Got tech questions? Looking for advice on how to get the most out of your A/V gear? The experts at Sound & Vision have answers! Email your questions to AskSandV@gmail.com.
Got tech questions? Looking for advice on how to get the most out of your A/V gear? The experts at Sound & Vision have answers! Email your questions to AskSandV@gmail.com.
Welcome to UAV's latest blog, in which I answer your questions about anything related to audio and video technologyequipment setup and optimization, wired and wireless connections, room environment, content creation, digital cinema, cable/satellite/terrestrial broadcasting, online streaming, Blu-ray, 3D, 4K, future technologies, and anything else in the ever-expanding A/V universe. Even better, other readers can add their two cents in the comments, which I invite and encourageafter all, you might think of something I didn't. Also, I know a lot about this stuff, but I don't know everything, so sometimes I'll post a question and throw it open to readers who might know more about it than I do. And if an answer I provide proves to be inadvertently incorrect or misleading, I want to know, and I'll update it immediately.
All you have to do is send your question to askscottwilkinson@gmail.com. Try to keep your questions as short as practical, but don't skimp on any details you think are important for me to provide a suitable answer. If you're asking about specific gear, please include the makes and model numbers.
My goal is to help you get the most out of whatever A/V system you have and better understand the complex world of current and coming technologies. So let the questions begin!
Got tech questions? Looking for advice on how to get the most out of your A/V gear? The experts at Sound & Vision have answers! Email your questions to AskSandV@gmail.com.
Got tech questions? Looking for advice on how to get the most out of your A/V gear? The experts at Sound & Vision have answers! Email your questions to AskSandV@gmail.com.
Got tech questions? Looking for advice on how to get the most out of your A/V gear? The experts at Sound & Vision have answers! Email your questions to AskSandV@gmail.com.
In The Zone As digital HDMI connections (and their associated HDCP requirements) become the default for A/V gear, I wonder if the days of a second HD zone on AVRs are behind us? Or are the manufacturers planning to address the current limitation of sending only SD video to a second zone? Will I be forced to buy an HDMI matrix?
I have all my source devices (TiVo, Roku, Blu-ray player) connected to my Denon AVR-791 via HDMI 1.4a cables, and a single HDMI cable goes to my Panasonic TC-P50VT25 television. If I use the Internet apps on the TV, I cannot hear any sound. How should I set up the AVR and cables to get sound from the TV to my speakers? I have the onboard speakers disabled, of course, and if I turn them on, the sound does work. I don't know if the AVR can take audio back over the HDMI cable through the HDMI output port.
I ask because the Netflix app on the TV is pretty good. I thought the same version would be on the matching Panasonic 3D Blu-ray player, but it's not. Right now, we use the version on the TiVo or Roku.
I have a Panasonic TC-P50GT30 plasma TV and Pioneer VSX-1121 A/V receiver, both of which support HDMI version 1.4 with Audio Return Channel (ARC). The AVR's HDMI output is connected to the TV's HDMI input 1, which is the only input with ARC capability. I also have a PS3 connected to one of the TV's other HDMI inputs. When I play a Blu-ray disc on the PS3 and listen to the audio through my AVR, all I see on the AVR display is Stereo. However if I connect the PS3 to the AVR directly, I see Dolby Digital (or whatever the audio format is) on the AVR display. Does the Panasonic plasma not pass the advanced Blu-ray audio formats, such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD, to my AVR via HDMI ARC?
What's in a Number? Will Blu-ray play through an HDMI 1.3 cable? I replaced a standard DVD player with a BD player and lost the sound. The cable is 1.3. Does that make a difference?
I am searching for an appropriate AVR and speakers to build a modest system around a Samsung ES8000 flat panel. Simplicity of use for the basic functions is an important criteria to get final approval! I have a PS3 and Sky satellite box to connect. Do I really need to limit myself to products displaying an Anynet+ label in order to minimize the number of button presses required? Just how standard are the implementations of HDMI CEC today? Or would a universal remote control make such concerns irrelevant?
Secret Handshake I have an LG 50PK750 plasma TV connected to a Sony Blu-ray player via HDMI. When i switch inputs from the cable box to the BD player, I may or may not get sound. It seems to work more often if I switch the input and then power up the player. No one I've talked to, including an LG tech, has any knowledge or advice about this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I read somewhere that HDMI only provides 2-channel audio from a Blu-ray player or other source device to an A/V receiver. This implies that the coax digital output from the player must be used for 5.1-channel audio to the A/V receiver. Is this true? If so, does the same apply to the digital out of a satellite receiver?
Never Enough Inputs I recently purchased a Toshiba 46-inch LCD TV, which has four HDMI inputs. Unfortunately, I need more than that. I own an Apple TV, Mac Mini, PS3, XBox 360, and Boxee Box, and I will soon get a Roku XDS player. I want to get an HDMI receiver that has at least six HDMI inputs and one or two outputs to accommodate all these devices. I have decent home theater speakers connected to an audio receiver, which I don't intend to upgrade at the moment.
So here's my question: What HDMI receiver would you recommend? I don't want to spend a lot on it, but I want something that gets the job done. My budget is around $150-$200.
I have an older Toshiba 57H82 TV with component-video inputsnot HDMIand an Onkyo TX-SR608 A/V receiver with HDMI. I would like to connect HDMI hardware, such as a Roku box and DirecTV tuner, to the HDMI inputs of my receiver, but I can't connect the HDMI output of the receiver to the TV. I have heard of the HDfury, which is supposed to convert HDMI to component. Will that work? Do you have any suggestions, or am I stuck until I buy a new TV?