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The "Official" Pioneer VSX-1020-K Owner's Thread - Page 129

post #3841 of 4365
12/5/11 at 9:22am
Neutro wrote "Sorry about that, I really don't know what that could be. And honestly I'd be surprised if it was the cables. One thing to try though: what happens in the following cases?

1. If you connect your PC directly to your TV
2. If you connect your PC directly on a computer display with HDMI
3. If you connect your PC directly on a computer display with DVI or VGA
4. If you connect your PC on the 1020 and the 1020 to a computer display"


So I got a new cable, waited for the dreaded green pixels to appear...which didn't take very long...and switched out the cables. And the green pixels disappeared! We watched several shows online with no pixels. Then I installed the cable downstairs in the crawlspace...which took a while with new drilling b/c the cable head was a tad larger than the old one...and proceeded to watch some internet content. Netflix streaming was fine and then watched CBS...and the pixels reappeared!!

Now I have a problem. Not sure why the pixels went away and stayed away for a while by switching cables. I didn't test the cable directly to the TV (bypassing the pioneer) b/c I thought the new cable solved the problem. And after spending some time with Pioneer online and on the phone, I still don't know where I can take my pioneer in.

So, now my plan is...
--Try to find a service center nearby Southern Oregon...any thoughts??
--Wait for pixels to reappear and take the cable out of the crawlspace (not enough slack to get to the HDTV the way it's set up now) and connect directly to the TV.
--Research whether it could be my video card...Radeon 5770

Do you know if I can open the ticket on the phone before my warrant expires (in 2 wks) in case it takes a while to find a svc center? The guy on the phone today didn't seem like that was possible until I got it to the svc center.

Thanks for any help!!
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #3842 of 4365
12/5/11 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by civilsurfer View Post

Now I have a problem. Not sure why the pixels went away and stayed away for a while by switching cables. I didn't test the cable directly to the TV (bypassing the pioneer) b/c I thought the new cable solved the problem.

It should still be your first course of action IMHO. If you do see green pixels with your Pio out of the loop, then you don't have to worry about finding and sending the Pio to a service center.

Quote:
--Research whether it could be my video card...Radeon 5770

I really don't know about that but I have a feeling it may be it. If you search for "green pixels" in google, most talk about video card problems. It may be a faulty card, or an underpowered card, or a driver problem... That being said, don't take my word for it.

Quote:
Do you know if I can open the ticket on the phone before my warrant expires (in 2 wks) in case it takes a while to find a svc center? The guy on the phone today didn't seem like that was possible until I got it to the svc center.

I really don't know but I'd definitely ask that the call be recorded or the problem noted, just in case. But at the moment you see green pixels without the Pioneer in the loop, you'd be fixed on that front.
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post #3843 of 4365
12/6/11 at 10:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

It may be because of the cable, but not necessarily. Is that heavy gauge or small gauge? Use at least 16-gauge and you should be ok, even if 75 ft is rather long. My surround backs use 50 ft of 16-gauge wire and the 1020 sill applies a channel volume reduction on them.

An other reason may be the impendance of your in-ceiling speaker. The 1020 is optimized for 8 ohms but your speaker may be lower than that. It may also be less sensitive (i.e. produces a lower sound pressure for a given voltage) than your home theater speakers.

I'm using this speaker which has an 8-ohm impedance and this 12 AWG speaker cable. I figured I'd get the thickest possible, since I was ordering in bulk. So the equipment should be fine. But I don't see any setting on the 1020k that will allow me to adjust the volume of Speaker B relative to the master volume. Any other ideas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

If it only happens from one source (your AppleTV), could it be that an Advanced Surround Mode is applied to it? Say "Concert Hall" for example? Could it be simply that you hear both set of speakers (including the one in your living room) at the same time?

Wow I feel dumb. You're exactly right. Does the DIRECT setting overcome this, by, for example, rendering stereo as stereo, 5.1 as 5.1, etc? I don't mind monkeying with the sound fields, but it drives SWMBO nuts.
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post #3844 of 4365
12/6/11 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonathanwinn View Post

I'm using this speaker which has an 8-ohm impedance and this 12 AWG speaker cable. I figured I'd get the thickest possible, since I was ordering in bulk. So the equipment should be fine. But I don't see any setting on the 1020k that will allow me to adjust the volume of Speaker B relative to the master volume. Any other ideas?

Ok 12 AWG is very thick so you're definetely ok with that. The speaker is a tad less sensitive than most home theater speakers I know of (85 dB vs 90-95 habitudally); maybe that's the problem.

