would be much appreciated.

Either blow compressed air into your headphone jack or plug/unplug a 1/4" plug into the jack to fix this problem.

This only works for the audio side. The OP says the video is messed up as well. With everything being connected via HDMI, the 1st thing to check for is loose or disconnected cables.

Ah, yes. I read CD no sound and jumped the gun. Yup, probably a loose or bad HDMI cable or bad HDMI port on TV or AVR?

Thanks for the replies. I have had the headphone jack problem in the past, but blowing compressed air did not help today. I just switched the HDMI cable between the TV and the unit without any result. This is not looking good....

Hi ochsfan, try a different HDMI input on tv. Also try a soft reset by unpluging power cord for a few minutes.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I spoke to a Denon representative this morning, and he was not able to shed any light on the matter. Looks like it's going into the shop.

Can you try a different source AND television to rulle those out 100%?

The TV seems to be working fine. When I plug my cable box into the TV directly (via the same HDMI cable), it all operates perfectly. As I said in my original post, I cycled through all my components, including a CD player that was linked to the unit via optical cable, before resetting the unit: nothing responded.This is pretty disappointing; when I pay six hundred bucks for a piece of hardware, I expect it to last more than 3.5 years.....

If your repair bill is estimated to be > $200, you would be better served with a newer 1912 or 2112CI, both of which over networking and airplay.

Denon AVR 1909 going crazy.
Solution: Blow into the headphone jack!
Amazing!
Amazing that it worked!
Amazing that someone had the answer!
Amazing that I found it on the forum in less than 5 min!
Thanks!

I don't know...I just dropped the unit off at an official Denon service center which is charging me $90.00 to tell me what's wrong with it. If (as I fear) the unit is shot, I'll be pretty hesitant about sending Denon any more of my business.

Actually heard back from the Denon service center this afternoon: pretty quick turnaround. They say the HDMI board is shot, and want to know if I want them to ship it to the Denon factory for refurbishment. It will cost me $130.00 on top of the $90.00 I paid for the diagnosis. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of repair, and whether it's worth pursuing? I've been generally happy with the receiver, and am not particularly anxious to go out and buy a new one. On the other hand, I don't want to throw good money away on a repair that has a record of failure.

I too am attached to my 1909, however if it was to break I would pick up a leftover discounted '12 model, or maybe even a leftover, returned or refurbed '11 model. There are some great deals out there. Amazon had the 3312Ci on a one-day deal at $550 a while back. I should have grabbed one. I doubt I will see a deal like that again?

Generally most shops will apply the diagnosis cost to the final repairs. You might try telling them no thanks and you will just buy a new one and see what they will do for you. Course they don't care since they will get their $90 unless you leave it with them and they are probably just passing on the Denon factory cost to you anyhow. That is a tough call, but I barely have that much into my 1909 when purchased new, so I'm not the best to ask.

I little bird did tell me that someone here just acquired a 1909/789 for cheep that probably has a good HDMI board that should not be too hard to swap out. Just say'en.

Sorry for all the posts. I would say that generally repairs like this can be a crap shoot. If there is an underlying issue with the AVR, like say overheating, poor placement, air flow etc. you might have the problem again. You might not and it could be good for another 20 years. Most parts would be refurbished anyway and may have a worse or better MTBF than your original board. Did you actually take it in for repair or just speak them on the phone? If it did not go in they might be guessing. My local shop generally has a 1-2 week wait before they can even look at stuff.

I hate to be a pessimist, but rarely have I ever had anything electronic repaired that lasted long after being "fixed". Most times the problem does not get resolved at all or fails again shortly after. 99% of electronics failure is due to cold solder joints, poor build quality and poor QC on components, probably in that order. The big exception has been Denon. My Denon stuff has outlasted everything else and when "repaired" has not had further issues. Not so with Sony, Samsung, Motorola and Apple products. Apple stuff is great, but IF and when it finally breaks throw it out esp. if it is a laptop.

