The "Official" Denon AVR-2808CI Owners Thread - Page 5

It allows for F L/R, Center, Surround, and Sub adjustment IIRC... yes.

Well it did ship last night with an ETA of this friday. Gonna be a busy fun weekend.

Have fun! It didn't take me long to set it up. I am very satisfied so far.

I had the partially shipped status from 6th Ave too. I called them and got the tracking number...

Concerning the HDMI passthrough on the 2808 (or 2308 for that matter) - does it pass 24hz sources, say from a BD or HD-DVD player correctly to a TV that supports 24hz? I don't see this mentioned on the tech sheets but I see that Yamaha mentions 120hz TVs and 24hz source support on its HDMI inputs. Does this even matter or are they just checking boxes on the feature sheet so it'll sway buyers over to Yamaha?

Besides having 4 HDMI inputs, I'm trying to determine if there's anything better about the Yamaha models then the Denon 2808.

Here's what the Yamaha RX-V1800 spec sheets states:

Refresh Rates (120Hz/100Hz and 24 Hz)
-High Refresh Rate (120Hz/100Hz)
The standard refresh rate (frame rate) for video displays is 50Hz (PAL) or 60Hz (NTSC). Recently, however, LCD TVs and monitors are being introduced that use a double refresh rate (120Hz/100Hz) to prevent flicker and delay problems. The RX-V1800 is capable of transmitting this high refresh rate signal via HDMI.

-Low Refresh Rate (24Hz)
Blu-ray Discs are mastered at 24 frames per second (the same as 35mm movie film) with 1080p resolution. In order to make the most of this high quality, 1080p/24Hz compliant displays and players are being introduced. The RX-V1800 is capable of transmitting the 1080p/24Hz signal to ensure highest quality throughout the reproduction chain.

Got my 2808ci today - ordered on Monday! J&R really delivered on this order.

Now I've got a few quick preliminary questions. In looking through the manual, they recommend setting up satellite receiver and/or DVR with S-Video and Optical Audio (or worse options) - but not HDMI. I have a Directv H20 combo receiver/dvr unit so why wouldn't I use HDMI from the unit to the 2808?

The relevant portions of my proposed setup look like this:

Sat. Receiver/DVR -> ??? -> 2808
DVD -> HDMI -> 2808
2808 -> HDMI -> TV

So...

1) Can/should I use HDMI from the H20 into my 2808? Is there any advantage to using Component & Optical?

2) Any benefit to connecting Sat. Receiver/DVR -> Component Video / Optical Audio -> TV (only 1 HDMI into my TV)?

3) Any reason NOT to put the combined reciever/DVR into the SAT inputs on the 2808 as opposed to the DVR inputs?


Thanks in advance.

-Dan

Sure, if you want to use HDMI there is no reason not to; the 2808 will assign whatever inputs to whatever source so it's all fair game.

I have a 2808 on order so haven't had a chance to set it up yet but I have read through the manual (pdf from Denon web site). I noticed that they default the 2nd HDMI to something called HDP which stands for "High Definition Player". My guess is that your DirecTV H20 qualifies as an HPD.

Look on page 35 of the manual for "Assign", subheading "HDMI". You *might* need to assign "DVR" to "HDMI2". I don't know how the remote works but I assume it has a way of selecting input source and you may not be able to select "DVR" if it isn't assigned to HDMI.

I am just guessing as I haven't received my 2808 yet. Perhaps someone "in the know" can clarify. If you work it out, please let us know!

NYCDan: Use HDMI for the HD sources if you can. The Denon manual does not recommend anything. It just shows examples of how you can set things up.

MrLatte: You can turn the scaler off so that the HDMI connector becomes just a Video passthrough from your Blu ray. You can even choose pass the audio through as well.

And Indeed the name on the HDMI inputs can be ignored. Just consider them as HDMI 1 and HDMI 2. You can assign anything to it. Only the analog audio is kind of fixed.

