Issue with Yamaha RX-V4600 HDMI?

[matty76]

man I'm in the exact same boat

bought 557 on sale, decided I wanted 7.1 to be somewhat ready for god knows what. Trade it in after 2 days for the 657. seemed like a good deal.
too much $$$ to make the jump to the 1600 with HDMI so I figure I can deal with it. a week later get a flyer and see that the 657 is on for $125 less for VIP members, I take their flyer so that they will honour their price match and I end up walking out with the 4600...now I'm ready for anything..., so damn excited to get it home, so that I have the simplicity of HDMI in/HDMI out for both DVD and HD/DVR (motorola) well it worked fine directly through the TV but throw the amp in and my world falls apart, wifes mad, more debt (bought all paradigm monitor speakers, samsung 42" DLP DVD player the week before also), and no picture...I cried for a while until I stumbled on this thread...shrugged my shoulders and sat down for the weekend to show the wife how to use the damn remote...is there hope for the future?

 

[Revelator]

I'm sure it's nice to know that you're not alone. Welcome to our support group. The first step is to admit you have a problem and you're already on your way.

I have the same issue with the wife and the remote. I can't tell you how many times my cellphone rings because she's, "screwed up the TV again."

I too hoped for an easy solution as promised by the recent development in technology. But as always, in the home theater industry they release products before they are fully compatible and everyone points to someone else as the fault. I still hold Yamaha partially accountable for this as much as I do the HD Tuner manufactureres. I wonder why the receiver can't just "pass through" the HDMI - HDMI connection from the Tuner without running it through their video switcher.

I have never been able to help my wife figure out how to go to multichannel audio and/or alternative formats such as DTS. It's sad for me to know that my hopes and dreams of being able to at least have a very simple solution for video is now just that, a hope and dream.

Solution, call manufacturers and complain. If you are a DirecTV customer, I provided a direct line to their Advanced Technical Support without going through a switch board. They answer on two rings.

The number is; (866) 678-6664

Perhaps if we all take part in this issue with Britehouse, Adelphi, Dish Network and others, then post our progress, results and secret phone numbers, we may be able to get it resolved sooner instead of shuffled off until the next run of hardware with new bells and whistles that will not be compatible too.

 

[EastCoaster]

East Coaster,

I'm not sure I follow you.

My DVD player doesn't have HDMI output. So I already go from DVD component to receiver video input and then HDMI to TV for this.

But I'm concerned about using component video from the HD box though. Does the component output of the HD tuner allow it to send 1080i and/or 720p.

I know that the receiver has "upscaling" but to me it seems better to have the actual resolution coming from the HD tuner instead of a 420 signal with less resolution going to the receiver and then being interpolated to a higher resolution using the "upscaling" feature.

You are correct though, I need to use a band-aid to fix this for now. But why do I feel like I'm re-living the audio compatibility nightmare from only a few short years ago? Is it DTS, DVD-Audio, SACD, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, Dual Layer Disc................? Holy crap already!

Why does this all have to be so confusing? To me this is the most likely reason why most consumers go towards the Bose Home Theater in a Box solution. You point, you click and that's it. Quality doesn't matter to them; just simplicity.

We, on the other hand, are so obsessed with trying to get the best out of our equipment that we are willing to use work a rounds and hog-pogges to overcome manufacturers design flaws. Yet every 6-months there's a new button, whistle or "feature" that becomes another ripple of incompatibility in the grand scheme of home theater and everyone is running out to own it.

Yes, of course component connections will display HD content. And you'll be hard-pressed to tell the difference if you're using a quality component cable. I don't believe your HD tuner (if it's a cable tuner) will upscale your 480i channels, so your reciever will do it for you (again, you probably won't notice a huge difference). The upscaling won't matter with the HD channels because they are already coming in at native resolution - they won't be affected - just make sure you're not upscaling to above or below what your screen will display (likely to be 720p).

And yes, there's tons of stuff out there... It's all designed to get at your wallet... If the companies didn't pump out something new every three to six months, why would they see you but once in every five years? I think if you spend the bulk of your $$$ on speakers, then a good chunk on your TV, and then only about 10%-20% on your receiver/DVD player, you're only upgrading a couple of thousand dollars every year or two, which I think is just fine. Lots and lots of people here would disagree... I just can't tell the sound difference between a $1,200 receiver and a $5,000 seperates set-up...

