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*Official* Denon AVR 1909/789 Thread - Page 372

post #11131 of 11204
12/27/12 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdsmoothie View Post

Most likely find just using DD PLII - Cinema works best for both movies and music. smile.gif

Thanks, that is what I thought and what has worked in the past. However years ago when I got my first Denon that had the PLII Music mode I found a number of CDs that sound quite interesting with in surround sound. I suspect that is the best use for this function. Dire Straits Love Over Gold was one particular one that sounded quite good. I read that for full effect you needed the re-memstered version, but I found that the original release sounds quite good in surround as well.
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post #11132 of 11204
12/27/12 at 9:41am
Folks are always asking ... "what setting should I use?" ... and the answer is generally always ... "whatever sounds best to you" (regardless of whatever the standard recommendation might be). smile.gif
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post #11133 of 11204
12/27/12 at 5:29pm
Haven't messed with any 1909 configuring in a long time. Not having any luck remembering anything.

So, I got an Xbox 360 for Xmas. I removed a DVD player that I had on HDMI 1 DVD. My plan is to hook the Xbox to that but first I need to get e DVD player back up and running.

I connected the DVD player to Component 3 TV/CBL and to Coax 1 DVD on the rear of the 1909.
I'm lost on how to go into the settings on e 1909 and map the DVD player to the component and coax listed above.

I go into the 1909 on screen menu, then to Input Setup. Several are already in use so I went to CD. Under Assign I set Digital 1 to coax 1. Under Video I set to Tv/CBL. I know that's wrong but I'm unsure of why I can't select Component 3. I only chose tv/CBL because that's what's listed on the back of the 1909 for the component 3. Can I not assign component 3 to the CD setting??
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post #11134 of 11204
12/27/12 at 6:02pm
I'm searching here and online furiously because my wife has taken over e tv so no more tinkering for a while. But is it possible I just can't assign any more vid type sources? I already have a blue ray (Hdmi), wii (component), Wd TV live (Hdmi). I also have a cable box but I'm wondering if I have it incorrectly connected or rather, left some older settings is the denon from the way I use to have it connects.

I use to have it Hdmi into the denon just like the other equipment. Somewhere along the line I connected it straight to the TV via Hdmi but I ran an optical back to the denon for audio/surround sound. But I'm confused. When i turn my input to my cable box,it displays Comcast note front of the 1909 so that's right. But am I right to think I could switch that "Comcast" setting to the above mentioned "cd" settings and then put the DVD settings where the Comcast is now? You know, since the Comcast is really only using sound??

My head hurts.
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post #11135 of 11204
12/27/12 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by de8212 View Post

Haven't messed with any 1909 configuring in a long time. Not having any luck remembering anything.
So, I got an Xbox 360 for Xmas. I removed a DVD player that I had on HDMI 1 DVD. My plan is to hook the Xbox to that but first I need to get e DVD player back up and running.
I connected the DVD player to Component 3 TV/CBL and to Coax 1 DVD on the rear of the 1909.
I'm lost on how to go into the settings on e 1909 and map the DVD player to the component and coax listed above.
I go into the 1909 on screen menu, then to Input Setup. Several are already in use so I went to CD. Under Assign I set Digital 1 to coax 1. Under Video I set to Tv/CBL. I know that's wrong but I'm unsure of why I can't select Component 3. I only chose tv/CBL because that's what's listed on the back of the 1909 for the component 3. Can I not assign component 3 to the CD setting??

Hi de8212, "CD" input only allow audio assignment (Digital In) and no video assignment.

If TV/CBL input name is not assign to anything then go into Menu then Input Setup and at top right corner select < TV/CBL >.
Then scroll down and click "Assign"

HDMI In < None >

Digital In < COAX-1 >

Component In < 3-RCA >

iPod Dock < None >
Edited by JChin - 12/27/12 at 9:29pm
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post #11136 of 11204
12/27/12 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by de8212 View Post

I'm searching here and online furiously because my wife has taken over e tv so no more tinkering for a while. But is it possible I just can't assign any more vid type sources? I already have a blue ray (Hdmi), wii (component), Wd TV live (Hdmi). I also have a cable box but I'm wondering if I have it incorrectly connected or rather, left some older settings is the denon from the way I use to have it connects.
I use to have it Hdmi into the denon just like the other equipment. Somewhere along the line I connected it straight to the TV via Hdmi but I ran an optical back to the denon for audio/surround sound. But I'm confused. When i turn my input to my cable box,it displays Comcast note front of the 1909 so that's right. But am I right to think I could switch that "Comcast" setting to the above mentioned "cd" settings and then put the DVD settings where the Comcast is now? You know, since the Comcast is really only using sound??
My head hurts.

