How do I temporarily connect a computer to my AVR?

[Swerd]

Of course I use the Aux1 button on the remote. See:

denon avr-x4500h remote control page

What operating system is on the Laptop?

The laptop is not mine. It belongs to an in-law … a Mac, I think. He also brought the HDMI cable that he uses at home, to hook it to a TV set. He has no HT.

I studied my AVR remote control yesterday, with reading glasses on as it's print is impossibly tiny. There is no button to select the front panel HDMI input, so I do have to select one of the existing buttons.

After a lot of stumbling around the owner's manual, I think I found something useful, on page 207. At least it confirms that AUX1 on the remote selects the front HDMI port.

 

[Swerd]

@Trebdp83
Denon says that front HDMI port is meant for a video camcorder or game console. Right now I'm not sure if that is enough to support digital videos downloaded from Amazon Prime.

In the Appendix section, on page 302, I found this. At the bottom, below the table, it says: The HDMI connector on the front panel supports YCbCr 4:2:0 format only.

I'm not sure what that means. Can anyone translate? (I repeat, I hate this manual!)

 

[Swerd]

Thanks for all the hints & suggestions*. They provided search words to use as I stumbled around that Damn Denon manual.

* I continue to ignore any & all hints that require going to YouTube. Life is too short to waste looking there for useful info. As always, YMMV.

 

[-Jim-]

@Swerd You are digging too deeply at this. Don't worry about that Color format specifications. You are looking at an upconverting chart which is not applicable here.

Looking at a diagram of your Denon with The Door Open (or the screenshot I took below)

The Aux1 port is labeled HDMI and it 4K/HDCP2.2 capable (see red arrow). I'd say you need to try a different HDMI Cable next time he comes over with his MAC. Or just AirPlay the video to your Roku instead.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Swerd]

@Swerd You are digging too deeply at this. Don't worry about that Color format specifications. You are looking at an upconverting chart which is not applicable here.

Looking at a diagram of your Denon with The Door Open (or the screenshot I took below)

View attachment 69604
The Aux1 port is labeled HDMI and it 4K/HDCP2.2 capable (see red arrow). I'd say you need to try a different HDMI Cable next time he comes over with his MAC. Or just AirPlay the video to your Roku instead.

I hope this is helpful.

Yes, very helpful. Thanks! I'll be certain to get some extra HDMI cables before this happens again.

I had found that same diagram on page 20 of that manual. Unfortunately, it lacked any info or link that told me how to select that input. So, I kept stumbling.

 

[Trebdp83]

@Trebdp83
Denon says that front HDMI port is meant for a video camcorder or game console. Right now I'm not sure if that is enough to support digital videos downloaded from Amazon Prime.

In the Appendix section, on page 302, I found this. At the bottom, below the table, it says: The HDMI connector on the front panel supports YCbCr 4:2:0 format only.

I'm not sure what that means. Can anyone translate? (I repeat, I hate this manual!)

View attachment 69603

The limit of the front HDMI port is noted as supporting 4:2:0 color and this will be 8 bit when a 4K @60Hz signal is input. It does not support 18Gbps like the rear HDMI ports. Color sub sampling is no big deal if the connected device and receiver communicate accordingly. Some devices will do fine while others not so much. A PC/Mac that output 4K RGB(4:4:4) color may just subsample color, drop resolution to 1080p to retain color or freak out and output nothing. Using the front port, HDR will work with 4K @24Hz signals, but not 4K @60Hz.