HDMI upconverting

[paniboy]

Hello guys, I am a newbie to the electronics world, and I am just trying to make sense of some things.

I just bought a Panasonic TH-50PH9UK, I also ordered the HDMI input "blade". What I am trying to get out of my system is a awesome picture through Tv "cox cable HD box" and movie picture quality through "upconverting DVD player".

What I can't seem to figure out is this. If you have an upconverting DVD player via an HDMI out would I need an upconverting receiver?


I am planning on getting the Onkyo TX-SR604 because of the HDMI switching, but then I saw the Onkyo TX-SR674 for ruffly 180 dollars more. And the added feature with that is upconverting. What good will that do for me given my situation?

Any input would be great on these receivers and what I should do. Thanks in advance

 

[agarwalro]

Good TV choice You will love it.

Upconversion means taking a signal from a lower quality input and routing it to a higher quality input. Eg. composite to component, component to HDMI, s-video to HDMI, etc.

You are looking to run only 1 HDMI wire to the TV... right? Well... the cable STB's DVI or HDMI out will not work with any receiver's HDMI switching. There is a dedicated thread for it here. Should be easy to find.

So what you have to do is, use component from STB to the receiver, upconvert it to HDMI and then use the HDMI out from the receiver to run one HDMI cable to the TV.

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver features

Pani,
Make sure you understand the difference between these two features:

Video Format Conversion:
Take a composite video, svideo, or component video input and output via component or HDMI connection. Reduces cables to the display but no improvement in picture quality. Even my low end Yamaha HTR-5860 includes this feature.

Video Upscaling:
Take a 480i or 480p input and upscale to 720p or 1080i over HDMI. High end Yamaha RX-V2700 and Denon 4306 receivers include this feature. There will be a video improvement if the scaler in the receiver is better than the internal one in your TV. Like you suggest, there will be no benefit to an HD source like upscaling DVD player, HD cable channels, or HD-DVD/BluRay.

 

[agarwalro]

The TV does not support 480i over HDMI input. So make sure your STB outputs at least 480p.

 

[paniboy]

Sorry guys but what is STB? And is the consensous for me to go with the onkyo 604? What do you guys think of that receiver?

 

[agarwalro]

"cox cable HD box"

= STB = Set Top Box.

Most receiver output on-screen stuff at 480i. I dont get mine since i am using the HDMI input.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Here's one for the experts...

Look at system #1 in my signature below.

My intention is to upgrade to the Onkyo TX-SR674 receiver which features HDMI switching. I want to run the Directv HR20 DVR HDMI output to the Onkyo, then HDMI from the Onkyo to the Hitachi HD monitor.

The next upgrade would be a DVD (or Blu-ray) with HDMI output connected to the Onkyo.

Do you see any potential problems with this configuration?

Thanks and Happy New Year.

LL