Do you want to use the 2808’s scaler for 480i video sources? If so, you need to use component video to the receiver (and then you could use HDMI to the TV). Video of any resolution coming in to the 2808 over HDMI and out via HDMI is simply passed through without scaling. I use component video from my cable box into the 2808 with HDMI to the TV AND I also connect the cable box directly to the TV via a second HDMI cable because sometimes the scaler creates some annoying digital artifacts. I also think the direct HDMI signal is a tad better in some cases on some TVs (but it could be my imagination too).

[quote=MrLatte;11865729]Concerning the HDMI passthrough on the 2808 (or 2308 for that matter) - does it pass 24hz sources, say from a BD or HD-DVD player correctly to a TV that supports 24hz? I don't see this mentioned on the tech sheets but I see that Yamaha mentions 120hz TVs and 24hz source support on its HDMI inputs. Does this even matter or are they just checking boxes on the feature sheet so it'll sway buyers over to Yamaha?

Besides having 4 HDMI inputs, I'm trying to determine if there's anything better about the Yamaha models then the Denon 2808.



I'm not sure about those video issues, but the Yamaha didn't have a video out for zone 2. That killed the deal for me as I needed that.

Wrong. This is one of the main differences with the Pioneer and Yamaha. The 2808CI also scales the HDMI input. It is the reason why you are sometimes seeing artifacts and that you feel that the direct connection may look better. The scaler scaled the HDMI input. If you switch the scaler off then if does not scale anything regardless of the input.

Alright just a quick review of the Faroudja scaler. I have verified with the comcast 720p source and SDTV. The Faroudja scaler appears to show more artifact but cleaner diagonals than the Gennum in my JVC RS1. The Faroudja seem to do a better job than the gennum with SD inputs but ads artifacts when the motions are too fast. It does not appear to do anything to the 720p or 1080i (Which gets scaled to 1080p by the receiver). The image then appears cleaner using the Gennum VXP in my projector. All of this is connected through HDMI.

Okay, thanks for all the help so far. I find the setup of this unit to be much more complex than I expected. My old Nak AVR-10 was a breeze compared to this. So here are my current issues:

1) When I first plugged everything in, I saw the menus on the TV screen. Then I must have done something and now I no longer see them there. Any ideas?

2) I cannot figure out how to manually tune the AM/FM tuner. I find it ironic that the one thing Receivers were originally designed to do has become so lost in the menus but here we are. Can anyone give me simple directions?

Thanks. I would be floundering without you guys.

-Dan

1) Press the menu button, it will display the menu. Press again, it will disappear... Tada!
2) Ok I have not done this yet. I guess I need to get my head back into the manual.

It wasn't quite that simple regarding the menu. I got it figured out eventually and think it was the input setting on my TV that was wrong at the time.

I have faith that this will all make sense in a few days, but right now I'm struggling with the less-than-intuitive menu interface. Next up after the Tuner issue is finding an easy way to adjust the Audio/Video delay to synch them better during DVR playback.

Double check the resolution being received on your TV. Are you sure it says it is receiving a 1080p signal? I don't see my 480i over HDMI being scaled (even with i/p convert on with the input source). To double check, I just re-configured my cables to use HDMI from both my cable box and DVD player. When either input source is using a HDMI cable with 480i video, the resolution received by the TV is 480i. When I switch the input source to component video (with HDMI from receiver to TV), the video is scaled / upconverted to 1080p. If my unit should be scaling with a HDMI input, I'll need to return it. Can anyone confirm the intended behavior of the 2808?

Also, I thought I had read somewhere during my research that scaling of HDMI inputs was only done by the higher end Denon models. I can't find the source I had seen but I did just find this quote referring to the 5308 at cnet.

http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers...-32553612.html

<<The AVR-5308CI is also capable of HDMI to HDMI scaling, which is an uncommon feature and allows you to use the powerful Realta processor to upscale lower resolution HDMI signals to your desired resolution.>>

is 6th avenue or JR still honoring that price? could you please pm me contact info.
thnx

Hmm, You may be right. My cable box may be upscaling to 1080p. I am gonna have to check on this. I did read somewhere that the 2808 does HDMI upscaling unlike the Pioneer Elite or the 1908 though but it may have been misinformation.

