Onkyo TX-NR807 Official Thread - Page 71

I've been reading this forum and have been contemplating on getting the 807. I currently have a Harman Kardon AVR 354 and I'm not really happy with it. I've done 2 upgrades to it which is a pain because you have to do the upgrade through a RS-232 plug in the back. The last upgrade handshake issues have just gotten worse. And it isn't that powerful of a receiver. Tech support isn't helpful. And I am a Mac user.

On the 807 I like the ethernet port on the back. Yet I did notice it also has a RS-232 plug as well. I don't plan on using the receiver to get music through the port for I have a Logitech Squeezebox(great thing).

So when you upgrade do strictly do it through the network jack? And why does it have a RS-232 plug? Any advice or answers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

Today I got the 807. After trying both a Yamaha RX-V2065 and a Denon AVR-3310CI, I was immediately impressed by how the on screen setup seems a lot more responsive and quicker to get in/out of menus than on those two other receivers.
I completed the Audyssey setup, the results were accurate except for the subwoofer, which is locatet next to the FR speaker at ~9.5ft, and it set a distance of ~17ft.
However, my only problem right now is that I can't get HDMI from my computer to work. With both the Yamaha and Denon receivers I had no problems passing video/audio from my computer to the receiver, and passing through the video to the monitor. Including Dolby Digital/DTS audio. With the Onkyo, nothing seems to happen when I plug the HDMI connection. Usually, my computer would detect the display device, either I'll see the receiver name, or the name of the display. I've tried a couple of things in my computer but it can't detect it. And the manual isn't of much help by just saying that "video signals from a PC are not guaranteed".
Is any one else having this problem? Any solutions?
Thanks in advance.

I don't have a 807 but I would think that all upgrades for it would be through the Ethernet port. The RS232 plug is also there for other applications such as some custom installs.

I have a Motorola HD Att Uverse Box, has anyone discovered a code that will work with the 807 receiver? Please post if you do, thank you!

OK ... thanks for the link and I will check that out.

They are really trying to kill this off aren't they?

I have to agree, the only other function of HDMI 1.4, is the audio return functionality if you have an antenna hooked directly up to the TV, you can return audio to your receiver. I sort of doubt there are all that many people doing that, and you could just use an RCA to return that audio anyway. It's also for TV's with built-in DVD players, but really how many people will be using a TV like that with a receiver like the 807?

The only feature that might matter in 1.4 is the 3D, but as others have said it will probably be a few years till that matters much, and you will likely need to buy a new TV anyway. If you have an existing 3D-ready TV, like a DLP RP, you will likely need to use a converter box, which will probably be HDMI 1.3 compatible and might work through existing receivers. (The converter is what I'm hoping for, if it involves me buying a new TV instead, then I won't be worrying about it for about 4-5 years until either there's a lot of good 3D content out, or it has blown over again as just another 3D fad come and gone).

Ethernet over HDMI 1.4. Who cares? My PS3 and 807 both do Ethernet already. If I had a TV with a built in browser or something I'm sure it would have an Ethernet port. Why would I need Ethernet to be transmitted over HDMI? I would just buy a hub or switch if I needed additional connections.

As for the timeline, it's not next year. Onkyo has stated they will be releasing HDMI 1.4 receivers this spring, and not just on their high-end models, all new models released will have HDMI 1.4.

That is correct, all firmware updates are through the Ethernet port, which works great. The RS-232 is just for integration with other home automation type things, like pushing My Movies on the remote and having the blinds automatically come down and the lights dim and stuff like that. I don't need to worry about that though, I would hazard a guess that most other 807 owners don't either.

Let me start by saying that I agree that I would rather have additional money spent on a receiver go to better SQ than to additional features I'll never use, after all, just how many Faroudja processors do I need? It seems like there's one in everything I buy. Saying that however, it does seem like the audio receiver/HDMI switcher is the best place to have one, as then you would only need one. Anyway though, the reason I posted is that although HDTV's can display SD signals, it doesn't mean they are upscaling them. Simply scaling them to fill the available pixels is not the same as upscaling. So the picture you see, going through the 807's Faroudja upscaler should be better than the picture from plugging your sat/cab box directly into the TV, which simply scales it to fill the space.

So what are you saying? You would buy something else for SQ. Seems like you feel the Onkyo is loading with stuff you will never use and the SQ is not its strong side. Please explain..Im confused.

I really hesitate to even bring this up ..... but ..... well ..... the other day I was messing around with yet more adjustments to my 807 when I came upon something I totally forgot was there: a setting called MAXIMUM VOLUME. Where is it? It is in the MISCELLANEOUS menu ... then go into 1- Volume Setup. From there Max Volume is the 3rd menu choice. From what I can gather, this clever setting allows those of us who are parents of teenagers to control the max volume of the 807 and in effect turn the sound down so as to protect our speakers from damage during our absence.

It is a real long-shot, but what if this setting was somehow activated when the bench test was done? I would bet at least 10 organic cheeseburgers that the Home Theater Magazine reviewer would not have checked this setting ... no one would ... but if this setting was active during the HT bench test, surely it would solve this mystery.

