[BrianMc]

I'm upgrading to a new plasma and blu-ray but would like to avoid the expense of a new receiver, at least for a while. My current receiver is a Denon AVR-4800, which I am very happy with, except that it does not have any HDMI inputs. Is there any reason why I would not be able to run HDMI from the Blu-Ray and my Dish DVR directly to the panel and digital audio from both sources to the receiver? (I apologize if this question has been answered before, but reading similar threads just made me more unsure as the discussions often turned to whether or not such-and-such Blu-Ray player could internally decode the HD codecs, whatever that means).

 

[oztech]

If the blu-ray player can internally decode the new audio codecs and has analog out

5.1/7.1 and your rec which I believe it does has 5.1 analog in then you are set for audio

as for cable/sat they all use DD via HDMI/coax or optical so you are still set. Just remember to set accordingly in the menu so that it does not include audio with HDMI on

any of your players.

 

[batpig]

you don't "need" an HDMI receiver to enjoy Blu Ray.


for the Dish DVR, it only uses "legacy" dolby digital anyway, so you aren't losing anything by going HDMI video straight to display and digital audio straight to receiver


for the Blu Ray, you can run HDMI straight to display, and have two options for audio to the receiver:


option 1 - just use a digital audio cable (optical or coax). this option has the ease of simplicity, but you are limited to a "downmix" of the hi-res audio on Blu Rays. it should still sound great this way though.


option 2 - as mentioned by oztech, if you purchase a Blu Ray player which can decode the hi-res audio internally, and has multichanel analog outs, you would hook it up to the 4800's multichannel analog inputs (like an SACD player) and let the player do all the decoding/processing, and you would just be using the 4800 as the amplifier. This would give you access to the full, uncompromised hi-res audio quality, but you may need to spend a little extra to get a player that does a good job of decoding/processing and has analog outs, and you have to run SIX cables from the BDP to the AVR.

 

[hipchecker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by oztech /forum/post/15394410


If the blu-ray player can internally decode the new audio codecs and has analog out

5.1/7.1 and your rec which I believe it does has 5.1 analog in then you are set for audio

as for cable/sat they all use DD via HDMI/coax or optical so you are still set. Just remember to set accordingly in the menu so that it does not include audio with HDMI on

any of your players.

I posted a similar question but haven't received any responses. The bluray player I have is the Panasonic D35. I don't want to hijack this thread, but would appreciate the help (link below).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1101001

 

[BrianMc]

Thanks for the feedback. I've verified that the AVR-4800 has the 7.1 channel analog inputs so it looks ready for either option. I was planning to get the BD35, but it looks like I'll have to go for the BD55 if I want to go for the preferred (?) "option 2".