My head hurts as well reading your post biggrin.gif.

If the Comcast box is connected to tv via HDMI and optical from Comcast box to Denon then yes assign it to CD input.
Go to Menu then Input Setup and at top right corner select < CD >
Then scroll down and click "Assign"

Digital In < OPT-1 or OPT-2 > whichever its plugged into

iPod Dock < None >

Note: also rename yur input source
Edited by JChin - 12/27/12 at 8:41pm
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post #11137 of 11204
12/28/12 at 12:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JChin View Post

My head hurts as well reading your post biggrin.gif.
If the Comcast box is connected to tv via HDMI and optical from Comcast box to Denon then yes assign it to CD input.
Go to Menu then Input Setup and at top right corner select < CD >
Then scroll down and click "Assign"
Digital In < OPT-1 or OPT-2 > whichever its plugged into
iPod Dock < None >
Note: also rename yur input source

Thanks. For more "head hurting" questions, is there any disadvantage to assigning my cable box (Comcast DVR, actually) to the CD input? I've never really messed around with the various sound modes (stereo, Dolby whatever, etc) the way my cable box is set up now but was curious if I could get better surround sound out of it. Just want to make sure I'm not limiting myself in some way.

Also, I'm gonna go through all the settings again tomorrow but what is the maximum # of "video" devices the 1909 can handle?

I'm starting to think a new AVR is in my future.
Edited by de8212 - 12/28/12 at 1:00am
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post #11138 of 11204
12/28/12 at 1:14am
I have a Roku 2 XS that I configured to output 1080p via HDMI. However, my AVR-789 does not seem to down convert correctly to my TV's resolution (1080i). At boot up it only comes up as 480p over HDMI.

For now, I am using the 720p setting on my Roku 2 XS and it does show up as 720p on the TV, as expected. This setting is permanent and does not revert back to 480p.

How do I troubleshoot this down converting condition? Is it the Roku 2 XS doing something weird or is there something on the AVR-789 that I can enforce for 1080i over HDMI.

So far, I have used another Sony media player which I configured for 1080p and it has no issues with the AVR-789 HDMI down converting successfully to 1080i. For this simple test, I am using the exact same HDMI connector, and simply swapping out the devices back and forth.

Any advice is most appreciated. Thanks!
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post #11139 of 11204
12/28/12 at 1:39am
Have you tried changing the resolution setting from "Auto" to "1080i" on the 789? Can your TV receive a 1080p signal?
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post #11140 of 11204
12/28/12 at 6:19am
First of all, unless you have an old CRT display your tv likely has a 720p native resolution, not 1080i. Almost all HDTVs are fixed pixel progressive displays, not interlaced.

Seoncd, the receiver cannot down convert from 1080p. If your TV cannot accept a 1080p signal input, likely what is happening is that your Sony media player is detecting this and automatically disabling 1080p output. You can confirm this by going into the OSD of the receiver and checking the HDMI info in the "Information" menu. It will report both the input and output resolution.

Bottom line: if your TV cannot accept a 1080p input, you must configure the SOURCE devices to a lower resolution output. The receiver cannot down convert from 1080p, period.
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post #11141 of 11204
12/28/12 at 6:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by de8212 View Post

Thanks. For more "head hurting" questions, is there any disadvantage to assigning my cable box (Comcast DVR, actually) to the CD input? I've never really messed around with the various sound modes (stereo, Dolby whatever, etc) the way my cable box is set up now but was curious if I could get better surround sound out of it. Just want to make sure I'm not limiting myself in some way.
Also, I'm gonna go through all the settings again tomorrow but what is the maximum # of "video" devices the 1909 can handle?
I'm starting to think a new AVR is in my future.



