The "Official" Denon 4308ci Owners Thread - Page 6

It doesn't really suck.. decoding inside a player should sound no different than doing it inside the receiver...

And most people are going to find that DTS-HD MA doesn't sound that much better than the core tracks they are getting now...

These "issues" about 1.3, lossless codecs and bitstreams are going to confuse a lot of people, as is apparent here and on the Onkyo threads.. HDMI 1.3, in regards to audio and video from BR, HD-DVD and OTA or Sat HD, will bring no better audio or video quality than is available with HDMI 1.1 or 1.2.. there is nothing that sucks in letting the players do the hard work.

There is no reason to think the decoding inside these products will be lacking in any way... it appears the Denon will post process all decoded signals.

In regards to advanced content.. think of the following case.. Let's say you are watching a PIP commentary and switch it on and off (like on the HD DVD of Fast and Furious 3).. how does the receiver know you have done that and that it is supposed to then mix the secondary audio in with the main feature...

It really surprises me that the HDMI org didn't work to set up a standard for both data transmission and metadata control into their spec.. that would've been something.

Even though 1.3 doesn't add beneficial functionality in a lot of circumstances, it reiterates the beautify of the new paradigm with HD optical and streamed delivery... you can worry about replacing the transport and not the receiver, and that will almost always save you money in the long run.

Outside of the decoding features in these products, they offer great video processing, slick UI, features galore, wired and wireless connectivity and outstanding bang for the buck.. I can't imagine not jumping in to the fray with these units

I'm thinking the same thing about jumping into the fray!

I've been holding out because it seems there are several good products coming out right now in the Denon's and and the Onkyo's. Because of the Reon chip in the Onkyo lines I'm leaning heavily towards the Integra 9.8 pre/pro myself but I think the Denon's or the Onkyo's provide exactlywhat you said... I doubt you can go wrong with any of them.

Hi guys,

First: Thanks for taking the time to report back on your experiences thus far.

Second: Now that you owners have been pushing buttons and playing with the new machines for a couple days, how is that remote working out? I remember a few early reports that it would take some getting used to.

I ask because those remotes stand out as a slightly risky business decision. I guess it's easier if I ask direct questions...

Is it in fact a touchscreen?
Does the touchscreen work?
Is there lag/delay like old LCD screen remotes?
Is the menu structure on the face intuitive?
Any reports of a spouse successfully picking it up and getting it to perform the intended task? (as if any of you would let them touch it this soon - lol)

Sadly, I need a new AV receiver that not only kicks ass, but is something my wife can actually turn on and use (basic functionality) without getting frustrated.

Thanks in advance.

Well since the PS3 apparently doesn't do the hard work on DTS-HD it would be nice if it output the bitstream for something else to do it. Seeing as how I'm going from a pre-HDMI receiver to the current SotA I'm not too concerned with whether 1.3 is better than 1.2 or 1.1 since I don't have any of them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I couldn't tell DTS-HD Master, from DTS-HD, from DTS-HD Core, from old-school DTS but it's always a let-down when new stuff doesn't do the latest and greatest the way you think it should.

Be that as it may:

People who are buying these 805,875,4308 etc. etc. are gonna be mighty pissed if the next gen bluray players come out but for some unforeseen reason their new receiver wont decode the bitstream if available to them. People like to read TruHD and the like on the displays of their receivers.

I understand theoretically it should not make a difference.

And be that as it may, there will be no reason that content authored in basic and a compatible player and receiver won't talk together.. the issues will be with format specs and authoring. The THD and DTS-HD MA logos should account for that kind of compatibility.

It's going to be a big "IF" because of advanced and interactive authoring techniques.. people are going to have to get over not having the indicators on their receivers light up.. and it's going to confuse the hell out of them when it is on sometimes and not others.. if you look here, there are already people who are confused about it with vanilla DD and the PS3.

Are you saying people will be pissed just because the little light on the receiver doesn't turn on? Because that is the only thing they are missing. The new Denon Blu-ray players (and I am sure future maodels from all companies) will both send bitstream out to the receivers if the user wants the receiver to do the decoding. But in all truth there will be no SQ difference between having the player do it or having the receiver do it. You just get the little light But, like many have said, when it comes to the advance TrueHD etc the players will probably end up doing all the work anyway if the user wants to use the extras. So in the end people will get their fancy light if they want it, just not when using some of the extra features. Once everyone understand this they will just live with the players doing the decoding. If the companies were smart they would just put the little fancy light on the players themselves and everyone would be happy! Well, maybe not PS3 owners.

The marketing of HDMI1.3 receivers has done nothing but confused most comsumers into thiking they need a new receiver when in fact their HDMI 1.1 are just fine. The only reason I am buying a new HDMI 1.3 receiver is because those are the ones with more HDMI inputs. If the olders ones had 4+ inputs I would buy one of those instead.

