I need to HD outputs on a new receiver for multiroom

[drewbleedsblue]

So here's the problem. I have about 1200 to spend on a receiver. My brother in law works at local electronics store and can get me a Denon 3808ci for 940.00 plus tax. I am leaning towards an ebay purchase of the Sony strda5300es that i can get for about 1k shipped (supposed authorized sony dealer that i have purchased from before). I dont need the receiver until end of the year, so I can technically wait till just about december.

I am leaning towards the sony as i have had an ES receiver before and really loved it. I like the 6 hdmi's and love the fact that it has a second zone hd output. I understand it uses component cable though, but none the less it is an hd second zone output... all for 1k.
The denon, I dont know much about. I've seen how everyone raves about it on all the sites. But I know there are tons of people who will buy anything denon puts out and I know how there are just as many people who hate sony. I like that the denon has ethernet connection for internet radio and firmware updates. I'm sure its audio qualities are up there as well. My only disappointment is that it only has composite second zone video.... which to me is pointless. Composite? why offer it at all?

So my question... for the price, whats the better deal. knowing that i can wait till december, am i better off waiting for the new models and releases? When did this denon line premiere? How often to the replace this line? Is the Sony that less of a receiver than the denon? Same for the SOny... when do the new models come out?

Im hoping if the new models come out soon (or at least before december) they will all start to offer second zone hd outputs.... Is this realistic?
and again, what receiver do i go with?

i have mirage omnisat floor standing fronts, omnisat cc center, omnisat bookshelf rears and a velodyne 3750 sub.

thanks

drew

 

[MDS]

Im hoping if the new models come out soon (or at least before december) they will all start to offer second zone hd outputs.... Is this realistic?

Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath. All the manufacturers are on a yearly update cycle and I'm not familiar with when Denon refreshes their line. Component video to a second zone is pretty rare, in fact I didn't know there were any receivers that offer it until your post talking about the Sony.

It seems to me that it would be useful to only a small minority so I doubt we'll see it anytime soon...except maybe in the mega bucks flagship models which will retail for far more than $1K.

If it were me, I'd go with Denon over Sony, because I tend to think of Sony as a second tier brand compared to Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, and Pioneer when it comes to AV receivers (just my IMO).

 

[drewbleedsblue]

yeah.... in that retail 1600.00 price range, the sony 5300es is the only to offer a second zone hd video output... again only in component video though. The denon 4308ci offers wifi and a second hdmi output for its second zone, but this receiver retails 2500.00. I doubt this would be in my price range even with my brother in laws employee discount. So you would really consider the sony a second tier receiver to the denons of the world? Like i said, i can only base my receivers on what i've previously owned, which is mid line harmon kardon and the 2000es sony receiver (which i was very satisfied with).

 

[MDS]

Don't take what I say as a definitive answer or judgement on any brand, but based on my experience (I have owned Sony), I personally don't consider Sony to be in the running. Now I don't particularly like Denon and Yamaha is a close second as far as dislike, but in my mind they are still in the top tier. As you said, everyone has their brand preferences (mine is Onkyo).

Truth be told, they are all good. It's the subtle differences that causes people who've owned different brands to develop a brand preference over time. It's why I rarely answer the 'which receiver should I buy' type of questions.

You'll probably be happy with any of them once you learn the quirks and what the Engrish manual is really saying (like I said they all offer pretty much the same features, it's the implementation of said features and how easy it is to understand how and why they do what they do that causes you to develop a preference over time).

The particular requirement of HD video to a second zone will be hard to come by at the moment though regardless of brand or price point. I don't mean to sound negative, but the CE industry is very much 'me too'. If one brand offers some 'feature' they will all quickly follow. As am example, they all support Dolby Digital dynamic compression, but Yamaha is incredibly confusing, while Onkyo makes it simple. HK added blue LEDs and now they all do.

The problem with this junk is you can't really know what you prefer until you've tried a few.

 

[adk highlander]

The Onkyo 885 prepro I have has component video out for the second zone as well. I think the 905 and the Integra brethren will also have this function. The ouput is 480p though and not hight def. I tried to find the specs on the Sony to see what the component output is but it was not listed. That is a nice feature from the Sony and I wish the Onkyo would have allowed at least passthrough for HD sources in the second zone.

The Sony does not have the higher quality scaler like the Onkyo's HQV Reon or Realta but if you have all HD sources this will be less of an issue.

The one thing to remember is none of these will down convert from HDMI to component so you will need to run those cables for each source that you want to use in that second zone.

 

[bandphan]

Aside from using the receiver, there are other ways to distribute video. If your looking for whole house solutions, strart with what you want to accomplish, # of hd/sd feeds, and the control. Here are some video solutions

 

[drewbleedsblue]

ok... so here's the plan. My wife and I bought a new house that wont be ready till december. the great room has a media niche where i plan on putting all of my av components. The back/other side of this wall where the media niche is conveniently shared with our master bedroom... litterally the other side of the media niche is where my bedroom tv will be. Running cables to this tv will be no problem at all.

The main reason why i want second zone hd zone is so that i can run my ps3 via component to my (in this case) sony strda5300es and than the component cables to the bedroom. In the primary zone the ps3 will be set up via hdmi. I understand that every time i want to watch a blu ray or play a game i will have to toggle the settings from the ps3 from hdmi to component/optical. I am more than willing to do this as I dont plan to use it that often in the bedroom, but it would be a nice feature to have. Our bedroom tv is basically a once in a blue moon source to watch tv in. I also plan on running the direct tv hd dvr via component as well to the receiver along with hdmi for the main great room. am i making any sense? is there a simpler way of doing it? This is basically the first time i've ventured into second and third zones.... so maybe i got it all wrong huh? im basically trying to avoid having to purchase another hd direct tv dvr and ps3 for the bedroom. it lets me keep all the components hidden in the media niche, but gives me the hd output for the second zone (the master bedroom). If my wife and i arent watching in the great room, we'll be watching in the bedroom together. so i really dont care bout not being able to watch two different things in both rooms at the same time....

if this situation cant be done, than obviously the denon is a better buy. if what im trying to do is not possible, than i will go with the denon, but if i can pull it off, it seems that the second zone hd component output is a better fit for me? right? I also plan on using the logitech harmony 890 or 1000 for rf control. the ps3 is wifi so there's that solution

so again, is this possible? is there a better way?

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver purchase

I would hold off on the receiver purchase. Consumer eletronics prices have a downward trend and there are always major sales around black friday. When new models come out you can get good discounts on the current model.