But you mention speaker B. Aren't you using zone 2? What's your setup (Speaker System in 1020 jargon) again, is it a 5.1 home theater + Speaker B or 7.1 home theater? I'm just saying that because there are 7 amps in the 1020, and two amps can be used for either bi-amping front speakers, enabling zone 2, enabling speaker B, surround backs or front heights or wides. Zone 2 allows you to have different content playing in the sub zone, at a different volume. But when using speaker A/B, the same content is played at the same volume. I'm not sure if you can actually play the same content in the two zones if you use Zone 2 though. Zone 2 cannot play sources from HDMI, coax or optical inputs; only from analog, iPod or net radio inputs.

Quote:


Wow I feel dumb. You're exactly right. Does the DIRECT setting overcome this, by, for example, rendering stereo as stereo, 5.1 as 5.1, etc? I don't mind monkeying with the sound fields, but it drives SWMBO nuts.

Yes; DIRECT bypasses any processing except MCACC calibration and phase control; PURE DIRECT bypasses those as well. However, what I was saying is simply that since the 1020 remembers the surround setting for each input, maybe you just played around and selected an advanced surround mode by error (such as CONCERT HALL, which ads reverb effects). You can use AUTO SURROUND (which will automatically select DolbyDigital when detected, for example) or another advanced surround mode which suits you better. Surround modes can be sometimes confusing since it's hard to see which is currently enabled. For example, I like listening to ambient music with the advanced surround mode EXT STEREO -- which replicates stereo content to all speakers -- but the same media player is also used to watch movies, and sometimes I forget to switch it back to AUTO SURROUND, which feels really weird for a few minutes before realizing what happened.
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post #3845 of 4365
12/6/11 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

But you mention speaker B. Aren't you using zone 2? What's your setup (Speaker System in 1020 jargon) again, is it a 5.1 home theater + Speaker B or 7.1 home theater?

5.1 + Speaker B. The idea is to be able to hear the living room system while fetching a beer in the kitchen. So you think a more sensitive speaker would be the fix? This was just a cheapie monoprice oneI don't even particularly need high quality, but I didn't expect to have a volume issue.


Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

Yes; DIRECT bypasses any processing except MCACC calibration and phase control; PURE DIRECT bypasses those as well. However, what I was saying is simply that since the 1020 remembers the surround setting for each input, maybe you just played around and selected an advanced surround mode by error (such as CONCERT HALL, which ads reverb effects). You can use AUTO SURROUND (which will automatically select DolbyDigital when detected, for example) or another advanced surround mode which suits you better. Surround modes can be sometimes confusing since it's hard to see which is currently enabled. For example, I like listening to ambient music with the advanced surround mode EXT STEREO -- which replicates stereo content to all speakers -- but the same media player is also used to watch movies, and sometimes I forget to switch it back to AUTO SURROUND, which feels really weird for a few minutes before realizing what happened.

Got it. Thanks. I sure wish the manual explained these modes in plain English!
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post #3846 of 4365
12/6/11 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonathanwinn View Post

5.1 + Speaker B. The idea is to be able to hear the living room system while fetching a beer in the kitchen. So you think a more sensitive speaker would be the fix? This was just a cheapie monoprice oneI don't even particularly need high quality, but I didn't expect to have a volume issue.

Sorry, I'm no expert in speakers so I'm not even sure 85dB sensitivity is a particularly low value. Sensitivity is just the a measure of the output of a speaker given a standard input. So is the difference you're hearing just the difference in sensitivity, I don't know. Lower sensitivity does not mean the speaker is cheap; it just means that the same signal will give a lower volume. Also if your kitchen is large and/or ceiling is high, maybe the lower sensitivity combines with room volume and distance to give an impression of much lower volume. If you can easily check your speaker connections, do that, but I really don't know the cause of your problem.

That being said, I was suggesting Zone 2 simply because the volume can be adjusted independantly. Since you can't output say, music from an AppleTV, this is somewhat limited in its usefulness though.

Quote:


Got it. Thanks. I sure wish the manual explained these modes in plain English!

Yeah often times the most useful info are found in the footnotes Just a quick guide:

- AUTO SURROUND mode will chose DolbyDigital, DTS or DolbySurround automatically if the source use those formats, and it will switch to Pioneer's Neural Surround mode for FM radio. It will also switch the Sound Retriever feature on for iPod input. If you get stereo input, the receiver will then just play in stereo, unless it finds matrixed content in the stereo stream (i.e. Dolby ProLogic-encoded stream). So AUTO SURROUND is nice but will play your stereo sources in stereo, which you may find lacking.

- ALC tries to provide constant volume even through channel changes, input changes or commercials. Its success is subjective I guess.

- DIRECT and DIRECT PURE are as described in my last reply.

