The new Harman Kardon AVR1700 - Page 21

Sorry for the double post I accidentally started a new thread instead of replying.

The wife is gone for the weekend so I decided to finally setup my HK AVR 1700. So far this thing is pretty kick butt for $200. Besides the On Screen menu being from 1997 and a remote that is insane, everything sounds and works as described. I have a logitech remote so I'm not too concerned about the remote.

Anyway, I can't seem to get the avr 1700 to stream movies from my DLNA servers. I've search the forum briefly but haven't found any solid informationMusic streams perfectly and soundds awesome. When I try to start a movie it either doesn't do anything or just goes back to the top of the screen. I can stream movies with no problems from both media server with other devices such as Xbox 360, IPAD Mini, Windows 7 and Android phone/tablet. Both media servers have worked with anything that I have tried accept the AVR 1700.

I looked in the manual and couldn't find any specs on how the videos need to be encoded in order to work. I have movies in several different formats (mp4, avi, mkv) but none seem to work. The media servers are Synology 1812+ (pricey but highly recommended) and an old Western Digital Sharespace (not recommended at all but it mostly works).

If anyone has this working with any media server please let me know what your setup is. Any other help would be greatly appreciated. I only have until Feb 17th to take it back if there is a problem. This isn't a deal killer as I can use the Xbox 360 or build a small media center box with plex, XBMC or MythTV.

Thanks

The DLNA support for AVR1700 is only for audio streaming. Its not for video. For video streaming, you need DLNA clients like XBox360, xbmc, wdtv, ps3 or maybe roku (I dont have roku so cant confirm this)

Does anyone have any luck operating with HDMI Control/Link (CEC) enabled on on the AVR1700? I had to turn this feature off because it is not playing nice with Sony Bravia TV. With the feature enabled, my TV will occasionally turn off and back on after around 30seconds of seeing picture. Often, this cycle repeats... This looks like a major bug. Am I the only one with this problem? Should I exchange the unit?

There have been others with the same problem, and so far has been as easy as replacing the HDMI cable, often times it's a HDMI handshake issue, are you running all of your components through the receiver first? If not, you may have to exchange it

Hey guys, I got the AVR 1700 + HKTS 20 system hooked up last night and I gotta say I'm so glad I listened to everyone on here and went with the HKTS 20 5.1 setup over the HKTS 200 2.1 that I originally ordered. In short, it sounds pretty incredible to my ears. So far it has exceeded my expectations and I'm very pleased with it. I watched Sunshine and Black Swan on Blu-ray and I lost count of how many times I got chills running down the back of my neck from the experience. It enhanced the films so much especially with Black Swan in heightening the tension throughout the film and the score just really came to life with them. I know there was one part where a character off screen throws a glass object that shatters against a wall and it literally sounded like something had been broken in my bedroom.

But yes I'm very, very pleased so far. Setup was pretty easy and I didn't end up mounting any of the speakers, I just put the back surrounds on my nightstands flanking each side of the bed and they look okay. EzSet EQ did all of the work for me as I just placed the mic on at stack of pillows at ear level in the center of the bed and it did all of the calibrations. I really like to how you can give custom names to all of the inputs on the AVR and they display on the screen above the whatever type of audio is playing (i.e. PS3 / DTS or APPLE TV / DOLBY DIGITAL). I also listened to songs in my iTunes library using the Logic 7 settings and it was pretty amazing too.

All in all, very pleased with everything. The only issues I've run into is getting everything to work smoothly with my Harmony remote. When doing activities the AVR turns on to the input that was last used and isn't switching to the input for the activity. I have to hit the help button on the remote and then it will change it to the correct input for the activity. However, after I've done an activity and switch to another one it works perfectly, only have issues when I first turn it on. Also, when I hit the off switch to turn everything off the AVR will stay on. I have to hit help and then it turns off. I think its just a matter of getting into the remote settings and putting a delay between commands so maybe it will give it time for the initial commands to process instead of interrupting them.

Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks again for all of the advice and help. I really appreciate everyone's feedback and plan to keep coming back frequently to learn more and check out other threads.

Thank you!

I'm having issues with the network. Sometimes the Android app can connect to my AVR, and sometimes it can't. Today while listening to vtuner, my phone "lost connection" and couldn't reconnect.

I saw something about disabling IGMP, but it's not enabled in my router (DLINK DIR-655).

Anyone know of any fix for this other than power cycling the receiver? Is mine defective or are they all like this?

I paired my AVR 1700 for now with a Polk Audio T15 as my front and a PSW 10 subwoofer. I set the the sub mode to and sub crossover to 10 inch. I was wondering what the crossover setting for left/right (front) should be. The settings im seeing is Large, 40hz, 60hz, 80hz, 100hz, 120hz, 150hz and 200hz.. Sub is set to LFE. What would be the best settings?

For a 10 inch sub, I would suggest setting the crossover to 80-100 Hz for the speakers, the 10 inch setting for the sub is set at 100 Hz. Seeing as the speakers are 5 1/2 inches for the midrange, 100 Hz should be fine.

Have you tried restarting the app? Or closing Wi-Fi and reconnecting?

@budgetocdnerd

Thanks for the recommendation. Now whats a good affordable rear speakers. Im looking for something small.

I've got Airplay working beautifully from both my iPad and iTunes on my PC and it auto-turns on the receiver. However, when I stop playing, it doesn't turn the receiver off.

Can anyone confirm whether or not their AVR turns off automatically after ending Airplay?

Yes, HTPC, PS3, and Sony TV are all connected to the receiver through HDMI cables. The TV turning off and back on phenomenon happens when watching HTPC, or PS3. It is hard to believe that this is HDMI cable problem. I already experienced flickering/blinking picture, and that was already solved with a set of better cables. It seems to me that the AVR would send a turn off/on CEC signal to the TV for some reasons. I don't think I can easily exchange this unit, because this item has been backordered for a while at the store.

Does anyone have the HDMI Link/CEC feature enabled on the receiver? Any problem? Thanks in advance.

Edit: Rephrasing: Does anyone have _any_ success story running this receiver with HDMI Link enabled, with 0 issue?
Edited by imdoomsday - 2/11/13 at 10:01am

Glad you like it!
I used to have a universal remote for my system, but since I run everything into the 1700, I decided I really didn't need it anymore. It really isn't a hassle to switch devices (inputs) once you program the HK remote. The HK remote does have four buttons which you can assign for macros if you wish, as well. If you do wish to stick with the Harmony, I suspect the reason why the AVR1700 is staying on is because you have to program the actual "off" button into your sequence. Most components use a toggle to switch on and off, meaning if you hit the "on" button, it turns the device on. When you turn the device off you hit the "on" button again. The 1700 is not like that. It doesn't use a toggle, but a physical "off" button, which you need to program into your sequence of commands.

Also, the EZeq setup works pretty well for equalizing the system to your speakers, but I felt the surround (back) speakers were really low, so I manually adjusted their levels to boost them and now it sounds great. Use the manual test on the OSD to check it out for yourself. Some other posters have mentioned experimenting with the position of the EZeq mic, so you might look for those posts and see if you find a different or better adjustment.

Anyway, glad everything is working great. Cheers!
Edited by elkabong16 - 2/10/13 at 10:17pm

Mine doesn't turn off automatically however you can use the AVR app on your iPad to turn it off.

Anyone having issues with HDMI 4 input? It seems no matter what I have hooked up to HDMI 4, I get no picture. Is my unit defective?

It may be defective but it also may just need to have the settings adjusted. On the remote hit the AVR button and then OSD to get into the menu on your TV. Go to source setup and select the correct source (you can also add language) and then make sure that you set the HDMI input to 4 as well.

Good luck

That worked - thanks so much!