In the same article, you posted from Cnet, the 2308ci upscales HDMI to HDMI so it is safe to assume that the 2808CI does as well. the 5308 just uses a different chip.

Just got my 2808 in from 6ave that was ordered on Monday. I'am still waiting on some other equipment and cables to arrive and I will get started on my new Home Theater set-up. I hope to get it started this weekend. I have another small task to get accomplished first-I have to try to get a lost Hamster out of a wall!! Kids,whatcha gonna do.

The user's manual indicates the 2808 will only upscale an "analog" signal to 1080p via component cables as well as only "passing through" whatever signal is sent via HDMI cable. My understanding is that many 1080p TVs will upscale to 1080p any signal received as does my Panasonic plasma. When I view a 480i signal from the DirecTV box via HDMI directly to the TV it is the same clarity as when I route it to the 2808 via component cables. Keep in mind that a 480i signal upscaled to 1080p is just upscaled to fit the larger TV size and will not be anywhere close to the clarity of a true HD signal (720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p).

You must have got through to mo betta salesman than I. I ordered last Thursday and only have a tracking #. May be because of the distance to Florida from NJ? DHL site says estimated arrival is 10/12--- We'll see.

I just tried 6ave and the sales rep said the head of ecommerse sent out an email telling reps not to offer the deal anymore. I snoozed, and loozed.

You do gotta wonder if 6ave was making much of a profit at all off of those sales

Just got my 2808ci from 6thave, and hooked up my Polaroid DVD/DVR and Wii with component cables (480p). Ran a hdmi cable to my Panny 42PX60U, and played with all the upconverting settings (auto, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, off). Every setting looked worse (each to a varying degree, with 480p setting being the best) than if I just ran the component cables straight to my TV. The TV identified the correct input resolution each time though. Even turning off the upscaling resulted in a poorer picture on screen (ie, it's not passing the signal through cleanly). The picture was never trashy, but there was just a enough loss of crispness and smoothness to know something was missing (I swapped the cables back and forth to verify).

Perhaps the Panny's have really good internal upconversion already? Anyone else have this TV? Do i need to re-adjust color/contrast settings with the 2808ci feeding in the signal?

One thing I also noticed, is that the white text for the 2808ci's menu will change in crispness based on the upscaling setting, even though it's just displaying a black screen with white letters, and shouldn't be dependent on any upscaling, right? In each setting, there is some amount of fringing around the menu's "finger" (480p being the best again). Could it be my $8 generic 12' hdmi cable I'm using? Isn't it just digital though, so shouldn't matter? Anyone else notice a difference in the menu text/finger based on scaling setting?

I'll keep my DVD and Wii connected straight to the TV. Looks incredibly brilliant that way as it always has.

I am about to order AVR 2808 receiver. Could anyone please suggest me good home theatre speaker system. I am not an audio expert and this is going to be my first receiver. I am thinking of getting Bose AM16 speaker system which is a 6.1 system. Not sure how it will sound. Most of the time I hear Jazz music and watch movies. Please suggest me some good speaker system.

Thanks.

I live in KY so it didn't have far to travel or at least not as far as Florida. I hope you get yours soon!

I purchased a 2308ci with a set of Def Tech Procinema 800's from BB. The package price was ($1100-$100 for the speakers and $850-100 for the 2308)After seeing the 6Ave deal I ordered the 2808 and just recieved it today. I returned the 2308 to BB and got refunded the $750 for the amp. They let me keep the speakers at the discount price of $1000. The 2808 was $880 shipped so it was only a little more than $100 more for the better (2808) amp when you add tax into the equation. Needless to say I'm very happy!

I got the AVR-988 and I can confirm that it passes 1080p/24Hz but it does not scales to it anyone knows what receiver does that don't break the bank?

yep... I can confirm. HDMI inputs do not get upscaled. For some reason my Comcast box upscals all signals to 1080i...