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Official Pioneer VSX-521k owners thread - Page 9

post #241 of 669
10/28/11 at 9:53am
The fact that you have a Panasonic and I have an lg is good news because it indicates that the problem is more likely with the receiver than the TV.

however it could be with the PS3. So I changed my PS3 from fat to slim and problems persisted (even more frequent on the slim)

Do u have a fat or slim PS3?

Also, I did get the blurring problem on Apple TV 2 a couple times as well.

The blur problem does seem exclusive to computer graphics for me
It doesn't seem to occur during video playback.
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post #242 of 669
10/28/11 at 10:21am
Has anyone checked with Pioneer to find out if there is a firmware update for the HDMI system? It should not matter that this is an entry-level model receiver since the HDMI system itself is at its heart just a standardized switching/signal transfer system, accent on "standardized", just like the analog RCA phono jack system, the Toslink optical digital signal transfer system, etc.

Or maybe the HDMI chip itself is defective?
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post #243 of 669
10/28/11 at 11:26am
Mark. I think you are right on in saying that it is something do to with computer graphics.

I can watch Netflix or blu rays all day long and not run ink the problem.

I'm leaning (read: hoping) it is a cable problem. Maybe something to do with a non 1.3/4 cable being able to handle gaming.

Will post My video here in a second.
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post #244 of 669
10/28/11 at 11:34am
Thanks. I am standing by.

Thinking ahead here, you're not in Canada by chance are you?
Should this become an unresolvable issue, I wonder if it would help to let Pioneer Canada know that there's a pattern here.

But hoping the cables will fix it.
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post #245 of 669
10/28/11 at 12:28pm
Here it is!

http://youtu.be/zOwbIPgY2Pk

http://youtu.be/ehZcA66-bQ4

Tell me what you all think!

I'm going to see if any of my parent's cables upstairs are 1.4 spec hdmi and then try those out.

- Matt
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post #246 of 669
10/28/11 at 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by specuvestor View Post

Did you guys tried running THX Optimiser and hear if the SW is active under the "YES" setting?

@Matt Pure Direct means you are bypassing all processing and just using the AVR as a speaker amplifier.

I figured this would give me the most authentic sound. Basically, I want to hear the movie or play the game exactly as intended.

However, maybe it is worth it to try the other settings? They seemed kind of echoey/reverbey which I wasn't a fan of, but maybe it's just a matter of settings and getting used to them.

For reference, what do you have your settings at? (and everyone else here!)

I'd love to try em out.
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post #247 of 669
10/28/11 at 1:08pm
Yep. My problem is identical. Right down to the white snow flickering at the bottom part of the screen and the blanking out.

Finally someone else can vouch for me.

I guess next step is to test cables.

Please keep those videos up in case I bring to the dealer. So I can show them.
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post #248 of 669
10/28/11 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marktwothousand View Post

Yep. My problem is identical. Right down to the white snow flickering at the bottom part of the screen and the blanking out.

Finally someone else can vouch for me.

I guess next step is to test cables.

Please keep those videos up in case I bring to the dealer. So I can show them.

Sure thing!

It's pretty annoying, I am going to clean up around the house then try a few more games out to see what happens.
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post #249 of 669
10/28/11 at 3:23pm
Looks like the cable swap may have worked for me. Been playing bf3 for 15 mins or so with no issues.
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post #250 of 669
10/28/11 at 4:37pm
Keep the updates coming. Maybe that did it.
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post #251 of 669
10/28/11 at 9:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terance View Post

Mark. I think you are right on in saying that it is something do to with computer graphics.

I can watch Netflix or blu rays all day long and not run ink the problem.

I'm leaning (read: hoping) it is a cable problem. Maybe something to do with a non 1.3/4 cable being able to handle gaming.

Will post My video here in a second.

This is a good point. Some TV can specify whether the HDMI input is from video source or PC source. Make sure yours is set to PC.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Terance View Post

I figured this would give me the most authentic sound. Basically, I want to hear the movie or play the game exactly as intended.