- with STANDARD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround and DTS are automatically detected, but you can cycle through more surround modes. Those simulate up to 7.1 channels from stereo or 5.1 sources in different manners; just select the one that you like the most. If you have front wides or front heights, this is where you select WIDE SURROUND or ProLogic IIz to use them.

- with ADVANCED SURROUND, you get "special effects" added to the mix, such as the CLASSICAL mode which ads reverb. To be honest I don't know who uses those. The only interesting ADVANCED SURROUND modes, IMHO, are:


- MONO FILM, which sends mono signals to all speakers for old movies or shows with a mono soundtrack
- EXT.STEREO, which splits stereo signals over all speakers; great for ambient music
- PHONES SURR, which mixes down multi-channel audio to stereo for your headphones instead of just sending the stereo soundtrack. Does the job of the $100 surround processor units for headphones

Hope this clears things up a bit.
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post #3847 of 4365
12/7/11 at 8:15am
Is the VSX-1020 the least expensive Pioneer receiver with Advanced MCACC and Pro-Logic IIz? I currently have a VSX-918, and the two features I mentioned above are the only ones I'm concerned with.
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post #3848 of 4365
12/7/11 at 8:24am
It's discontinued anyway, it's successor is heavily discounted already.
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post #3849 of 4365
12/7/11 at 8:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tezster View Post

Is the VSX-1020 the least expensive Pioneer receiver with Advanced MCACC and Pro-Logic IIz? I currently have a VSX-918, and the two features I mentioned above are the only ones I'm concerned with.

Well according to the charts on amazon.com when you select the 2011 models, yes, the Pio VSX-10xx is the least expensive with Advanced MCACC. I really don't know about Pro-Logic IIz though. But since PLIIz is on the 1020 and it's the least expensive with Advanced MCACC, then globally the answer is "yes".

You can find both the 1020 (2010 model) and the 1021 (2011 model) at interesting prices. For example right now on Amazon.com the 1021 is 400$, lower than the 1020. The 1021 adds AirPlay for audio content, audio return channel on HDMI, standby pass-through, network standby, a DLNA client and some net radio services such as Pandora. It also removes one HDMI input compared to the 1020 (5 vs 6). Interestingly, if you live outside the US, you can have access to the Pio 1026, which is identical to the 1021 but still has 6 HDMI inputs and has a different finish. The Pio 1025 is identical to the 1020 except for finish.
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post #3850 of 4365
12/7/11 at 9:11am
Thanks for all the info - the reason I mentioned the 1020 is because its height is exactly the same as my current receiver - I only have a few inches clearance on the TV stand shelf where the receiver currently resides, and I would be worried about heat/ventilation issues with an increase in height (even if it's only 1/2").

I realize this particular model is discontinued - I was hoping maybe to pick one up used (or discounted old stock at a store). I'm not in a hurry, so I can afford to be patient and play the waiting game and see if one comes up cheap
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post #3851 of 4365
12/7/11 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tezster View Post

Thanks for all the info - the reason I mentioned the 1020 is because its height is exactly the same as my current receiver - I only have a few inches clearance on the TV stand shelf where the receiver currently resides, and I would be worried about heat/ventilation issues with an increase in height (even if it's only 1/2").

I don't know about the 1021 -- it seems it's slightly bigger and more power-hungry -- but if you're concerned about heat, the 1020 is a good choice. It runs really cool as far as I can tell.
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post #3852 of 4365
12/7/11 at 4:34pm
Hi all;
I have a Samsung PN58C8000 TV and a Samsung BD6900 Bluray player and a DTV HD receiver hooked up to my 1020, all by HDMI, and the problem is; the 1020 won't pass 1080P 24. The TV reports that when I'm outputting a 1080 24 signal from the DTV receiver, it's getting a 1080i 60 signal. When I pop the hdmi cable from the receiver directly into the DTV receiver(to TV) it instantly reports 1080P 24. Same sort of problem with the DVD player. The TV reports 1080(no i or P) 60. When I hook directly from dvd player to tv it reports 1080 24.I've gone into the receiver menu "res" and switched it to pure, no help. I contacted Pioneer support, and their answer was "You may have to connect your Satellite box directly to your TV with HDMI and run audio from the Satellite box to the receiver for sound." This receiver is supposed to pass 24 hz signal. Please help!
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post #3853 of 4365
12/7/11 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry S View Post

I have a Samsung PN58C8000 TV and a Samsung BD6900 Bluray player and a DTV HD receiver hooked up to my 1020, all by HDMI, and the problem is; the 1020 won't pass 1080P 24. The TV reports that when I'm outputting a 1080 24 signal from the DTV receiver, it's getting a 1080i 60 signal. When I pop the hdmi cable from the receiver directly into the DTV receiver(to TV) it instantly reports 1080P 24. Same sort of problem with the DVD player. The TV reports 1080(no i or P) 60. When I hook directly from dvd player to tv it reports 1080 24.I've gone into the receiver menu "res" and switched it to pure, no help. I contacted Pioneer support, and their answer was "You may have to connect your Satellite box directly to your TV with HDMI and run audio from the Satellite box to the receiver for sound." This receiver is supposed to pass 24 hz signal. Please help!