Save yourself a headache and buy her a Harmony remote. Program it to do all of the basic functions and she will be happy. I recommend the one with the activites buttons right at the top. That way she only has to push one button to do what ever she wants. Then you can use what ever remote you want.

That's very true. If these companies are not careful and these logos continue to proliferate (and often don't work properly) consumers will start to believe that it's all just marketing. Well, of course it mostly is but they'll actually begin to understand that!

Then what? We'll end up with just that one Dolby light again.

Hello All
Does anyone who now has the 4308 have experience with the old THX-Ultra model from 2001 ?
It was the AVR-5800 in USA and the AVC-A1SE in UK. I have this and it`s time to upgrade and I`m looking for opinions on how the 4308 would compare. Would 6 years of technical advancement make the 4308 sound as good even though it`s quite a bit cheaper or will I have to splash the cash and wait for the 5308 beast ?
Does the 4308 have any processing to give you 7.1 sound through HDMI and PCM or is it only THX models that provide 7.1 ? I don`t really want 2 back speakers doing nothing.
Thanks very much for any comments.

Do all of you 4308 owners have to work for a living or something? It has been 20 hours since any of you chimed in. Come on!!!

No kidding!!! I put in a preorder at listenup.com for the 4308, which should be shipping this week and am going to cancel an order for the 4308 from another online retailer that I found some stuff out about which got me a bit worried.

Anyway, I've been dropping in on this thread throughout the day to learn some more things and nothing!

OK, I've been trying to get my 4308CI to work with my Apple WiFi router with no luck. It seems no matter what I do, it can initially see the network but can not join if any security at all is enabled, and with no security it can join but then doesn't seem to get an IP from the DHCP server. If I enter an IP manually, still fails. My test is to try a firmware update once I think I'm online and it never works. Any thoughts? I've read page 33 of the most pathetic manual. Surely there's more information out there on how to set up the WiFi. Has anyone else had success with getting online using Apple's WiFi routers?

I would probably try another router, ie Linksys, etc. Go to Staples and buy one and try it out. If it doesn't work, take it back for your $. Been there done that!

Is there something special about the Apple router? Not familar with it.

The aple router nothing special and very easy to work with. This is a situation that should be very easy for any wireless device. We took down the whole network where there is no security so this should be very easy to connect. It says it is connecting but everytime I try and download the firmware it reads failed.

have you tried doing anything else? Streaming from your computer? Etc? Because there's probably no firmware update on the denon server (if the server is even set up at all yet) and depending on how the receiver has been set up by denon the error messages may not be very explanatory.

I have the AVR-5600 and the delay on that when switching between sources ranges from 2 to 5 seconds. DVRDude, were you the one that replaced an AVR-5600? Can you comment on the difference, if any, in source switching delay?

Thanks,
David

Bummer. My family finds the delay rather confusing and frustrating.

I just picked up my 4308ci tonight!! I have not taken it out of the box yet, but I should be able to report tomorrow. My set-up is the following:

Receiver: Denon 4308ci
Display: Sony KDS-R70XBR2
Speakers: Klipsch, RF-35s, RC-35, RS-35x4, RSW-10
Sources: Sony DVP-CX777ES, PS3, XBOX 360 Elite and the Wii

Time to get to work!

I got mine today, Walked into an Andersons TV and walked out with it. The guys told me that it was in stock for a week now. Anyhow my first opinions are that the sound quality over my 3805 is very noticeable. The 8 position mic (yes mine asked for 8 difernt locations) makes the music sound a lot better. When I say better I mean percise and not tinnie. I was getting eccoes in the room from souch a strange and funny angles of my walls. I realy liked my 3805 but this thing is why better sound quality wise.
Setup was a little tuff for me at first. I am not done by any means but after a while I got the hang of it. It is way more involved than the 3805 and way more controllable.
Vidio wise I cant coment much. I have never run my vidio through the reciver untill now. I do not see any difference in quality on any of my 3 HD sources. I did notice the menu offeres settings or each different source but I didnt play with them as the picture looked just as good as hooked up direct.
For you guys waiting for one, It is going to be well worth the wait. I love mine.
If I had to gripe about somthing, this thing runs hot.

Good luck to all and enjoy.

If anybody has the time would they mind posting the size of the box. Need to work out if it will fit in my car.

Many thanks

Ron

I finally got my 2900 to work tonight with the 4308. It would not allow me to hook it up in the DVD area but all of the others areas seemed to work fine? I finally decided to hook it up to the AUX area. Other things worked in the DVD components; everything but the DVD? For the life of me I cannot understand what is wrong with the amp or what would keep it from working? Any ideas?

Many thanks for answering my post John re: internet radio glad you got it working and are enjoying your machine.

Ron

PS. Tried to edit my previous post which I had submitted before I read you had replied, but have to admit I can't work it out - bummer