The shop, which is an authorized Denon Service Center, did check the machine, and said the HDMI board was the only problem they could find. They're just a repair shop; they don't sell audio equipment. They have to ship the unit to Denon to have the board refurbished. It will cost $130.00, in addition to the $90.00 I paid them for the diagnosis. There's at least some warranty, probably ninety days, that comes with the service. When I asked if they thought the unit had overheated, they said they didn't see any sign of that, and that's consistent with the way I've treated it----there's plenty of ventilation where it's placed. At this point, I'm inclined to go for the repair. The unit fits my needs well. I use it for listening to music as much as for TV and movies, and I like the sound it puts out. Also, 130 bucks isn't going to get me very far toward a new, comparable receiver. And at this point, I'm not particularly attracted to most of the new features on the latest models. I'm not a huge networking guy, and I don't listen to MP3s or music that I store on my computer. Heck, I don't even use an Ipod. I'm really an old-fashioned, physical media kind of guy, and so features like Airplay don't strike me as particularly necessary. I realize it's a crap shoot, but it's one I'm inclined to take unless I hear a good reason not to.

Sounds like a great plan. Like I said, I am way attached to my 1909 and some of the features and inputs that are lacking on newer low-mid line Denon's. Like you I am primarily a physical media guy and have always been one. When MP3s, iPods than iTunes became all the rage, I just bought and sourced more physical CDs. Now that streaming is popular I find used media that is much better quality for cheep. Takes up space, but I can actually see what I have invested in rather than just see and hear the output. Plus I like the smell that a fresh new BD or CD has when you first open it up.

Good luck with the repair and I did not mean to insinuate that you had treated your baby carelessly. I just know that overheating has been an issue for some as this puppy can get quite warm. I considered frying eggs on mine after an all night bender with my system when the boss was away running a race a couple weeks back. I certainly could have after running it almost full tilt for like 6 hours straight. Mine has plenty of airflow also and I use open cabinets. Good thing it is in a cool basement. Speaking of which, the boss has gone to bed, so time to sneak the new Mirage center out of the trunk of the car and down into the man cave. I will have to wait until tomorrow to calibrate it.

I have a 2309CI and have been happy with it. Batpig and others have been a great help. Unfortunitely, I am losing my hearing and have trouble understanding talking on Netflix movies. It seems like background music is too loud. I have increased volume on the center channel a bit on my Energy center speaker and am running Netflix through HDMI from my Lg Blue ray player and using Cinema Mode on the Denon. I have run the audssey setup on my 5-1 speakers. Is there any manual adjustments (like trebel-base) that might help me or is it just lousy audoi coming from Netflix 2 channel?

Try lowering the input level on the HDMI connection that you are using for your BD player (I assume you are streaming NF from it?). If you are using Dynamic EQ and Volume (and you should) it may be boosting things too much (red LED for DynEQ only green for both it and DynVol). By lowering the input you will fool the AVR into thinking that you are listening at a higher volume and it will tame back the various boosts etc. I have had this issue on occasion, but not since I upgraded my center. Try fooling with the various settings for DynVol also (day, evening, midnight). I have found that sometimes evening or midnight can help this issue somewhat. I still have some issues with ABC shows if there is music in the surrounds. Either they do a strange mix or my local affiliate has things messed up (based on my dealings with then and the bastardized way they get their station onto the local Comcast connection I suspect the latter since I think Disney/ABC knows how to mix TV sound?).

Try setting it to -10 first and adjust as needed. If your center is positioned and calibrated correctly you should not have to mess with the input on a BD player with movies, but streaming with NF might be at a higher than normal level? I have also found that for some reason listening to 2-channel PCM or DD input and PLIIx seems to have sometimes more intelligible speech than with 5.1 and 7.1 inputs. Does not make sense, but I have experienced it none the less. Also I find that the over all output volume is greater when decoding 2-channel rather than multi-channel. I have tried this out by forcing my cable box to PCM and pass-thru etc. Also often if I record a show with the DVR it is in DD 5.1, but if I happen to miss a recording often the OnDemand version is in 2-channel PLII rather than DD5.1. This is almost always true for me with USA and SyFy network shows. The DD5.1 sounds better overall, but the 2.0 is often easier to hear, probably due to the increased volume. I also detect volume differences between OnDemand streaming and live on cable broadcasts of the same material on the same channel (HBO, Starz, Showtime etc.).