Sorry, I can't help you much here.

Things to try/consider though:

- setting V.CONV to OFF altogether for this input

- what about forcing RES to 1080p? Does it output 1080/24p then?

- is the DTV receiver able to output 1080/60i? If so, maybe the DTV negotiate a different resolution with your receiver than your TV. You may then be able to force 1080/24p on the DTV receiver's end.

- the 1020 is actually not able to convert 1080p signals to 1080i according to the manual on page 22 (footnote). So...
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post #3854 of 4365
12/7/11 at 7:53pm
Ok, how do I change V.conv? I can't get to it in the menu. And forcing res to 1080P doesn't do anything for what the TV sees.
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post #3855 of 4365
12/8/11 at 6:41am
So, Nobody has this problem? Am I the only one that their 1020 won't pass 1080 24? If so, please let me know so I can get it fixed; but if it's a common problem, let's get with pioneer and get a fix for it.
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post #3856 of 4365
12/8/11 at 7:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

I don't know about the 1021 -- it seems it's slightly bigger and more power-hungry -- but if you're concerned about heat, the 1020 is a good choice. It runs really cool as far as I can tell.

I would not consider the 1020 with the 1021 having better features and routinely selling for around 3 at Newegg.
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post #3857 of 4365
12/8/11 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

Sorry about that, I really don't know what that could be. And honestly I'd be surprised if it was the cables. One thing to try though: what happens in the following cases?

1. If you connect your PC directly to your TV
2. If you connect your PC directly on a computer display with HDMI
3. If you connect your PC directly on a computer display with DVI or VGA
4. If you connect your PC on the 1020 and the 1020 to a computer display

The goal with all of this is to see what component is faulty. Could be the TV, cables, receiver, or your video card. If you see green pixels in any of 1-3, then the 1020 is not the problem. If you see them in 4 only, then it's probably the problem.

Also, are you using upscaling for that? In VIDEO options, check what value you're using for the RES parameter. I'd try PURE if I were you -- this will bypass upscaling. The bad news is, if this step resolves your issue, then it's probably the upscaling chip that's going away in your 1020.

So I tested the PC directly to the HDTV with HDMI cable and the pixels appeared, so it eliminated the Pioneer from the problem...so that's good. My next step was to try a shorter cable (first and second cable were 35ft in order to get to the HDTV via the crawlspace from my office). I tried that and I have seen some distortion but very minimal and no green pixels. So I began to think it's either the cable being too long (and signal being attenuated) or video card problem sending signal all the way through the long cable.

I stopped in my local computer store, and they said it was definitely the cable because HDMI cables are not meant to go more than 15 ft. So why can I buy them longer than that? In any case, the store said I needed an HDMI repeater that amplifies the signal so I can have a longer cable. Anyone know anything about these? I know this is veering off the subject of Pioneer VSX 1020, but I'm curious and since there are so many HDMI inputs, maybe some folks have experience. Ideally, I could get one so I could just put it between two shorter cables, but not sure how I could plug something like that in the crawlspace.

Thanks for any additional help, and thanks for the previous help!! Getting closer to solving this thing.

http://greenandtheblue.com/hometheater_pc/
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post #3858 of 4365
12/8/11 at 12:21pm
^^^

two options...

1) try a belden series-1 cable from blue jeans cable... many of us are pushing 1080p60 through one of those at greater than 15 feet (i'm using a 40 foot one)...

2) do what was suggested by your store... something like this piece from monoprice should work...
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post #3859 of 4365
12/8/11 at 2:00pm
Have you tried a different video card? I assume that you've tried updating the driver.
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post #3860 of 4365
12/8/11 at 2:02pm
Hi Civilsurfer,
Quote:


-Research whether it could be my video card...Radeon 5770

I use this 25 foot HDMI High Speed cable from MonoPrice http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2 to go from my HTPC's ATI Radeon HD 5770 Video Card to my Pioneer VSX 1020 and on to my HDTV without any problems at all.
I have never seen one Hiccup on my HDTV!
Through this cable I watch Blu-Rays, Stream Internet Content and 1080P60 Video files produced with my Panasonic TM700 HD Camcorder, ALL with Cyberlink's PowerDVD 10.
I get all of this and also HD Audio, DTS HD Master, etc.
Because I also have the Radeon HD 5770, I don't think that's your Problem!
Is your HDMI Cable "High Speed" or "Standard"?
HDMI Cables:
http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdm...ght_cable.aspx
HDMI Learning Ctr.
http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/kb.aspx?c=7

I also purchased two of these Port Savers...

