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tvwatcher · 2013-01-20, 18:46

Looking for a good cheap AV receiver that supports hdmi, I have the speakers already, running a sony receiver now that has no hdmi, basically I am wanting hdmi so I can have surround 5.1 thru hdmi and be able to control the volume with xbmc, unlike optical connection ac3 passthru I am using now.. so many choices out there not sure what to get.. dont need a lot of bells and whistles, just get the job done.. any input appreciated.. thanks.

bluray · 2013-01-20, 19:21

This "Onkyo TX-NR414 5.1 Home Theaterl 3-D Ready Network A/V Receiver" for $187 should server you well.....it is equipped with 6 HDMI input and network too (which allow you to enjoy Pandora, Slacker, etc)....

Accessories4less is a very good seller, and they sell mostly refurbished electronics. I bought three refurbished AVR's from them, and I never have any issue with it. It comes with the same warranty as new model......

Vertigo · 2013-01-20, 19:25

After doing quite some research, I settled for a (used) Yamaha RXV367. I paid only 110 for it, but if I had to do it again, I wouldnt mind paying twice that. It has 4xHDMI (even 3D), automatic calibration, DD/DTS (not lossless though) it sounds absolutely brilliant and its really easy to use. Its powerfull enough for me, but YMMV.

If you want to buy new, while I was shopping I saw Pioneer has some surprisingly cheap HDMI AVRs, but most of the reviews are slightly critical of the sound quality. I havent heard them yet, I guess it depends on how much of an audiophile you are. Other brands Id feel conformable with are Sony and Marantz. Id stay away from the onkyo, too many horror stories of them breaking down.

noggin · 2013-01-20, 19:45

Have had two Onkyo HDMI AVRs. Been happy with sound quality. Build quality definitely better than my previous Sony (which was PCM/DD/DTS only - no True HD or DTS HD) which died with a puff of smoke (luckily 10 months into its guarantee)

bluray · (This post was last modified: 2013-01-20, 20:12 by bluray.)

(2013-01-20, 19:25)Vertigo Wrote: Id stay away from the onkyo, too many horror stories of them breaking down.

There are horror stories with every brand. I owns two network Onkyo AVR now, and I owned two Onkyo AVR's prior too. I haven't encounter any horror story with it...oh, the two Onkyo's prior to these two Onkyo's I owned it for nearly 10 years....it worked till the day I upgraded it to the network version.....

I installed two Denon's, a Yamaha and I owned a Pioneer Elite. I preferred Onkyo for HTPC. It seems to work better with HTPC. For sound quality, it is very compatible for the models at the same price range.....

Vertigo · (This post was last modified: 2013-01-20, 20:29 by Vertigo.)

Granted, this poll is not unbiased as its arguably more likely people with trouble will find it and post there, but still, have a look:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1415258/the-of...ems-thread

Id think twice before buying that.
You find too many similar stories on Amazon reviews and well, all over the web. I have seen nothing of the sort for Yamaha or Sony.

tvwatcher · (This post was last modified: 2013-01-20, 23:12 by tvwatcher.)

Well I went and picked a sony from walmart, tried it out with xbmc and to my surprise, I still see the pass thru audio in use when trying to turn the volume up and down, I thought hdmi would take care of that, I'm getting the same results as using optical.. It sounds great, but no volume control on xbmc, or thru windows media center with cable card cable tv.. I'm using the stable version of xbmc on windows 7

Vertigo · 2013-01-20, 23:18

(2013-01-20, 23:11)tvwatcher Wrote: Well I went and picked a sony from walmart, tried it out with xbmc and to my surprise, I still see the pass thru audio in use when trying to turn the volume up and down, I thought hdmi would take care of that, I'm getting the same results as using optical.. It sounds great, but no volume control on xbmc, or thru windows media center with cable card cable tv.. I'm using the stable version of xbmc on windows 7

Thats how its supposed to be. You might be able to use HDMI CEC to share remotes so the volume buttons of your TV or PC remote control the AVR, but HDMI itself doesnt really solve the volume control issue.

tvwatcher · (This post was last modified: 2013-01-21, 00:35 by tvwatcher.)

well thats a bummer, I guess I will take it back to walmart.. currently i have it setup analog running from green input on motherboard.. then split into 2 rca jacks into receiver.. is there a better way to run it analog? thanks for all the help..

noggin · 2013-01-21, 01:23

Volume control of Dolby / DTS can be done in two ways :

1. Bitstream the DD/DTS to your amp and adjust the volume on the amp (possibly via HDMI CEC from XBMC)
2. Decode the DD/DTS in XBMC, alter the volume in XBMC, and output variable level multichannel PCM. (This won't work for all HD audio though - as I don't think XBMC decodes all HD audio - some it just bitstreams)

What is not possible is to alter the volume of a bitstream without decoding it - the level change has to happen after decoding.

davilla · (This post was last modified: 2013-01-21, 01:43 by davilla.)

Changing the volume of a format that is using passthough is futile. Passthough means 'do not touch the bit stream', in order to change its volume, you would have to decode, change the levels, encode.

tvwatcher · 2013-01-21, 02:13

I hooked it back up analog, so my 5.1 speaker system is only outputting to 2 speakers. and sub. is there any way to output to all speakers? as I say I am running out the back of the motherboard green audio port to an adapter that outputs two rca jacks to the receiver..

PobjoySpecial · (This post was last modified: 2013-05-17, 00:17 by PobjoySpecial.)

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