Well, I called Denon to see if they had any ideas or to see if my thinking was correct. Nice guy and all but he said he didn't even have the 1909 documentation so he had no idea if I had reached the max # of video devices. cool.gif

Then I mentioned my idea of running the audio only of my Comcast DVR cable box to the CD assignable slot in the denon menu. He said that would work and said there would be no issues with the surround sound formats or whatever.

So, just to make sure, does anyone see any disadvantage? I really hate to get in the and change all this stuff only to have to change it back.

So, I guess that's my plan tonight.

Would my other option possibly be an Hdmi switcher? I really don't want more devices but if there is one that works without issue and isn't terribly expensive I might consider.
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post #11142 of 11204
12/28/12 at 11:07am
Have you read through my setup guide? I have a whole section on input setup.

The key thing to understand is that the input NAMES are the limiting factor. Regardless of what physical inputs are on the back, the available names control what you can select independently. If you look in the manual under input setup, or just look at the back of the receiver, you can see what names are available.

In this case, you have TV/CBL, DVD, VCR, HDP, CD, and CDR/TAPE. That's six total. The last two are audio-only inputs, so you have FOUR names to which you can assign video inputs. If you are willing to bypass the receiver for video with certain sources, then you can use an audio only inputs like CD and give yourself up to all six unique names.

Alternately, your can also "stack" inputs on a name, provided they use different connections. For example, since the Xbox 360 is HDMI and the Wii uses component, you could combine them both on the "VCR" input and rename it "GAME" or something. This would involve coordinating all connections to be assigned to VCR; when the Xbox is on, it will take priority as the HDMI source. If it is off, the component video connection will be active as the next highest priority.

So for example, if you want the receiver to do all the switching, you could do this (starting with the names):

TV/CBL = cable box (component video & digital audio)
DVD = blu ray player (HDMI)
HDP = WDTV (HDMI)
VCR = Xbox 360 (HDMI) and Wii (component video + analog audio)

Or you could do what you were proposing and just put the cable box on CD as an audio only input, running video straight to the TV, thus freeing up the TV/CBL input name for one of the video games.
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post #11143 of 11204
12/28/12 at 2:28pm
Thank you Batpig

I have looked at your site but, admittedly, it's been a while.

I like your idea better about "sharing" names. I'm just gonna rip everything out and start fresh. I'm gonna map it all out on paper and hopefully start tonight.

One issue I may have not been clear on. I also have a regular Phillips DVD player. The kids use it. So, I'll need to find a home for it. Can I use the TV/Cable Component and digital connections for my Phillips DVD player?

Keep in mind I won't be able to connect the cable box video directly to the Denon (long story). So that will be Cable Box (HDMI to LCD and digital audio to Denon).



So, does this make sense or am I still confused?

Comcast DVR = HDMI straight to TV

CD = (digital audio) for Comcast Audio Only
TV/CBL = Phillips DVD (Component video and digital audio)
DVD = blu ray player (HDMI)
HDP = WDTV (HDMI)
VCR = Xbox 360 (HDMI) and Wii (component video + analog audio)



TV/CBL name will be changed to DVD
CD will be Comcast
DVD will be Blu Ray
HDP will be WD TV Live
VCR will be Game
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post #11144 of 11204
12/28/12 at 4:45pm
Sounds good! smile.gif

Although if you are starting from scratch, why not make the DVD as..... DVD? Then use Tv/CBL for the Blu ray player, and you only have to rename one of them!

The other option would be to stack the Blu-ray player (HDMI) and DVD player (component + digital audio) together on the DVD input, since they serve similar functions and will likely never both be on at the same time. That would free up a video name if you want to add another device at some point.
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post #11145 of 11204
12/28/12 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by batpig View Post

Sounds good! smile.gif
Although if you are starting from scratch, why not make the DVD as..... DVD? Then use Tv/CBL for the Blu ray player, and you only have to rename one of them!
The other option would be to stack the Blu-ray player (HDMI) and DVD player (component + digital audio) together on the DVD input, since they serve similar functions and will likely never both be on at the same time. That would free up a video name if you want to add another device at some point.

Wow, nice timing. Just got home and almost ready to start dismantling my AV rack.

I guess I could leave DVD as DVD but I'm pretty sure I've already renamed it something else anyway.