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

35 foot HDMI High Speed Cable:
http://www.cablewholesale.com/specs/...10v3-41135.htm
50 foot HDMI "High Speed" cable:
http://www.cablewholesale.com/specs/...10v3-41150.htm

For longer runs you could also use either CAT5e or CAT6 cable.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

You should also head over to the HTPC section of this Forum for good HTPC info..
Link Herre: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26

The Pixelation that you see, is it only on Internet Streaming?
In other words if you sent a Blu-Ray Video in M2TS or MKV, does your HDTV still pixelate?
I also have some streaming Video sites that will sometimes drop out, Stall or Pixelate and it is the Internet connection and not my HTPC!
Have you done a "Speed Test" lately to see what the quality of your Internet is?
http://speedtest.net/

Good Luck,

Bud B
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post #3861 of 4365
12/9/11 at 9:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccotenj View Post

^^^

two options...

1) try a belden series-1 cable from blue jeans cable... many of us are pushing 1080p60 through one of those at greater than 15 feet (i'm using a 40 foot one)...

2) do what was suggested by your store... something like this piece from monoprice should work...

Thank you bud b and ccotenj and gregoryperkins.
Yes, I updated my video card driver but didn't fix the issue.
Regarding a new cable, I doubt I'll go this way because it needs to be thicker likely, has to be 30 ft at least, and I'm running into problems drilling bigger holes for wider hdmi cables, so I want to stick with the one I have for now.

So that leaves me with the repeater which I'm still not sure how it works. Here's what I'd like to do. Plug a short hdmi cable from my pc to the repeater. Plug the repeater into the wall outlet for power. Then, plug my existing 30ft+ hdmi cable into the repeater at the hole in the wall...and then send that under the house and up to the receiver. Does anyone know if this is how it works? Does it just boost the signal going into my long cable so that it eliminates the pixellation?

I can't get two smaller cables and put the repeater in between b/c it would be under the crawlspace and don't have power there.

Let me know if you have experience with these repeaters...and I'll go for it.

Thanks for any more help. I'll document this on my website once it's resolved.
http://greenandtheblue.com/hometheater_pc/
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post #3862 of 4365
12/9/11 at 11:01am
Before you do that, I'd try another receiver. I had problems with the 1020 and went back to a Yamaha. The 1020 moved to the bedroom where I'm not asking it to do so much.

I couldn't get it to go through an a/b switch with my projector/tv, it was an identical setup to what worked with my Yamaha before. The 1020 does not seem to work as well with weak signals/long runs.
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post #3863 of 4365
12/9/11 at 12:05pm
I know the 1020 is a few models old now, but I am hoping someone has had my same issues. I just picked this receiver up brand new for $90, sick deal. But every once in a while when I power it down at night and come back to power it back on in the morning it wont power on. I have to power cycle the receiver to get it to turn on, and then everything works fine. Has anyone experienced something similar. I Only have my three front speakers/ Subwoofer hooked up at the moment, HDMI in from google review box (connected to DirectTV) , HDMI in from PS3, HDMI out to TV, and an ethernet cable connected that is using powered over ethernet signal.

Thanks
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post #3864 of 4365
12/9/11 at 6:12pm
Hi again,

Quote:


Before you do that, I'd try another receiver. I had problems with the 1020 and went back to a Yamaha. The 1020 moved to the bedroom where I'm not asking it to do so much.

It doesn't care how much you ask it to do..It only does one thing at a time..It's not a Multi-Tasker!
I have the VSX 1020 with 25 feet of HDMI and I do not think that 5 or 10 more feet would throw my system out of whack!

You did not answer my question Civilsurfer, do you have a Standard or High Speed HDMI Cable.
If you have a Standard HDMI cable then 1080P will not work correctly.

Quote:


High Speed HDMI Cable
The High Speed HDMI cable is designed and tested to handle video resolutions of 1080p and beyond, including advanced display technologies such as 4K, 3D, and Deep Color. If you are using any of these technologies, or if you are connecting your 1080p display to a 1080p content source, such as a Blu-ray Disc player, this is the recommended cable.

Quote:


Standard HDMI Cable
The Standard HDMI cable is designed to handle most home applications, and is tested to reliably transmit 1080i or 720p video – the HD resolutions that are commonly associated with cable and satellite television, digital broadcast HD, and upscaling DVD players.