How small? Bookshelf or even smaller? What kind of budget? Since you have Polk front (and center? ) I would suggest Polk rears, just watch for sales, they are always happening. If you don't have a center, I would suggest a center before the rears, if you don't already
Edited by budgetocdnerd - 2/13/13 at 10:56am

New egg often has good sales on poll

also Amazon

Thanks but already purchased the rears yesterday. Bought the Yamaha NS-AW190BL outdoor speakers. Yes i do have a Polk CS10 center and Polk PSW10 subs. So far quite happy with the sound which i would guess will sound better after the speakers have been broken in.

honestif it's not too much trouble, look for the Polk 505 over the 10, usually only 15-20$ difference, but a huge quality of sound, just a suggestion

Really? I've only seen a $100 difference.

Is it true that ARC is only possible if HDMI Link is On? If so, it adds to my gripes with HDMI Link...
Bravia + AVR1700 + HDMI Link/CEC = random TV turning off/on.
And I need HDMI Link enabled, otherwise ARC won't work.

Makes no sense because p.31 on the manual implies there are separate settings for ARC and HDMI Link.
Edited by imdoomsday - 2/21/13 at 12:51am

newegg has polk OWM3 bookshelf/surround on sale today (72 hr sale) for $64 shipped with EMCXVVW92 discount code
you may have to be a newegg email subscriber. i just picked up a pair today for my office speakers

I have just purchased this receiver but I have a major issue with it.  Let me start out by saying I think that it is my projector but please let me know if you agree.  I have the following connected to the 1700 (all via HDMI):

 

• Insignia NS-BRDVD3 BLU-RAY
• Toshiba HD-A3 HD-DVD
• Xbox 360
• Motorola QIP 6200-2 Cable Box
• Panasonic PT-AX100u projector

 

When any source is selected the lower half of the screen blinks to white every 2 seconds or so.  I believe that this is an incompatibility between the HDMI on the project and the receiver.  If I plug the HDMI cable from the projector directly into any of the sources there is no flicker.  Then I took the projector down from its mount and plugged it into the receiver using a much shorter HDMI cable and I still get the flicker.  This to me rules out the cable in the ceiling.  

 

If I replace the projector with my much more modern 23" LCD TV there is no flicker in the picture at all from any source when hooked into the receiver with either the short or long cable. This would indicate to me that the receiver is not a "bad unit".  Perhaps some bad firmware but not malfunctioning.

 

I have played around with all the HDMI ARC link etc settings in the receiver and they don't make a difference.

 

All the cables used are the Monoprice high speed rated cables.

 

So it looks like I could call H/K and complain an hope to get a firmware update or perhaps send the projector off for a firmware update since there is one available.  Of course I could just get a newer projector but I don't have the money for that at the moment.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Laters,

Jeff

The 2 seconds blinking is due to failure of HDCP handshake/exchange. If one of the connected devices misses, or mis-reads, or processes an HDCP key late, it will result in blanked-out video, thus the 2 second blinking. This can be due to bad cable, bad firmware, bad device, or just incompatibility between the 2 devices. An updated AVR firmware won't guarantee to solve this problem.

At least your receiver is not randomly turning off/on your TV/projector like mine does. I exchanged my AVR1700 with a new unit, but I'm still experiencing this. I'm thinking of returning this AVR and forget about it altogether. It's not worth the time/effort to tinker with these things.

Jeff before you try for firmware update on the receiver I suggest upgrading the projector firmware, because upgrading the firmware for the receiver is easy to download if there is one

there is no firmware update for the 1700 yet

My 1700 was running like a champ for the first month. This weekend I started getting audio cutout and sometimes a brief video "reset" (TV displayed the input selection like it was changed). This was happening while using Hulu and Netflix from a Sony 590 blu-ray player. The front of the 1700 would say Logic 7 Movie and then when it cuts out it changes to something like PCM 48kHz, the back to Logic 7 Movie. I haven't tried the cable box yet....