I wish money was no object .... I would be willing to commission another bench test ... just for the heck of it. Of course ... it is highly unlikely that Max volume was active during the HT review ......

What is active ..... is my imagination.

Like I said .... I kinda hesitate to even bring this up .....

Meanwhile I have been messing around with the InteliVolume settings as well as my Speaker Calibration settings, and now I have managed to blend them .... just so .... and thus have been able to obtain more subwoofer output overall (additionally I also used the Audio button on the remote to crank-up the sub, plus turned down the volume on the sub itself so as to not over-drive it). It rained all last week and I kinda had "cabin fever" .... so that gave me a chance to review all of the settings I have made to my 807 .... it sounds pretty hot .....

Very interesting indeed.

Just curious, but when you first discovered the maximum volume function, was it off or was it on? ... the latter state I assume meaning that it is attenuating the output power of the amplifiers(?) In any regard, it's an interesting conjecture, but unless the 807 unit HTM got their hands on for their bench testing already had the maximum volume function activated by someone else (which I agree they probably wouldn't have detected), then it likely would have still been in its off or unattenuated state. Beyond that, we'll probably never know one way or the other (although it seems from the HTM testing results, that the 5 channels driven results were OK, and it's only when they drove all 7 channels that the power/channel dropped-off precipitously, and I assume having the maximum volume function inadvertently activated would have knocked-down all of the results across the board).

But betting "10 organic cheeseburgers"? ... geeze, that's no fun, and I'm not taking that bet. Now if it was 10 big beefy & juicy coronary-inducing cheeseburgers, well then, I might bite.

I just unpacked my 807 friday and I think when I went into this setting about the max volume limit it was default at 0. I'm not 100% positive but I think this was where it was at. I went back into it and changed it to +6 and believe the max is +17 or 18. So, yes if they left it at the default it would have limited the outcome of their results IMO.

The max vol theory doesn't explain how the 807 would do OK on 2-channel test and 5-channel test then drop drastically on the 7-ch test.

HT quote:
"This graph shows that the TX-NR807's left channel, from CD input to speaker output with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 143.6 watts and 1 percent distortion at 168.7 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 240.2 watts and 1 percent distortion at 267.9 watts."

The answer I got back from Onkyo on the HT test was that the protection circuit kicked in because of the sine wave test on all 7 channels and this would not occur in real world use. I haven't gotten an answer back yet on why the 807 went into protection in this test and not other receivers including the 876.

I just set up a new 807 with new PSB Image speakers in a 5.1 set up as follows:

Fronts - 2 x T5 (towers)
Centre - 1 x C5
Surr - 2 x B4 (bookshelf)
Sub - 1 x 5i

I have tried running Audessey a few times and it does not configure the subwoofer. I did bypass the LFE filter for the calibration but I don't even hear a test tone from it during the calibration cycle. When I go into the speaker configuration after trying Audyssey it shows that there is no subwoofer, so I change that to "Yes" and I am able to hear sound out of the sub, so it seems to be connected properly and working. Audyssey also set my front towers to Full Band and I was wondering if that was causing the 807 to send all the low end to the fronts and not even use the sub. I suspect I'm doing something wrong so any suggestions on sub setup with Audyssey would be much appreciated. Thanks

agreed. plus i think there's already been a hint that the 807 will be somewhat upgradeable via firmware to somewhat support 1.4 or at least understand what it is. the hint is in the current "bug" where you have to unplug/plug certain tv's hdmi in to get the 807's ethernet working. i say this with 10% certainty.

Sorry, I didn't mean to be confusing. The Onkyo's definitely are the feature leaders at this price point. I don't think anything else has Ethernet, Audyssey MultEQ and Audyssey DSX at this price point, not to mention a plethora of HDMI inputs, etc. I actually expected to be giving something up in SQ versus a similarly priced Pioneer Elite SC-25, however I was actually pleasantly surprised that to my ears, the Onkyo sounded noticeably better. I also thought it compared favorably to the higher priced Denon 3310, where it came down to a preference for detail and clarity in the Onkyo (not bright though) or the warmth of the Denon. Actually, I think the Onkyo ended up being at just the right level for amount of stuff. The ethernet firmware update is fantastic, the bi-amping sounds great through my Wharfedale 9.4s, and I really like being able to use Pandora for when I just want some music flowing through the house. I was initially disappointed when looking at receivers at this price point, that each jump up in price seemed to add things like the video processing, which realistically I won't be using, however, when trying to look at it from a viewpoint other than my own, the receiver is the logical place to put an upconverting chip, since all the devices that feed through it could use it (or just put it in the TV... and I think higher-end TV's do come with good ones). Still confused? Me too. I think the Onkyo has a good mix of features to satisfy a wide group of customers, and of course every person won't use every feature, but the price is reasonable, and the sound quality is simply stellar at this price. Even moreso at the price of the HT-RC180, which is for all intents and purposes the same receiver minus some esoteric features, and although it's rated at 25W/Ch lower, I believe that is just for marketing purposes so as not to cannibalize sales of it's higher priced sibling. After all, it has the same power supply and same capacitors, and even weighs the same.

