Pioneer Elite VSX-32 / 33 Owners' Thread - Page 4

So far so good with the 32. I'm still tweaking it but I like the sound and I'm happy with it. I did buy the square trade warranty after contacting AMEX who told me while they would cover the 3rd year of repairs, they would not cover during the pioneer 2 year warranty.

Has anyone managed to get OSD (volume overlay) working?

I have a Panasonic G25 display and have enabled CEC with both the VSX-32 and the Panasonic, but can't seem to get it working. Any thoughts on particular settings?

Sorry for the newbie here ...

If I have my PVR and BD player hooked to my VSX 32 via HDMI and then out to my TV via HDMI, should I not have sound on my TV? I can't seem to get this to work at all and not sure what I am missing.

Thanks

Hi smsat, for sound to come out of tv speaker, set HDMI Audio to "Through" under Audio Parameter. But when "Through" is selected no sound will output from receiver.

lastrites,

For its latest line of AVRs, Pioneer has partnered with Marvell to offer a completely new video processor that was not offered on past-generation AVRs. The Marvell is capable of passing the 1080p/24 format out via HDMI to a display device. This is useful if both your player and display device also offer 24p/24Hz support. Please note that all devices transporting the video signal must support 24p/Hz, or the cadence will be telecined to 60Hz. A telecined, film-originated signal is certainly noticeably different from a native 24p signal. Film purists will staunchly defend 24p streams as it offers the least conversion, is how film is originally captured, and is the native cadence present on nearly all Blu-ray masters.

This generation, starting with the Pioneer Elite VSX-32 and above (and on the non-Elite line: VSX-1120-K only), Marvell's processor is included. This means if you have any model below these (or previous generation's models), a 24p stream output from a BD player will be telecined to 60Hz, reintroducing telecine judder. The non-Marvell models contain one of ABT's video processors for scaling and other functions.

Hope this helps.

Winston,

I am having a devil of a time getting it to work. I can get the TV remote to control the AVR's volume, so I think I'm close, but cannot get the overlay to work at all. Would it be too much bother for some guidance on the VSX-32 HDMI menu and the Panasonic VieraLink settings?

Thanks!!

By volume overlay do you mean getting it to say "Volume -30, -29.5, -29.0...etc" on the screen? I have a panny p50g20 and I mine will say " - Home Theater + " but that may be the se thing you have. I have not quite figured out how to achieve the former though.

The Home Theater - < + on mine is when the TV remote is controlling the AVR through HDMI CEC. You're correct, what I'm looking for is the former, where the AVR's volume level is displayed on the TV.

A buddy of mine just bought the same AVR I did (VSX-32), but he has 4 Ω Pioneer speakers (circa 2006) with RMS output of 100w/channel. I know the lower the impedance, the more power is allowed passage to the amplifier or something similar. The VSX-32's operating manual says "We recommend using 8 Ω speakers with this system, but it is possible to switch the impedance setting if you plan to use 6 Ω speakers."

It appears there is only two options, 6 Ω or 8 Ω, so does this mean that his 4 Ω will not work at all, or just that it is unsafe? Or is he ok to use them?

Just wanted to check with those more knowledgeable than I.

Thanks

I am using 4ohm MKs with no problem. Leave it set at 8ohms.

Lame question but i just didnt see the answer....

I have a vsx-33.. How do I put the receiver in standby mode vs turning it off? When i press the power button on the front-- it turns off.. When i use my harmony1 remote and hit the power button-- everything turns off.. No where do i see a option to put it to standby mode.(even on the remote that comes with it)..

Also-- What do i need to switch to make it so i get the video image to go through the receiver when its off? Sometimes at night i turn off the avr and just use my headset(so as to not wake the mrs).. If i can put the avr to standby mode-- and still get the hdmi video to go through-- things would be good..

Its always the dumb questions that are hard to find answers too lol.. Thanks all...

Not as concerned about power sequences. I use URC remotes and can program them with macros and variables to account for anything. Will take another stab at it ... thanks!

Thanks winston.. I know a lot of people asked about passthrough-- but i wasnt sure if that is the same as what i was asking about.. I just figured passthrough was where people didnt want the reciever to process the video and pass it through.. I was more asking if i could get the avr to process the video when on-- but also allow the video to just go through the reciever when its in standby mode.. But Ill make sure mine is setup how you said.. Thanks

Also-- just so i make sure.. If the avr is plugged in-- and I hit the power button-- and all lights turn off-- its then in standby mode and not totally turned off?

