Are there budget receivers that do DD-HD & DTS-HD?

[autoboy]

Hey guys,

I'm not much of an expert on receivers. I need to replace my trusty old Sony receiver because I ran out of digital audio connections for all my equipment. I don't really know where to start. There are so many options out there and the manufacturer websites are terrible at comparing the models for features.

I'm looking for:
ability to decode the new lossless audio formats on HD-DVDs
Up to $1000 budget, but would prefer less than $700
plenty of digital inputs
Don't need any fancy upscaling
100 Wpc x 5 with 2 channels for second zone
85% Movies

My system:
Axiom m60, vp100, qs8
SVS pb12-NSD
Sony KDS60A3000 TV
Xbox360 w HD-DVD
Playstation 3
Nintendo Wii
5 Disc CD player
HTPC
Cable Box
iPod

 

[Adam]

Check this deal out posted this morning on the Onkyo 805: http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37051

This receiver has gotten a lot of good reviews and recommendations here, and $630 is a great price for it.

 

[jcPanny]

HDMI 1.3 receivers

The Onkyo 605 does HDMI 1.3 audio processing for around $400 and is probably of the the cheapest receivers with all the features on your list.

Also keep in mind that any HDMI 1.1 or higher receiver can get the decoded LCPM audio track from an HD-DVD or BluRay player.

 

[patnshan]

You don't need HDMI 1.3 to be able to do what you want. All you need is an HDMI capable receiver that can accept multichannel PCM. The players (BDP's and HD DVD's) do the processing. I have a Yamaha 661, but the Onkyo 605 will do it as well. There are a few others. You really don't need to spend $1000 given your list of wants.

Pat

 

[autoboy]

Are all the HD players capable of passing the lossless audio as a PCM stream? $400 is not too much to ask for a budget receiver and if it can do the DD-HD and DTS-HD then that is a big plus even if I could just use PCM. I also need to make sure the HDMI port is capable of passing 1080p/24 untouched because my TV is a 120hz model, so that is another requirement.

These Onkyo receivers look pretty promising and the 875 actually looks like it can be a very capable scaler. I initially disregarded the internal scaling in the receivers because all the ones I knew about were no better than my TV's internal scaler, but the ReonVX chip is capable of reverse telecine on 1080i material, which my TV cannot handle so this would be a worthwhile addition and I would be willing to spend the extra $$$ on. I'm wading through the 85 pages of comments on the 875 now and i haven't gotten to the performance of the ReonVX in the Onkyo yet. Anyone know if it passes the HQV 1080i tests?

I don't mind getting the better stuff if I can see justifiable increases in performance. I'm all about bang for my buck and this 875 receiver seems to have some great bang so far.

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver scallers

Auto,
Keep in mind that you won't need any scalling for your 1080p/24 source like HD-DVD or BluRay. The scaler in the receiver wont be doing any processing.

The receivers scaler comes into play on SD material like regular DVDs or SD cable and most HD-DVD and BluRay players do a good job of upscaling DVDs.

A $2k receiver like the Onkyo 875 will have a great scaler, but don't expect it to do miracles with a low res SD cable feed.

 

[fsrenduro]

I wouldn't buy into the argument that 'you don't need HDMI 1.3'. If you are in the market for a new receiver to pair with hi-def DVD's you'd be foolish to not buy for the future as much as you can, especially since 1.3 receiver are available for well under $700.

Many of the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players don't decode DTS-MA internally and will only pass it bitstream (1.3). If you already had a 1.1 receiver I wouldn't say you 'need' to upgrade but if you were buying a TV would you buy one that only does 720p?

 

[Bluesmoke]

Handshaking between 1.3 devices are extremely good, hence I guess why they have auto lip sync correction. That's something else to consider.

 

[autoboy]

I agree that I do not really need the scaling. It would not be used for BluRay, HD-DVD, and probably not DVD unless I hooked up my old SVideo DVD player. Does anyone know if Svideo is any worse than component if you are just running 480i? I gave away my old 480i component DVD player and all I am left with is one with Svideo.

I would use the receiver for the excelent 1080i deinterlacing that my TV cannot do properly. My TV's SD scaler is actually quite good so the improvement would be marginal. However, I do watch, and will probably watch a lot more, 1080i HD material that has all sorts of bad jaggies and moire patterns. Especially the PBS programs. In my initial quest for receivers, scaling was not important to me because all the ones I knew about were no better on 1080i than my TV so it made no difference to me. The Reon in the Onkyo looks interesting to me know.

I want a receiver with the latest features. I have a HDMI 1.3 TV, so I would like to get a receiver to match. Having DD-HD is important to me, not because I need it now, but because I might need it later and it does not appear to limit me right now.

 

[jcPanny]

DVD transport

Auto,
your proposed bluray or HD-DVD player will to a much better job of playing and upscaling DVDs than the old s-video one (unless you buy the cheap BluRay player that AH just reviewed).

Also, the component video output found on progressive scan DVD players is 480p.

You might compare the OTA signal from PBS or other local stations to the one from your cable or satellite box. The OTA signal will probably have a better picture without the jaggies, etc.