Quote:


Regarding a new cable, I doubt I'll go this way because it needs to be thicker likely, has to be 30 ft at least, and I'm running into problems drilling bigger holes for wider hdmi cables, so I want to stick with the one I have for now.

Bottom line here is that your problem lies in one or a number of places:
1) The Computer itself..Is it up to the task at hand?
2) The HDMI Cable..High Speed and hopefully Shielded.
3) Environment: Is there any other cabling going through this crawl space that might be causing interference with your HDMI Cabling, resulting in poor signal transfer?
4) The HDTV itself, have you tried another HDTV in it's place?
5) Internet connection Quality and Speed. Sometimes even if yours is up to the task, it can be the Streamer itself that is sending out a poor signal that can Pixelate and even break down.
It depends at what bitrate the signal is sent to you at.
The easy way to discount the Internet Streaming is to send a quality Video and Audio feed such as a 1080P M2TS or MKV file through the HDMI and to your HDTV.
In one or multiple areas your breakdown is occurring and it is up to you to troubleshoot it and discover where that breakdown is at.
Try to just run the HDMI cable to your HDTV out of the Crawl space, even if you need to take the computer to the HDTV or the HDTV close to the computer so the HDMI
cable is just run on the ground. Use the same length cable...if it works perfectly, then look at your crawl space and determine if you need better shielding.
Or why the crawl space is causing problems with your signal.

The cable diameter will not be bigger than the HDMI Connector itself.
If the HDMI end connector will go through the wall so will the cable portion of a new one.
With my cable the HDMI Connector is about the size of my thumb but the cable itself is about the size of my little finger.
Give or take a little bit.
Bottom line, if my setup is perfect at 25 feet, I can guarantee you that 5 more feet would not make any difference at all.

I have a Gateway FX541S Computer with the Upgrades listed below:
1) XFX Radeon HD 5770 Video Card / Catalyst CCC Version 11.11 (just upgraded to 11.11)
2) DDR2 SDRAM Memory to 8GB up from the installed 3GB that it came with. I used Crucial Memory.
3) Installed second Internal Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB HDD / This drive stores my 1080P60 TM 700 Cam Vid's.
4) LG Internal Blu-Ray Disc Player and Rewriter / Model BH10
5) Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Dual Tuner HD Card
6) Two External Western Digital My Book 2TB HDD's / One HDD is for my Blu-Ray's M2TS Video's, the other HDD is for Backup.
6TB's of extra HDD with my Gateway and all (knock on wood..LOL) work and play perfectly.
This HTPC Setup is connected to my VSX 1020 via a 25 foot High Speed HDMI Cable.
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/gat...-33058842.html

My other HTPC is an HPE 112y
It has a Blu-Ray player, 1TB main HDD and like my Gateway, I added a second Internal Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB HDD for 3TB's in the puter
and then I also have two external Western Digital 2TB HDD's.for a total of 7 TB's of HDD space.

Everything that is on my Gateway is on my HP. They are mirrored if you will, they back each other up, so they would both have to Crash & Burn for me to lose everything!
The HP is connected to my Elite VSX 53 with a 10 foot HDMI High Speed Cable from MonoPrice.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...t=1#largeimage
I really like this HDMI Cable, I did not know what this "Net Jacket" thing was all about, but it is very nice, I'd get all of my cables in it if I could!
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/hp-...-33968315.html

I put the above HTPC Information in this post so you can see exactly what I am using in my situation, with my 25 Foot HDMI cable and the Radeon 5770 Video card.
A Apples to Apples if you will.
It doesn't do any good for me to keep saying that mine works fine, if you do not know what MINE is..

Good luck,
You'll figure it out...That's what weekends are for! LOL!

Bud B
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post #3865 of 4365
12/10/11 at 9:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregoryperkins View Post

I would not consider the 1020 with the 1021 having better features and routinely selling for around 3 at Newegg.

Today, for example. Coupon code EMCYTZT951 (for newsletter subscribers).
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post #3866 of 4365
12/10/11 at 2:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bud B View Post

Hi again,


It doesn't care how much you ask it to do..It only does one thing at a time..It's not a Multi-Tasker!
I have the VSX 1020 with 25 feet of HDMI and I do not think that 5 or 10 more feet would throw my system out of whack!

You did not answer my question Civilsurfer, do you have a Standard or High Speed HDMI Cable.
If you have a Standard HDMI cable then 1080P will not work correctly.







