[leonp]

I have done a little research to find a receiver that can be a true AV hub of my family room AND theater room at the same time. So far, I can't tell if there is ANYTHING that truly meets my needs in the manner I want them met. Here is my setup:


I have a family room and theater room that are adjecent to one another. I have an AV closet that has HDMI outs to the projector in the theater room and the TV in the family room.


I have a PS3 and two DirectTV HR-21 receivers.


What I need is a receiver that can take HDMI inputs from ALL THREE of these devices, and send any of these signals to either TV. These need to be independent, so I can watch any source in either room simultaneously. I want full remote control of the source from either room. I need two remotes, and they can't be IR since the family room is not in the line of sight of the AV closet.


Is there a receiver (or any other piece of equipment) that can do this for me? Naturally I want this cheap, but can it be done at any price?


In my research I have found receivers that have 2 HDMI outs, but I don't think they can be independently controlled, and I'm pretty sure even if I got a second remote, that it would not work in the family room (no line of sight).


My feeling is that what I am looking for is either a year or two away, or is prohibitively expensive ($5,000 or more). Any thoughts?


leonp

 

[TPnBobcats]



Quote:
Originally Posted by leonp /forum/post/15483568


I have done a little research to find a receiver that can be a true AV hub of my family room AND theater room at the same time. So far, I can't tell if there is ANYTHING that truly meets my needs in the manner I want them met. Here is my setup:


I have a family room and theater room that are adjecent to one another. I have an AV closet that has HDMI outs to the projector in the theater room and the TV in the family room.


I have a PS3 and two DirectTV HR-21 receivers.


What I need is a receiver that can take HDMI inputs from ALL THREE of these devices, and send any of these signals to either TV. These need to be independent, so I can watch any source in either room simultaneously. I want full remote control of the source from either room. I need two remotes, and they can't be IR since the family room is not in the line of sight of the AV closet.


Is there a receiver (or any other piece of equipment) that can do this for me? Naturally I want this cheap, but can it be done at any price?


In my research I have found receivers that have 2 HDMI outs, but I don't think they can be independently controlled, and I'm pretty sure even if I got a second remote, that it would not work in the family room (no line of sight).


My feeling is that what I am looking for is either a year or two away, or is prohibitively expensive ($5,000 or more). Any thoughts?


leonp

Well the Emotiva XMC-1 processor (due out sometime in the second half of '09) will have dual HDMI out. The exact features and price aren't announced yet, but it is probably going to be in the $1000-$1500 range. They sell a very nice 200 wpc x5 amp for $700 (XPA-5) or a 125 wpc x7 amp (UPA-7) for $600. So you're probably talking $1600-$2200 for a pair.


The UMC-1 (the lower end model due out shortly) is towards the bottom, which will give you an idea of what the XMC-1 should do.

http://emotiva.com/news.shtm


Obviously I'm not 100% sure if it will do the different outputs to the different HDMI connections, but it seems reasonable to expect and they should be announcing the details in the next month or so.


I think that's about as cheap as you are going to get. You could perhaps shave something off of the price of the amp, but you aren't going to find anything that will do 5 or 7 channels for much less.


The multi-room control is going to be tricky though. There are high end programable remotes that use RF for multi-room functionality (like the Harmony 890), but they are expensive ($300+ IIRC).

 

[leonp]

Thanks, Tpn. It doesn't seem this should be so complicated, but I guess it is. I had been looking at Emotiva for awhile. Looks like I need to look at the XMC-1 closer when the specs are announced.


Good news is, I am not looking for a new receiver soon. But when the time is right, I would like to get something that meets all my AV needs, not just some or most of them.


Thanks again,


leonp

 

[TPnBobcats]



Quote:
Originally Posted by leonp /forum/post/15484363


Thanks, Tpn. It doesn't seem this should be so complicated, but I guess it is. I had been looking at Emotiva for awhile. Looks like I need to look at the XMC-1 closer when the specs are announced.


Good news is, I am not looking for a new receiver soon. But when the time is right, I would like to get something that meets all my AV needs, not just some or most of them.


Thanks again,


leonp

Have you considered just getting separate equipment for each room? It might well be less expensive than trying to get one setup that can do everything for both rooms simultaneously, if you just cut some corners on the stuff for the family room. Blu ray player prices are dropping, the PS3 will likely see a price cut sometime this year. HTIB are always getting cheaper and better.

 

[Knucklehead90]

Thats an interesting question you've posed.


I think you will be looking at a 2 receiver solution. What you are asking a receiver to do, if I've deciphered your needs properly, is to play, simultaneously, video and sound in two rooms, from different sources.


There may be some preamp processors that can do this but you are talking about 12 channels or more.


I think this close as you will get to what you are looking for. It does not say whether it will simultaneously play from 2 different sources to 2 different displays at the same time.

http://www.jobsitesystems.com/produc...ID=&catcdID=10

 

[leonp]

You almost have it right, Knucklehead. The receiver controls the speakers in the theater room only. The second room for it is the Family room. I only need it to send the HDMI signal (both audio and video) out to the family room HDMI out.


The TV takes the video out of this signal, then sends the audio to its own receiver for the sound. It already does this with the two HDMI inputs from the two receivers. I am trying to figure out how to get the PS3 into the family room as well. I don't have a third HDMI cable from the AV closet to the family room, and I don't think my TV has third HDMI input either.


That is why I am looking for a single solution (receiver) to receive the 3 HDMI inputs, and send them out to either or both displays. A little more research shows a Marantz SR7002 may do it for $1400 list price. I can't tell if its zone 2 HDMI can be truly independent, and I'm pretty sure it can't be controlled remotely from the family room either.


The solution may be a 2x2 HDMI matrix switch, but I have read that the 4x2 ones from Monoprice don't function well at all due to HDCP problems. I need to read more of that thread though, I am only up to Jan 2008 posts.


leonp