However, maybe it is worth it to try the other settings? They seemed kind of echoey/reverbey which I wasn't a fan of, but maybe it's just a matter of settings and getting used to them.

For reference, what do you have your settings at? (and everyone else here!)

I'd love to try em out.

+1 in my case the MCACC just lower the mid range so that the vocal sounds clearer. I switch off the EQ after running MCACC just to get the volume and distance of speakers configured.

I use FSS as default mode as I'm using 2.1. It sounds louder at same volume setting so I'm assuming the AVR is driving it at stereo mode.
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post #252 of 669
10/29/11 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terance View Post

Hey Everyone!

It's been a long day playing with my VSX-521k and I'm having a few problems that I just cannot figure out.

Firstly, the bass seems almost non-existent. The auto-calibration recommended that I set my speakers to small (they are not small imo, Polk M30 rears and M20 fronts and a csi100). Is this the default setting, or is this the result of the calibration? I have read that people put the subwoofer setting to, "plus" but I cannot do this unless I change my speakers to the, "large" setting.

The receiver's clarity is a noticeable difference from my old denon (in a good way), but the bass just isn't there.

Secondly, I am having big problems playing Battlefield 3. Sometimes during the gameplay, the screen will start to get VERY fuzzy and distorted and then cut out intermittently. At this time the audio will be crystal clear. It is purely a video thing. This does not happen with netflix or TV and I have tried a few other games and there were no problems (but I did not play them as long as BF3). I watched many episodes of 30 rock on netflix with no problems, and only played BF for maybe 30 minutes and ran into this frequently.

I have ordered a couple of new hdmi 1.4 cables to determine whether or not it is a cable issue. There is a possibility that I have missed a setting or something.

Overall, I like it so far, but this problem with BF3 has really thrown a wrench into it. I also do not like how bass-lite it is.

Hopefully We/I can figure these things out!

Thanks for reading,

- Matt

(not sure if this is important, but I have my Advanced Surround set to , "Pure Direct". Is this the optimal setting?)

A couple of points. The "large" setting for your speakers refers to their bass capability, not physical size, although most speakers that are capable of great bass response are large. Two way speakers usually do not qualify. If you have a good subwoofer, then the small setting should work better. The other point is "Pure Direct" bypasses all of your receiver's processor settings. Definitely not ideal.
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post #253 of 669
10/29/11 at 5:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terance View Post

The receiver's clarity is a noticeable difference from my old denon (in a good way), but the bass just isn't there.

This is exactly what I found in my den...

Pioneer 521 - clean with little bass
Onkyo 509 - Nice blend of clean and bass
Denon 591/1611 - Slanded towards bass
Marantz 6005 - clean with great bass (another price range)

I had a Pioneer SC-07 in my dedicated room and it sounded very similar to the 521. This was with EQ active or not... I just think it's their sound.
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post #254 of 669
10/29/11 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terance View Post

Looks like the cable swap may have worked for me. Been playing bf3 for 15 mins or so with no issues.

You've got us hanging here man!
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post #255 of 669
10/30/11 at 10:23am
Still waiting with baited breath... Verdict?

If it turned out to be a #FAIL, question is: are you certain all your cables are high speed (aka 1.4)?
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post #256 of 669
10/31/11 at 4:54pm
Well. I tried two brand new high speed 1.4 hdmi cables and the problem still persists.

It is much better, the screen no longer completely blacks out or goes blurry. However I still get lots of flickering and that multi-color banding at the bottom of the screen.

Going to contact pioneer tomorrow. Also, I am in Missouri.

I just wish everything worked the first time you plugged it in. =\\
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post #257 of 669
10/31/11 at 6:44pm
Sigh. I guess I'll end up contact Pioneer soon too. Can you keep us in the loop as to how that goes?