 

[EastCoaster]

man I'm in the exact same boat

bought 557 on sale, decided I wanted 7.1 to be somewhat ready for god knows what. Trade it in after 2 days for the 657. seemed like a good deal.
too much $$$ to make the jump to the 1600 with HDMI so I figure I can deal with it. a week later get a flyer and see that the 657 is on for $125 less for VIP members, I take their flyer so that they will honour their price match and I end up walking out with the 4600...now I'm ready for anything..., so damn excited to get it home, so that I have the simplicity of HDMI in/HDMI out for both DVD and HD/DVR (motorola) well it worked fine directly through the TV but throw the amp in and my world falls apart, wifes mad, more debt (bought all paradigm monitor speakers, samsung 42" DLP DVD player the week before also), and no picture...I cried for a while until I stumbled on this thread...shrugged my shoulders and sat down for the weekend to show the wife how to use the damn remote...is there hope for the future?

Let me throw you a curve ball... You may want to take the 4600 back, and get the 2600... If you buy the 4600 you're getting a receiver that's several months older than the 2600 and that apparently can't upscale...

 

[matty76]

yeah, I recently read all of the reviews/specs on this 2600 also, but I got a steal for $999 Canadian where as the 2600 was still selling for $1399 (VIP sale price) it was quite a step up from the 657 which I was perfectly happy with in all of its mediocrity. I guess evenually you have to draw the line...or get a divorce...but then you could turn it up all the time couldn't you?

 

[matty76]

also wondering about this firmware update (not that I know a whole lot about it at all).
could this be a possible solution for many of these issues?

 

[EastCoaster]

also wondering about this firmware update (not that I know a whole lot about it at all).
could this be a possible solution for many of these issues?

Definitely... Now the cable companies just need to roll it out!

 

[Revelator]

Hardware NOT Firmware

I have an update on this situation, at least from what I've learned through Best Buy and DirecTV. I went to a Best Buy and found one person who had a clue. He indicated that the issue is indeed the Version 1 on the HD box vs. the Version 2 on our receivers. He also noted that the reason why receivers with video scalers used Version 2 is because it allows 1080p where as the Version 1 is 1080i.

That being the case, I asked the guy to talk with DirecTV Advanced Support with me at the store, giving him the direct phone number. As typical, the "Advanced Tech," person had to send us to another "Advanced Tech," person and so on. Well, after about 1/2 hour on the phone with the Best Buy person patiently and kindly directing the conversation, the after math left me the same way as when I stated. There is no resolution.

In fact, DirecTV's position now is that the HD box is doing what it is supposed to do. It sends the signal to the TV. The rest is NOT their responsibility therefore they have passed the blame back to the receiver manufacturers, in this case, Yamaha.

I can't say that I'd dispute DirecTV's position because although I'm not happy about it, they are providing functional equipment. I still question why Version 2 can not be made backward compatible to Version 1. My word of caution to everyone is that this issue can NOT be resolved with a firmware update, so don’t hold your breath for that one. My new understanding is that it is a hardware issue, not a firmware issue. So get ready for more dated equipment this spring.

I do like the solution of using Component Video from the HD box to the receiver. At least this way I can still use my HDMI for all video. But now I have to use another audio cable going to my TV if I want audio so once again, this defeats the entire purpose of having HDMI to begin with.

But there is another possibility if you don't mind another piece of hardware in your collection. My DirecTV H20 can put out a native format, albeit 480p, 720p and/or 1080i so in my opinion, I don't need a scaler. So on that note, you can purchase an external video switcher that will handle multiple HDMI inputs say, one from your HD box the other from your receiver, and prioritize them to your TV thereby bypassing this problem. A box like this cost about $125.

Now, this begs the question, why the F%*# doesn’t my Yamaha receiver have this already? If it did, we wouldn’t have the need for this thread. Instead, we could have been talking about how wonderful our new technology/products really are and we could be high-fiving each other while our wives are happy that there's not a cluster-F of cables going to the TV.