So, I could stack the DVD Player and Blu Ray on DVD and I could also stack the Xbox and Wii on VCR?

thank you so much.
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post #11146 of 11204
12/28/12 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by batpig View Post

Have you read through my setup guide? I have a whole section on input setup.
The key thing to understand is that the input NAMES are the limiting factor. Regardless of what physical inputs are on the back, the available names control what you can select independently. If you look in the manual under input setup, or just look at the back of the receiver, you can see what names are available.
In this case, you have TV/CBL, DVD, VCR, HDP, CD, and CDR/TAPE. That's six total. The last two are audio-only inputs, so you have FOUR names to which you can assign video inputs. If you are willing to bypass the receiver for video with certain sources, then you can use an audio only inputs like CD and give yourself up to all six unique names.
Alternately, your can also "stack" inputs on a name, provided they use different connections. For example, since the Xbox 360 is HDMI and the Wii uses component, you could combine them both on the "VCR" input and rename it "GAME" or something. This would involve coordinating all connections to be assigned to VCR; when the Xbox is on, it will take priority as the HDMI source. If it is off, the component video connection will be active as the next highest priority.
So for example, if you want the receiver to do all the switching, you could do this (starting with the names):
TV/CBL = cable box (component video & digital audio)
DVD = blu ray player (HDMI)
HDP = WDTV (HDMI)
VCR = Xbox 360 (HDMI) and Wii (component video + analog audio)
Or you could do what you were proposing and just put the cable box on CD as an audio only input, running video straight to the TV, thus freeing up the TV/CBL input name for one of the video games.

Hey Bat... you forgot about V.Aux. The 1909/789 has 5 audio/video inputs; TV/CBL, DVD, VCR, HDP and V.Aux. I know HDMI can be assigned to all of them except for DVD. I haven't tinkered with assigning them there, but I assume you can. I use my DVD input for my old Sammy DVD/SACD/DVD-Audio player and run the video direct to the TV and SPDIF copper to one of the coax inputs.
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post #11147 of 11204
12/28/12 at 8:32pm
Oh shoot you are right! Forgot about VAUX!! Nice catch.

That said, I'll get you back on a gotcha... I'm pretty confident you can assign HDMI to the DVD input since that's the default for HDMI-1!
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post #11148 of 11204
12/28/12 at 8:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by batpig View Post

Oh shoot you are right! Forgot about VAUX!! Nice catch.
That said, I'll get you back on a gotcha... I'm pretty confident you can assign HDMI to the DVD input since that's the default for HDMI-1!

Yep, I didn't word that right. I was pretty sure that DVD could be assigned an HDMI, I just could not remember and was to lazy to pick up the remote and check. eek.gif
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post #11149 of 11204
12/28/12 at 10:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by batpig View Post

First of all, unless you have an old CRT display your tv likely has a 720p native resolution, not 1080i. Almost all HDTVs are fixed pixel progressive displays, not interlaced.
Seoncd, the receiver cannot down convert from 1080p. If your TV cannot accept a 1080p signal input, likely what is happening is that your Sony media player is detecting this and automatically disabling 1080p output. You can confirm this by going into the OSD of the receiver and checking the HDMI info in the "Information" menu. It will report both the input and output resolution.
Bottom line: if your TV cannot accept a 1080p input, you must configure the SOURCE devices to a lower resolution output. The receiver cannot down convert from 1080p, period.

thanks for your replies batpig and jdsmoothie,

I should have mentioned but yes, my HDTV is a Sony CRT KD-34XBR970, which I believe, the native resolution is 1080i.

Regardless, what you are saying is that the AVR-789 just cannot down convert from 1080p. I wasn't aware of this even after owning the receiver for so long. Lol!

Thanks for the clarification!
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post #11150 of 11204
12/29/12 at 10:35am
Update

Got everything remapped. It all worked on the first go. So, as mr. Kludge mentioned earlier I still have at least the v.aux left over if I add something else.

I haven't powered on the xbox yet but I'm sure it's fine.

The only potential issue I see is sometimes my kids leave the wii powered on. So, what would happen if the wii was left on (unbeknownst to me) and I used the harmony to change to the xbox? I guess I can test it once I get the xbox up and running.
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post #11151 of 11204
12/29/12 at 10:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by de8212 View Post

The only potential issue I see is sometimes my kids leave the wii powered on. So, what would happen if the wii was left on (unbeknownst to me) and I used the harmony to change to the xbox? I guess I can test it once I get the xbox up and running.