Please reference my situation if that helps atall.
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post #258 of 669
11/1/11 at 12:28pm
i just got a 521.k and i love it but the only thing is the HDIM is pass through only right now. how do i change it to sent the sound to the speakers
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post #259 of 669
11/1/11 at 1:44pm
Solved my problem by taking the pioneer back and getting a denon 1612.

No problems at all!

The store said it was most likely a handshake/compatibility issue with the pioneer receiver and the ps3.
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post #260 of 669
11/1/11 at 2:03pm
The Denon 1612 is a much better receiver than the Pioneer 521 anyway. Good move.
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post #261 of 669
11/2/11 at 7:55am
Well, Terance, you are probably not paying attention to this thread any more, but if you are, could you please comment on the following?

Last night I turned off Super White and Deep Color in the PS3 display options.

Could you check if those options were set on or off when you had the Pioneer?

I had absolutely no problems after changing these settings and in fact, the picture looked even better.

In the meantime, enjoy the Denon.
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post #262 of 669
11/12/11 at 10:43am
Hey all and thanks for all the posts on here. Great info.

I have a question. I have 4 speakers inside and one speaker outside. Can I set this up so that the 4 speakers is the "normal" surround sound and if I want to play only outside or inside and outside I can select a different option to make the sound outside?

The 4 speakers inside are in the Front R, Front L, Surround R, and Surround L

The outside speaker is conneceted to Center on receiver.

Thanks!
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post #263 of 669
11/13/11 at 2:56pm
Hey All,

I'm having a bunch of issues with this receiver and want to flash it back to factory settings then update the firmware. Could somebody please point me in the right direction or give me a step by step guide on how to do either? Thanks!
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post #264 of 669
11/13/11 at 2:58pm
Merp, just found out how to reset it. Still wondering about updating the firmware, though...
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post #265 of 669
11/15/11 at 3:08am
Hi all,

earlier there was discussion of this amp's 'thin' bass. I wasn't either very impressed with the bass and moreover my subwoofer (Jamo SUB 210) turned off too easily (auto power on/off). I put that suggested Y-cable to my single RCA-cable so that both inputs in sub are feeded. It seems to have a big impact at least in my case, now sub stays on all the time and the controls need not to be in the max position
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post #266 of 669
11/15/11 at 1:32pm
I currently run a Y-cable to my red/white inputs on my Def Tech sub and it absolutely pounds. I completely agree that this is the way to go.
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post #267 of 669
11/16/11 at 6:45am
Where's the Y cable in your sub setups? I think my sub only has one mono input anyway. Why would a sub have L-R inputs.
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post #268 of 669
11/17/11 at 4:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by marktwothousand View Post

Where's the Y cable in your sub setups? I think my sub only has one mono input anyway. Why would a sub have L-R inputs.

I don't why subs have L-R inputs, I think most have anyway. See www,jamo,dk/images/download/1279.aspx page 3 for an example.

I had to replace . with , in that url, accuses otherwise me for spamming
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post #269 of 669
11/17/11 at 8:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jybbe69 View Post

I don't why subs have L-R inputs, I think most have anyway. See www,jamo,dk/images/download/1279.aspx page 3 for an example.

I had to replace . with , in that url, accuses otherwise me for spamming

That's pretty much what mine looks like. This is a closer example (same thing with the commas ):

www,hometheater,com/images/archivesart/1202def.2.jpg


It's just a generic $10 cable I got from Radio Shack. The cable is completely black, no R/W tips, and it works really well. Not entirely sure why the sub has speaker cable connectors. Maybe to help filter that sound and regulate the bass output? Just guessing. I'm a novice with this stuff by comparison to a lot of the guys on this forum.
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post #270 of 669
11/17/11 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by marktwothousand View Post

Where's the Y cable in your sub setups? I think my sub only has one mono input anyway. Why would a sub have L-R inputs.

So that you can have a sub with devices without LFE channel output like TV, most stereo amp, old AVRs, etc.
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