I just got the VSX-33 and can't get my sub to work when I have the I-Pod plugged in. I have fronts, center and sub.

I had the same problem. Go in and make sure the front speakers are set to small. Also if the receiver is in "pure direct" it will only play stereo from the iPod.

Quick question here: I have an 80 GB iPod Classic connected via USB to the VSX-32. Is there any way to get the videos and album artwork GUI output over HDMI?

Right now, the composite (yellow) is being output over component to my display. Is there a setting to get the -32 to output over HDMI rather than component?

Have you tried connecting an HDMI from the HDMI output on the receiver to the HDMI input on your display? That did it for me... hahaha

but seriously I think it does it automatically by detecting the HDMI connections. Try disconnecting the component connection, unplug the AVR from power, adjust your HDMIs, plug the AVR in again, wait 60 seconds (manuals instructions) for HDMI initialization, then power it on. It IS possible because i have only HDMI connections and i get album artwork to my TV from my iPhone.

Just replaced an old STR-DG800 Sony with the VSX-33. I had a very good experience with a 1019 in a previous system, so this was a natural. I considered an sc-37 or 35, but when living in an apartment, this seemed like the best fit.

So far so good, I have:

A Vizio local dimming LED HDTV, a Toshiba HD-A35 HD DVD player, an OPPO BDP-83 bluray/SACD/DVD-A player and a Comcast box as media sources, with an all Energy 5.1 - RC-10 fronts, RC-mini Center, RC-mini sides and an ESW-V8 sub. The space is about 12 x 20 including a kitchen area.

The switch took about an hour and a half, rerouted HDMI cables which had gone direct to the HDTV to the VSX-33, removed analog audio cables from the BDP-83 as well as optical cables which are no longer needed. Very nice to cut down the cable count again, as well as seeing the lossless signal from the HD-A35 once more.

Ran MCACC, it identified a loose connection on my left front, re-ran after fixing it and we were in business. The system was working, now to reprogram my Harmony One - this took a bit, since the BDP-83 was tied into the BD input, and the harmony database did not have this key identified. I had to teach the remote this key, and voila' everything is peachy.

Initial reactions: a world of difference to have a properly configured system from MCACC as opposed to the Sony. It sounded much better to me, probably due to the proper settings for the speakers. I also, as mentioned really enjoyed the lossless sound from both HD players. I have yet to play around with it, just getting this far (and watching some baseball) took up the night.

Anyways - great receiver so far!

Just installed my 33 on Wednesday. Very happy with it. Are the control jacks on the back just 3.5mm cables? I have a DV-59AVi I'd like to connect to it and it looks like Pio ditched the i.LINK connection

I have the 32 and love it so far. But tried to control ipod when playing on zone 2 by toggling with the "ipod control" button on remote (page 42 of manual). But no luck. anybody else tried this?

Loving the VSX-32. Couple more quick questions here:

1) The VSX-32 (and presumably the rest of the AVR line) seems to only output YUV 4:4:4. Is there any way to change the color space format to negate chroma upsampling (i.e. passing through Y'CbCr 4:2:0)?

2) Auto MCACC keeps setting a 150 Hz xover. In their manual, my Pioneer bookshelf speaker specs state a frequency range of 75 Hz - 20 kHz for my fronts and center, and 100 Hz - 20 kHz for the surrounds. Is 150 Hz always too high for a xover, should I set it to 100Hz instead or follow MCACC?

'Cause they can think a little...

I'm sure if you buy the $1000 cable, the bass will be so good you won't need a sub. Save you about $1200 for a good one, seems you come out ahead by $200.

I believe the xover setting if for the LFE output only (which you would connect to an 'unfiltered' input on your sub, the sub does not need to filter it because it is already filtered by the A/V receiver).

i would imagine the input jacks are standard cables? not sure i understand the question?

yes, sadly, i-link has been abandoned by pio...

Custom Home Theater in Brunswick is an authorized dealer. I bought mine there. Ask for Lee, he'll hook you up

Yes, 3.5mm mini-jack mono cables. In the VSX-32 manual it is on p. 108: Specifications.

On the OPPO, shut off the secondary audio. If that's on, the output defaults to DTS instead of Master Audio. Make sure you're set to HDMI bitstream on the OPPO.