To keep it short, I'm looking for an AVR with the following:
DLNA with nice interface (must support mkv, mp4, with DTS audio)
Airplay (I want to stream directly from my laptop via itunes without having to turn on the TV its connected to.)
Built-in wireless-N dual band (WIFI dongle acceptable if absolutely necessary)
~$300, but can go as high as $500.
Now the details:
I just bought a Panasonic 50GT50 and was hoping that the built-in DLNA would be good enough. It's pretty good but lacks DTS audio support and I find the music interface clunky and would prefer to be able to stream directly to a receiver from my laptop using Airplay. That said, I already have a pair of Totem Forest speakers and in the market for a receiver. Since I have no plans to get a sub or go with surround sound I was initially looking at stereo receivers such as the HK3490 and Onkyo TX-8050, but neither supports airplay and both seem a bit out of date compared to the features I'm seeing on surround sound AVRs. I don't really want to get into a debate about the merits of a stereo receiver vs an AVR. What I am more interested in is whether that are any AVRs that might be suited to my needs that also have built-in WIFI (wi-fi via dongle is acceptable but I'd prefer it to keep it simple and have it built in). I see a lot of 5.1 AVRs that advertise network capabilities but I'm finding it hard to discern whether that networking capability is via ethernet only. Since the speakers I have are pretty nice I don't want to sacrifice music playback quality too much, but truth be told the majority of the time I'll be watching blu-ray rips of TV shows and movies. I'll keep researching AVRs since I'm new to them (have only ever used old tube integrated amps), but in the meantime I'd appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks!
Edited by ehfz - 2/8/13 at 8:23am
DLNA with nice interface (must support mkv, mp4, with DTS audio)
Airplay (I want to stream directly from my laptop via itunes without having to turn on the TV its connected to.)
Built-in wireless-N dual band (WIFI dongle acceptable if absolutely necessary)
~$300, but can go as high as $500.
Now the details:
I just bought a Panasonic 50GT50 and was hoping that the built-in DLNA would be good enough. It's pretty good but lacks DTS audio support and I find the music interface clunky and would prefer to be able to stream directly to a receiver from my laptop using Airplay. That said, I already have a pair of Totem Forest speakers and in the market for a receiver. Since I have no plans to get a sub or go with surround sound I was initially looking at stereo receivers such as the HK3490 and Onkyo TX-8050, but neither supports airplay and both seem a bit out of date compared to the features I'm seeing on surround sound AVRs. I don't really want to get into a debate about the merits of a stereo receiver vs an AVR. What I am more interested in is whether that are any AVRs that might be suited to my needs that also have built-in WIFI (wi-fi via dongle is acceptable but I'd prefer it to keep it simple and have it built in). I see a lot of 5.1 AVRs that advertise network capabilities but I'm finding it hard to discern whether that networking capability is via ethernet only. Since the speakers I have are pretty nice I don't want to sacrifice music playback quality too much, but truth be told the majority of the time I'll be watching blu-ray rips of TV shows and movies. I'll keep researching AVRs since I'm new to them (have only ever used old tube integrated amps), but in the meantime I'd appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks!
Edited by ehfz - 2/8/13 at 8:23am













). Since I am primarily interested in Airplay and I would need to get a wireless adapter for all of these receivers anyway (except the Sony), I could consider the 1403 paired with the Airplay optical output of an airport express. This would work fine expect I also like the idea of the automatic airplay input switching that occurs when you have a receiver with airplay built-in (I don't care but I can't let things get too confusing or my wife will be cross).