It would be like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters. It would be... bad.

Seriously, I don't know. It never occurred to me to stack inputs, and I'm interested to hear how it goes. I would guess one would take precedence as I think batpig mentioned earlier.
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post #11152 of 11204
12/29/12 at 11:13am
Yes. HDMI will be higher priority. But I like the ghostbusters reference smile.gif
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post #11153 of 11204
12/29/12 at 2:39pm
Well, I spoke (typed) too soon. I'm not getting audio from my DVD player.

So, to recap, Blu Ray is HDMI to the DVD HDMI #1 on the rear of the Denon.
Regular DVD player is on the DVD RCA 1 (component) of the Denon for video. I have tried the digital coax in #1 and # 2 on the back of the denon.
In the Denon menu, under DVD I have HDMI selected (for the blu ray player) and I have RCA 1 (for the regular DVD player). No sound either way. Since the Blu ray player and the regular dvd player are "stacked" with each other I made sure the Blu Ray player was Off before I tried the DVD player.


I do have a spare optical/toslink or whatever you call it I could try on the other input. Might do that later.

Any ideas on what I might have done wrong?

EDIT - Just to troubleshoot, i disconnected the HDMI from the back of the Denon and I went into the configuration and changed HDMI to none for the DVD option. Still got no sound on the DVD player.
And I don't have another toslink cable to try that way. Hopefully there's nothing wrong with my COAX 1 and 2 on the Denon. Not sure if I've ever used them. Or maybe it's the coax cable but it's a spare and unused as far as I know.
Edited by de8212 - 12/29/12 at 4:37pm
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post #11154 of 11204
12/29/12 at 5:53pm
"Regular DVD player is on the DVD RCA 1 (component) of the Denon for video. I have tried the digital coax in #1 and # 2 on the back of the denon.
In the Denon menu, under DVD I have HDMI selected (for the blu ray player) and I have RCA 1 (for the regular DVD player)."

It's not clear to me if you assigned the digital audio to the DVD name. You only mentioned HDMI and component video. Did you actually assign the digital coax audio to the DVD name?
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post #11155 of 11204
12/29/12 at 6:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by batpig View Post

It's not clear to me if you assigned the digital audio to the DVD name. You only mentioned HDMI and component video. Did you actually assign the digital coax audio to the DVD name?

YEs, absolutely. Originally it was connected to Coax 1 on the rear of the denon so I assigned it to coax 1 under the DVD input screen along with RCA1 and HDMI1. Then I physically connected it to Coax 2 and changed it in the denon configuration. Nothing.
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post #11156 of 11204
12/29/12 at 6:46pm
Make sure input mode is set to "auto" for the DVD input. Also try setting it to "digital" which will override the HDMI audio and force it to take the digital audio from optical/coax.
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post #11157 of 11204
12/29/12 at 8:17pm
Thanks. It was already on Auto. I changed it to Digital to test but still got no sound from the DVD player.
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post #11158 of 11204
12/29/12 at 8:42pm
I guess I'm gonna order a toslink cable and see if that might help.

You know, I don't think I've ever used either digital coax input. And I did have to send the denon in a couple of years ago because the Hdmi board went out. Maybe both the coax inputs have been out all this time.

I'm just not sure what else to try.
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post #11159 of 11204
12/30/12 at 1:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by de8212 View Post

I guess I'm gonna order a toslink cable and see if that might help.
You know, I don't think I've ever used either digital coax input. And I did have to send the denon in a couple of years ago because the Hdmi board went out. Maybe both the coax inputs have been out all this time.
I'm just not sure what else to try.

Hi de8212, check to see if the Comcast box has digital coax output ... if so use it as a test unit.
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post #11160 of 11204
12/30/12 at 4:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JChin View Post

Hi de8212, check to see if the Comcast box has digital coax output ... if so use it as a test unit.

I thought about that but it might be easier if the Blu ray has digital coax. My Comcast box is several feet away and I'd have to unplug some other stuff to be able to remove it.
Either way, ill do some more testing today....hopefully.
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AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Receivers, Amps, and Processors › *Official* Denon AVR 1909/789 Thread