Bottom line here is that your problem lies in one or a number of places:
1) The Computer itself..Is it up to the task at hand?
2) The HDMI Cable..High Speed and hopefully Shielded.
3) Environment: Is there any other cabling going through this crawl space that might be causing interference with your HDMI Cabling, resulting in poor signal transfer?
4) The HDTV itself, have you tried another HDTV in it's place?
5) Internet connection Quality and Speed. Sometimes even if yours is up to the task, it can be the Streamer itself that is sending out a poor signal that can Pixelate and even break down.
It depends at what bitrate the signal is sent to you at.
The easy way to discount the Internet Streaming is to send a quality Video and Audio feed such as a 1080P M2TS or MKV file through the HDMI and to your HDTV.
In one or multiple areas your breakdown is occurring and it is up to you to troubleshoot it and discover where that breakdown is at.
Try to just run the HDMI cable to your HDTV out of the Crawl space, even if you need to take the computer to the HDTV or the HDTV close to the computer so the HDMI
cable is just run on the ground. Use the same length cable...if it works perfectly, then look at your crawl space and determine if you need better shielding.
Or why the crawl space is causing problems with your signal.

The cable diameter will not be bigger than the HDMI Connector itself.
If the HDMI end connector will go through the wall so will the cable portion of a new one.
With my cable the HDMI Connector is about the size of my thumb but the cable itself is about the size of my little finger.
Give or take a little bit.
Bottom line, if my setup is perfect at 25 feet, I can guarantee you that 5 more feet would not make any difference at all.

I have a Gateway FX541S Computer with the Upgrades listed below:
1) XFX Radeon HD 5770 Video Card / Catalyst CCC Version 11.11 (just upgraded to 11.11)
2) DDR2 SDRAM Memory to 8GB up from the installed 3GB that it came with. I used Crucial Memory.
3) Installed second Internal Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB HDD / This drive stores my 1080P60 TM 700 Cam Vid's.
4) LG Internal Blu-Ray Disc Player and Rewriter / Model BH10
5) Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-2250 Dual Tuner HD Card
6) Two External Western Digital My Book 2TB HDD's / One HDD is for my Blu-Ray's M2TS Video's, the other HDD is for Backup.
6TB's of extra HDD with my Gateway and all (knock on wood..LOL) work and play perfectly.
This HTPC Setup is connected to my VSX 1020 via a 25 foot High Speed HDMI Cable.
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/gat...-33058842.html

My other HTPC is an HPE 112y
It has a Blu-Ray player, 1TB main HDD and like my Gateway, I added a second Internal Western Digital WD20EARS 2TB HDD for 3TB's in the puter
and then I also have two external Western Digital 2TB HDD's.for a total of 7 TB's of HDD space.

Everything that is on my Gateway is on my HP. They are mirrored if you will, they back each other up, so they would both have to Crash & Burn for me to lose everything!
The HP is connected to my Elite VSX 53 with a 10 foot HDMI High Speed Cable from MonoPrice.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...t=1#largeimage
I really like this HDMI Cable, I did not know what this "Net Jacket" thing was all about, but it is very nice, I'd get all of my cables in it if I could!
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/hp-...-33968315.html

I put the above HTPC Information in this post so you can see exactly what I am using in my situation, with my 25 Foot HDMI cable and the Radeon 5770 Video card.
A Apples to Apples if you will.
It doesn't do any good for me to keep saying that mine works fine, if you do not know what MINE is..

Good luck,
You'll figure it out...That's what weekends are for! LOL!

Bud B

Don't know what happened but just wrote a long reply and now don't see it. So I'll try to condense.

Thanks for the information. Here's my computer info:
ATI HD Radeon 5570. HPE-270f. Pentium 7. 8gb RAM. Internet speed 15+ MBPS. So I don't think my computer's the problem, especially since you have the same card.

So it seems I'm down to either getting a new "high speed" cable or a repeater. My HDMI cable is standard. I didn't see any high speed HDMIs that were 30ft+. I don't have another HDTV to test or another receiver so will not go that route.

The extra drilling was because the head of the cable was bigger than the previous cable's head. So I'm concerned that a new high speed cable will have an even bigger head/connector, and then I'd have to drill more which I don't want to do. I worry too about a new cable b/c i've already bought a new one and it got pixels too.

The other option I don't completely understand. If someone's used a repeater, let me know. I would want to attach it between my long and a short hdmi cable, and I believe it has a power supply. Not sure.

I don't have any big cables that should be causing interference in the crawlspace.

Would VGA cables work and optical audio? Not that I want to go that route. I want to use HDMI.

Any additional help would be appreciated. I'm almost there!

Thanks,
S
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post #3867 of 4365
12/27/11 at 12:30pm
I am migrating here from the 1021 thread, because for some reason I mistakenly entered into the 1021 but I have a 1020. So, pputting my embarrassment out there....lol.

I had a few of my questions answered there, but I thought I would come here for the remainder.

My next question has to do with watching my BDP. I have my Sony BX57 hooked up to the rcvr. I have noticed when watching BR's the rcvr does not switch over to ProLogic and it stays on PCM. What am I doing wrong?

