Best AV Receiver under $2000

[sddt]

Hey everybody, just wondering what everybody's opinion is for the best AV receiver that is fully 1080p capable (upscaling too). Thanks for any advice...

sddt

 

[Seth=L]

Onkyo TX-SR875 possibly TX-NR905.

 

[toon12]

I just got the Denon avr-888, which has hdmi pass through and 1080p upscaling. Does a nice job on the upconversion to my 58" Panny on sd signals.

 

[adk highlander]

If you look at any of the higher end models of Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo or Pioneer you will find what you seek. Right now I agree with Seth that the Onkyo's are probably the best buy. What are the features that most interest you? Is it only video processing? What about power ratings, decoding of new formats, multizone? I have an Onkyo prepro that is in between the 885 and 905 as far as features w/o the amps.

 

[sddt]

Thanks guys, power is a desire to me as well as not too much heat. A nice on screen GUI would be helpful since I will be controlling the unit from a closet. Multizone would be nice but not necessary, and I would like it to be able to decode as much as possible in attempt to future proof myself...

 

[adk highlander]

Thanks guys, power is a desire to me as well as not too much heat. A nice on screen GUI would be helpful since I will be controlling the unit from a closet. Multizone would be nice but not necessary, and I would like it to be able to decode as much as possible in attempt to future proof myself...

Well except for your comment about heat the Onkyo would fit your requirements. If you give between 6-10 inches on the top it would be ok and I would vent the closet to at least allow air circulation.

My Denon and Pioneers both ran cooler but their gui's were not as nice. I think both have upgraded their interface but I have not seen them. Also the Pioneer did not display the volume level where the Denon and Onkyo both do.

The models I would look at would be:

Onkyo 875 or 905
Pioneer 90TXV or 94TXH
Denon 3808ci
Yamaha RXV3800

 

[sddt]

Thank you for the advice adk!

 

[adk highlander]

No problem. Let us know what you end up doing.

Good luck.

 

[sddt]

Well, I think I have decided on the Onkyo NR905...I'll let you know how it turns out.

Anybody else have any experience with this receiver?

 

[sddt]

Okay, I am questioning my needs now fellas. Not sure I am going to need the video processing after all. This receiver will be connected to a pretty beefy HTPC. So my question is, can I just use the HTPC as the video processor and the receiver as the amp for the sound?

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver options

Another video option would be to use an HD source like BluRay or HD-DVD for movies. An HD source will look better than SD with a good scaler.

The new receivers from Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer, etc. in the $1k price range include all of your other feature requirments. Some even include lower end upscaling of SD video.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Okay, I am questioning my needs now fellas. Not sure I am going to need the video processing after all. This receiver will be connected to a pretty beefy HTPC. So my question is, can I just use the HTPC as the video processor and the receiver as the amp for the sound?

If you already have upscaling capability elsewhere, I would go with the Onkyo 805 for $879.

I just let my blu-ray and HD DVD players upscale and send the HD picture directly to my TV.

So I don't think upscaling by a receiver is that important.

 

[adk highlander]

Okay, I am questioning my needs now fellas. Not sure I am going to need the video processing after all. This receiver will be connected to a pretty beefy HTPC. So my question is, can I just use the HTPC as the video processor and the receiver as the amp for the sound?

I was very dissapointed in my HTPC for video processing. What type of HTPC are you using? I had all the new stuff from ATI/Pioneer Blu-ray drive/4 GB ram and it was not stable or easy to use. It had such a low WAF that I sold off the parts and purchased a stand alone player.

If you don't need to upconvert SD tv or using the scaling for SD DVD's then you should save your money and go with the 705 or 805.

 

[sddt]

I guess my question is, will the HTPC I am building be able to upscale the video for me? I am planning on getting and HD-DVD drive for it eventually when the price comes down. Thanks for the input guys!

 

[sddt]

Thanks adk!

Here are my HTPC specs:
-AMD 64 X2 6000+
-2GB PC2 6400
-ASUS M2N32-SLI mb
-GeForce 8600 GT
-Silcerstone LC13-S Case
-Vista Ultimate

BTW, what is WAF?

 

[adk highlander]

Can it? Yes probably but how are you going to configure everything? Do you plan to put all the sources into the receiver and output the video to the HTPC and have it send the scaled video to the display?

I don't think you will like this. First you would need to have a good capture card to have the video coming in or an tuner for OTA (ATSC or NTSC).

The other issue here is sound. Even if you have a HTPC with a blu-ray or HD DVD you cannot get it to output lossless audio so there will be not TrueHD or DTS Master. If you don't care about this then it don't worry about it.

I don't want to sound down on HTPC's. I spent alot of time and money putting one together and was not happy with lack of support from hardware manufacturers.

 

[adk highlander]

WAF - Wife acceptance factor.

I used the same mobo and the 5600 instead of the 6000. The biggest bummer to me was that media center will not do HD DVD/blu-ray yet. The best software I found was Power DVD but they downsample the sound and you have to start it outside of MC. I have built several computers and have written code for about 7 years but I have never been so frustrated as with getting that machine to do what I want.

 

[sddt]

Well, I plan to have all the sources built into the HTPC in a sense. I will have the HTPC video connected directly to the TV and have an optical cable running to the reciever for sound.

I am going to have a video movie bank on the hard drive with about 400+ movies. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is not a priority of mine at the moment so I'm not worried about it. I will also have a DVB card for satellite that supports upscaling to 1080i I believe. The HTPC DVD drive will be used for DVD movies. Are there any other input devices I'm not thinking of? We might eventually have a console game system of some sort that will need to be connected directly to the reciever I believe.

I have no problem forking out the $$ for the Onkyo 905 if its worth it to run all video through that then output from there to the tv. Just not sure if the PC could do this just the same so I could maybe save some money. Havn't heard too much about the 905's performance since all of the info I have read seems to be what it "should" do with the new Reon-VX chip and not what actual experience has been...

P.S. WAF, lmao...I might be in trouble then since this is going to be a family unit for about 7 people. Myself, girlfriend, brothers and sisters, and of course my parents. Its going in a vacation home so I need something that is user friendly.

BTW, I am also a CS major at UCSD, what sort of code do you work with??

 

[adk highlander]

Most of what I do for my personal business ASP (VB scripting) and ASP.NET (VB) for dynamic web sites. My full time gig is GIS (geographic information systems) and I do python scripting, Avenue and ArcObjects. These are mostly modeling projects for landscape analysis such as connectivity or water quality.

There is a great web site called the green button http://thegreenbutton.com/default.aspx that is all about HTPC's and media center. If you can keep it all working in media center then you should be ok but there will be growing pains.

 

[sddt]

Thanks for the info adk!