I've owned digital cameras for over 10 years now - the one thing I've learned is you cannot improve a picture taken at 1000x800 resolution by scaling it up to 2000x1600 - although you can scale it up. Some software does a better job than other software.

All flat screen LCD & plasma HDTVs have what is called native resolution - its the resolution that it will display any signal coming to it - it cannot display in any other resolution. So a signal coming in at 480i will be scaled up to the NR of that display - be it 720P or 1080i/P. Some displays and AVRs do a great job - some not so great. Projectors I'm not familiar with.

Like I said - why buy an AVR for its video processing ability when this capability is already inside your HDTV? Buy one with video pass through.

You can read more about that here.

By bypassing the LFE filter do you mean turning the subwoofer setting to Off? or turning the LFE sub setting up to 120 Hz or what. Just have the subwoofer set to yes, and the subwoofer LFE set to 80Hz(THX), then run the Audyssey setup, you should not be trying to bypass the subwoofer or the LFE or anything during Audyssey setup, it knows what to do. I think by trying to bypass the LFE filter for the calibration, you inadvertently told Audyssey that you have no sub, hence no test tones. Good luck.

Which is what I said, when I stated that HDTVs simply scale the signal up to fill the pixels. It makes a picture that you can see, but not as good a picture as is possible, hence the reason for upscalers that do some intelligent anti-aliasing, edge enhancement etc. to make the picture more enjoyable to watch. I agree with you that it's no substitute for the actual higher resolution image, but it can look better than a lower resolution image that is simply stretched to fit, which is what you get if you just plug in a sat/cab box with no upscaling, into a typical HDTV. Else why do you think people like the look of pictures from an upconverting DVD player compared to a regular DVD player when plugged into their HDTV? Are you saying it's just a placebo effect?

Wow, that's a lot of misinformation.

To date, 480i (Standard Definition), 720p (HD) and 1080i (HD) are the only broadcast resolutions. There is no 720i standard. There will be no 1080p broadcast for the foreseeable future.

http://www.cnet.com/1990-7874_1-5119938-1.html#abc

If I'm incorrect, please post a source.

Thanks for the reply Mountain. I think there is a bit of a terminology problem in my manual. Here's what I meant in regard to the LFE bypass. The sub manual calls it the LFE Input/Crossover Bypass switch. The description says that when the switch is set to active the low pass filter is bypassed so I set it to active which is what the manual says to do if the sub is connected to a receiver whose output is low pass filtered which I assume the 807 is. The Onkyo manual says to set the low pass filter to off which should be the same as bypassed I expect.

I'll try your suggestions and see how it goes.

even your own link says there is a on-demand channel that broadcasts in 1080P...
DirectTV now has channels in 1080P.. no link for Ya But the online guide states the channels in 1080P on the channel selection ..Just watched "The Hangover NR" on one of HD1080P channels ............
;p

Let me clarify... No NETWORKS (ABC, CBS, ESPN, FOX, etc..) will broadcast in 1080p in the foreseeable future.

Just because Direct TV sends 1080p content doesn't mean it's going to be Blu-ray quality. Also, just because something comes to you in 1080p signal doesn't mean it was shot in 1080p. They're up-converting just like your TV (or AVR) does. True 1080p would mean new cameras and infrastructure for all the shows and networks. Not going to happen any time soon...

http://gizmodo.com/5031461/dish-netw...e-but-unlikely

Okay, I see what you mean. Yes, if you can bypass the crossover on your sub, go ahead and do so, you can also turn the crossover dial all the way up just in case. If you're following the directions, you should be fine.

Maybe someone could answer this question about the 807. I e-mailed Onkyo and their response was less than convincing.

Can MP3's from the Ethernet input be played over Zone 2?

Onkyo says yes, but the manual also says analog only over Zone 2, so I'm confused...

Thanks.

Karl

I think the network functionality gray out is a common problem. Per instructions from Onkyo, turning off the receiver and unplugging the network cable, then plugging back in worked for me. Didn't have to do a hard reset. Don't think it's a defective unit, just think it's a software issue. Their caching network information. I see it when I go into the DLNA server function. I renamed my DLNA server, and the Onkyo has both names on the list. The old and the new. No apparent way to get rid of the old. So since it is a software issue, I'd guess they'd fix it in a future software release.

I am running a Windows server with DNS. I have never come across any network problem in this thread!
Some time could be the cache proble of your router! Similiar like the workgroup appear in your network place. It just takes a while to let go!

Y'know, I did notice that the network functions, and Remote Control and Firmware update are grayed out, if I go to them right after I turn the system on. At first I freaked out a little, then I thought it might just need some time to make the connection, waited a minute, went back into Setup and everything was as it should be, not grayed out. Perhaps you just need to give it time to establish the network connection? or maybe I haven't done enough network stuff with it yet to run into the problems you've seen. I like to hope it's the simpler solution though...

Yes .... I would have to agree with your point of view, all things considered