Secondly a little problem that has happened at least once a day is a sudden increase in volume. It has happened at the most inopportune times so I haven't seen if the volume it self increases at machine by physically turning it up or not. It's so loud the two or three times it has happened I just turn it way down and it goes away. Has anyone else had an issue like this?

What are you guys running your sub channel setting at?

Thanks in advance for your help guys.
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post #3868 of 4365
12/27/11 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Intimdtr77 View Post

My next question has to do with watching my BDP. I have my Sony BX57 hooked up to the rcvr. I have noticed when watching BR's the rcvr does not switch over to ProLogic and it stays on PCM. What am I doing wrong?

You're probably doing nothing wrong. ProLogic would be used in stereo soundtracks (i.e. surround and center channels matrixed into the stereo channels) so you won't be seeing that in most BD releases; they'll have decated multi-channel soundtracks of various formats, all of which the 1020 can decode as far as I know.

Why then does it show PCM? Probably because your Sony BDP decodes the soundtrack and sends PCM directly to the receiver. The PS3 is like this by default -- there's a setting to send undecoded audio to the receiver, but in the PS3, the HDMI chip is not able to send lossless HD audio so if you want to listen to DTS Master Audio for example, you have to let the PS3 decode the stream and send PCM to the receiver. Maybe your Sony BDP does the same; and maybe you can force it to send undecoded audio.

Quote:


Secondly a little problem that has happened at least once a day is a sudden increase in volume. It has happened at the most inopportune times so I haven't seen if the volume it self increases at machine by physically turning it up or not. It's so loud the two or three times it has happened I just turn it way down and it goes away. Has anyone else had an issue like this?

Nothing of the sort... are you running with ALC (auto-level control)? Which source?

Quote:


What are you guys running your sub channel setting at?

You mean either No/Yes/Plus? You should use Yes, simply. Plus is only used if you set your speaker to Large (which you shouldn't do most of the time) anyway.
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post #3869 of 4365
12/27/11 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by neutro View Post

You're probably doing nothing wrong. ProLogic would be used in stereo soundtracks (i.e. surround and center channels matrixed into the stereo channels) so you won't be seeing that in most BD releases; they'll have decated multi-channel soundtracks of various formats, all of which the 1020 can decode as far as I know.

Why then does it show PCM? Probably because your Sony BDP decodes the soundtrack and sends PCM directly to the receiver. The PS3 is like this by default -- there's a setting to send undecoded audio to the receiver, but in the PS3, the HDMI chip is not able to send lossless HD audio so if you want to listen to DTS Master Audio for example, you have to let the PS3 decode the stream and send PCM to the receiver. Maybe your Sony BDP does the same; and maybe you can force it to send undecoded audio.

That makes sense. I'll switch the format on the BDP to send PCM and see if the rcvr decodes it. (which it should)



Nothing of the sort... are you running with ALC (auto-level control)? Which source?

I believe it has done it on TV only so far. I have not read to much on the ALC. I need to read more. The book the unit came with really does nothing for me. Everything I am learning about it I am doing on this forum so far. (Which is awesome BTW!!)



You mean either No/Yes/Plus? You should use Yes, simply. Plus is only used if you set your speaker to Large (which you shouldn't do most of the time) anyway.

No I meant once you do the MCACC do you adjust the sub setting at all? Mine was set to -3 after the MCACC. I turned it up to +3 and I like the output of it much better.

...
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post #3870 of 4365
12/27/11 at 2:53pm
Hello all, to start with let me say I am a true amateur when it comes to home audio and AV, but enthusiastic!

Over the past year we completed building our new home. I prewired the home during construction for a primary 5.1 viewing/listening area and three separate rooms for alternate zone listening.

The good news is all areas seem to be working, it is the around the edges issues that I would request your help with.

The system I have is as follows:

Pioneer VSX-1020

Primary 5.1 area:

Polk RC85I (front)
Polk RC80i (rear)
Polk cs20 (center)
Polk PSW10 (sub)

Room 1

Polk RC85i
Niles 100R

Room 2

Polk RC80i
Niles 100R

Room 3

Polk RC80i
Niles 100R

There are two issues I am experiencing both related when I am using Zone 2 for Rooms 1-3:

1) I am only getting audio out of one of the speakers in Rooms 1-3. I am using a Niles SS4 speaker selector, of note, when I directly hook up one of the room speakers to Speaker B outside the selector both speakers work.

2) I am getting bleed from Zone 2 (speaker B) in my 5.1 room when it is in use.

I'm sure there is probably a simple fix/explanation for these two issues, but I can't seem to figure it out.

Any help and questions would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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