Doubt about video section of the receiver and picture quality.

[Evergreen4]

Hi all,

Well, although this is my first post in this forum, I have been reading you quite often, and I have to say that I learnt a lot from you guys.

Ok, so here is the thing. After 8 years of loyal service, I was thinking of replacing my old Denon AVR-3805 for a new one plenty of HDMI connectors.

Right now, all my video sources: BD player (Pioneer BDP-LX71), Xbox 360 and HTPC are connected, via HDMI, directly to the TV set (Pioneer PDP-LX5090H).
Regarding the audio section of those video sources, the BD player is connected to the AV receiver thru RCA audio cables, and the Xbox 360 and HTPC are both connected the AV receiver thru optical digital cable.

In this scenario, the BD player is decoding the HD sound (DTS HD MA, Dolby TrueHD) and sending the signal to the AV receiver…

First thing I want to clarify is that my current A/V receiver is working like the first day… NOT a single problem in those 8 years, so my first candidate to replace my old Denon is a new Denon: the AVR-3313.
The idea is to let the new AV receiver to handle the audio section by connecting all the above mentioned sources (BD player, console and HTPC) directly to the Denon thru HDMI, and then to connect via HDMI the AV receiver to the TV set.

And here comes my problem: I am completely in love with picture quality of my Pioneer PDP-LX5090H TV. Watching a BD with this Pioneer combo is an amazing experience… and, on the other hand, I have never used my receiver's video section at all except for setting it up…

So here is question: do I have to expect changes in the picture quality of my video sources by sending the video signal thru the AV receiver??... How bad those potential changes will be??...

I mean, by replacing my current AV receiver for a new one, I expect to get a bunch of new (cool?) features, a cleaner installation with less cables hanging here and there and (maybe) a better sound quality with HD audio formats in the case that the new receiver is able to handle a bit better the sound rather than the BD player… BUT under any circumstance I am willing to sacrifice picture quality to get all this…

So please, just tell me: is the receiver video section a feature to avoid in terms of picture quality?

Thanks a lot.

PS: sorry for my poor English.

[Grador]

You should expect the video to be exactly the same it is now. Unless the receiver is doing something dumb it will simply be taking the information it receives over HDMI, stripping off the audio info to use itself, and sending the video info off to the TV untouched.

[Adam]

You should expect the video to be exactly the same it is now. Unless the receiver is doing something dumb it will simply be taking the information it receives over HDMI, stripping off the audio info to use itself, and sending the video info off to the TV untouched.

That Denon has a number of video operations that it can perform. After skimming the manual, I couldn't tell if they could all be completely shut off for non-4k signals. So, I think it's a good question. From the manual:

In addition to HDMI 3D and ARC (Audio Return Channel) functions,
this unit supports the video pass-through function, which outputs
video to TV without changing the video quality when video signals
of 4K (3840×2160 pixels) are input, and the GUI overlay function,
which overlays the menu screen (GUI) on the 4K video screen.

[PENG]

The Denon can pass through the video signal without doing anything to it.

[Evergreen4]

Thanks all for your answers...

The Denon can pass through the video signal without doing anything to it.

So, Peng, this is exactly the thing that I wanted to confirm: if the A/V receiver is able just to receive the video signal and sending to the TV without performing anything... No video degradation then? Do the AV receiver normally have some kind of setting to disable any type of modification of the video signal?

Thanks all again.

[PENG]

Thanks all for your answers...
So, Peng, this is exactly the thing that I wanted to confirm: if the A/V receiver is able just to receive the video signal and sending to the TV without performing anything... No video degradation then?

I just read a review on an entry level Onkyo AVR by Home Theater magazine and the reviewer said the video signal passed through "unmolested". Entry level units ususally don't have video scaling or even converting capability anyway. If you go with a mid range or higher end AVR I think you can expect "no video degradation", or at least any degradation would not be visible by human.

Do the AV receiver normally have some kind of setting to disable any type of modification of the video signal?

Most mid range AVR would likely have some video processing capability but yes they also typically, at least for those I have used and read about, allow you to set it to "Off", "pass through" or similar terminologies that means "disabled". I have a Marantz AV7005 that has a very decent video processor (the latest ABT at time of launch) but I set scaling to off while leaving video convert on just so I can see the volume display on screen. When I was using my Denon AVR-4308 I have both set to off and still able to see the volume display. So it really depends on the features of the AVR you have in mind. I suggest you do your research to make sure you get the features you need before purchase.