[gavin1021]

I've been researching for weeks on these brands. They all have their pros and cons. I want at least 3 HDMI 1.3. I'm looking at the Elite 94, denon 3808, Yamaha 1800 or 3800 and the Onkyo 875. The thing that has been stalling me is the video scaling/upconversion. I'm trying to figure out how important this is and which of these chips will do the best. I will be connecting a Dish HD receiver, SD DVD player, VCR (for that tape collection). Eventually I'll buy a BluRay or HDDVD player. I'll also want a game console too (PS3 or 360). I have a 7.1 setup with Boston InWalls and Ceilings. I like the idea of streaming MP3's from my PC. However not all these receivers will do that. I considered getting a Squeezebox for this function on the ones that do not.


So any input I can get from you guys will be very appreciated. I know there is a lot of knowledge on this site so I'm hoping to get some good replies. How important is a good video processor? How do these 4 stack up to each other? Sound quality? Will the squeezebox be better than the receiver as far as streaming audio? Thanks in advance to all those that reply.

 

[GTZ]

Here's a comparison of both Yamahas, the Denon, and Onkyo compliments of Crutchfield (no affiliation).

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/P...ems=022RXV3800


And a link to the Pioneer:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...TXH.Kuro?tab=B


Hey, they all got their strengths, and maybe a few weaknesses when compared with each other. IMO, the Onkyo has the best chip with the Silicon Optix Reon-VX HQV. The Pioneer, to me, is very good musically.

 

[SpeedracerII]



Quote:
Originally Posted by gavin1021 /forum/post/12875284


I've been researching for weeks on these brands. They all have their pros and cons. I want at least 3 HDMI 1.3. I'm looking at the Elite 94, denon 3808, Yamaha 1800 or 3800 and the Onkyo 875. The thing that has been stalling me is the video scaling/upconversion. I'm trying to figure out how important this is and which of these chips will do the best. I will be connecting a Dish HD receiver, SD DVD player, VCR (for that tape collection). Eventually I'll buy a BluRay or HDDVD player. I'll also want a game console too (PS3 or 360). I have a 7.1 setup with Boston InWalls and Ceilings. I like the idea of streaming MP3's from my PC. However not all these receivers will do that. I considered getting a Squeezebox for this function on the ones that do not.


So any input I can get from you guys will be very appreciated. I know there is a lot of knowledge on this site so I'm hoping to get some good replies. How important is a good video processor? How do these 4 stack up to each other? Sound quality? Will the squeezebox be better than the receiver as far as streaming audio? Thanks in advance to all those that reply.

My opinion is that you should save your money on a premium AVR that does good upscaling and invest it in a BD player. Then the only non-HD source you have is your VHS player and honestly what upscaler is going to make those look good on an HDTV? What do you have on VHS tape that is so important? Eventually VHS will go the way of 8-track tape. Might as well start the transition.

 

[Erik Tracy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedracerII /forum/post/12879812


My opinion is that you should save your money on a premium AVR that does good upscaling and invest it in a BD player. Then the only non-HD source you have is your VHS player and honestly what upscaler is going to make those look good on an HDTV? What do you have on VHS tape that is so important? Eventually VHS will go the way of 8-track tape. Might as well start the transition.

Beta is better

Erik

 

[gavin1021]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedracerII /forum/post/12879812


My opinion is that you should save your money on a premium AVR that does good upscaling and invest it in a BD player. Then the only non-HD source you have is your VHS player and honestly what upscaler is going to make those look good on an HDTV? What do you have on VHS tape that is so important? Eventually VHS will go the way of 8-track tape. Might as well start the transition.

So, if I pull the VCR out of the equation then the only thing left in SD would be on DISH, for the time being. If this was the case, what would be the reason to value upconversion so much? Is it even worth all the headache? I have my wedding on VHS, but I am currently planning to convert to DVD. You never know when you'll need a VCR. Guess I can keep it unhooked and just set aside.


Is there any other reason I would want good video processing if the majority of my material was HD DISH and BluRay source?

 

[cansp6]

About upscaling, personally, it's a convenience thing for me. I just like to be able to run a single input to my TV and have the amp do the switching. Makes it very easy to have one remote to control the whole setup without investing another couple of hundred dollars to get a Harmony or something.


As for upscaling, it really depends on your TV. I mean, if your TV does upscaling, there is really no need to pony up the extra $$$ to get the same functionality out of the receiver.


Of course, if you must have 3 HDMI in, you're probably going to get both upscaling and upsampling for "free" since the only amps that have that are going to be towards the top of a manufacturer's lineup ...


Lastly, with respect to sound quality, the more information you provide, the better the responses are going to be. What music genre(s) do you listen to? What speakers do you have? What time of day do you usually listen to music and what are the acoustic properties of your room?


Generally speaking, by far the cheapest and the most effective way to get better sound quality is by upgrading your speakers. While the amp certainly has its role, a $2000 set of speakers is going to sound about the same on a $500 av amp as it will on a $2500 av amp. If for no other reason, simply because the price premium is due to better av features, as opposed to better sound reproduction.

 

[SpeedracerII]



Quote:
Originally Posted by gavin1021 /forum/post/12880968


So, if I pull the VCR out of the equation then the only thing left in SD would be on DISH, for the time being. If this was the case, what would be the reason to value upconversion so much? Is it even worth all the headache? I have my wedding on VHS, but I am currently planning to convert to DVD. You never know when you'll need a VCR. Guess I can keep it unhooked and just set aside.


Is there any other reason I would want good video processing if the majority of my material was HD DISH and BluRay source?

I thought your Dish was HD not SD. Doesn't the Dish HD already upscale the SD channels? You might want to check to see if the receiver you are considering will even upscale the signal from your VHS. Most of these upscalers will only scale from 480i or better on a component (or maybe S-video or composite) input. Most will not upscale from an HDMI input. So if your Dish HD is outputting over HDMI you may not be able to upscale anyway. Research the specs carefully before you pull the trigger.

 

[photosurrealism]

I'd like something that would expand a letterboxed image on 4:3 to 16:9- for widescreen recordings at SD and (especially) for LDs. It's hard to tell from the manuals, but it looks like the Yamaha does one of those non-linear stretches horizontally (yuck), the Denon and Onkyo stretch it horizontally (good if it's supposed to be anamorphic, yuck otherwise), and the Pioneer zooms in cutting off the top and bottom (correct).


Is that the case? If so, that's a big point for Pioneer. I really couldn't be sure from the manuals because, for instance, Denon says it'll do "Normal" or "Full" with no elaboration whatsoever. Morons. The only thing that makes me think the Pioneer does the right thing is that it mentions it might crop an image if you set it wrong.


My projector will do that from a 480 source, but I'd like to scale it better than it's likely to. I don't think the projector does any processing at all. (It better not- there's no setting to turn it off!)


ab