Need Help Buying AV Receiver w/1080 Upscaling

[edwindrake]

I have an older generation Pioneer HDTV and currently have HD Cable.

I'm looking for an AV Receiver that is compatible w/my HDTV and will upconvert/upscale all signals to 1080.

I've been looking at the Pioneer Elite VSX-82TXS and Sony STR-DA3300ES as options to meet my needs.

I would like to spend no more than $900 on an AV Receiver.

Any suggestions and/or feedback on the Pioneer or Sony and/or any suggestions for receivers to meet my needs - would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, I am very much a novice when it comes to electronics - so I need something that will be extremely user friendly.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[Thaedium]

I have an older generation Pioneer HDTV and currently have HD Cable.

I'm looking for an AV Receiver that is compatible w/my HDTV and will upconvert/upscale all signals to 1080.

I've been looking at the Pioneer Elite VSX-82TXS and Sony STR-DA3300ES as options to meet my needs.

I would like to spend no more than $900 on an AV Receiver.

Any suggestions and/or feedback on the Pioneer or Sony and/or any suggestions for receivers to meet my needs - would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, I am very much a novice when it comes to electronics - so I need something that will be extremely user friendly.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

I currently have the Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH and its absolutely great. Might not be for someone who needs "extreme user friendly" but if you don't know much about it and you have the interest I believe all would be well.

The Elite VSX-82TXS also only upscales to 1080i, not 1080p and it has 3 HDMI (not 1.3a) compared to the 94TXH' 4 at 1.3a - so that might be a consideration especially when considering other future A/V upgrades. Ultimately its a price orientated thing I know, so get what your budget can afford and what gives the most for it.

I can't speak to the Sony, so hopefully someone else will chirp up about it.

 

[edwindrake]

Thank You!

Thaedium,

Thank You for your help.

Additionally, I have two more questions - if you could help me I would greatly appreciate it:

1) What is the difference between 1080i and 1080p?

2) Does the Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH that you mention do all of the upscaling that I need, i.e. upscale cable box and dvd player video signals?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[avaserfi]

I would recommend the Onkyo 875 if you are looking for 1080p upscaling and is a great receiver in general, plus it can be had for about $850 if you look.

Now to answer your other questions:

1) A good description of interlacing can be found here. All flat panels are natively progressive and thus it is best to send them a progressive signal which means the whole image is displayed at once rather than alternating sets of lines which makes moving images look better in general.

2) I am not sure about the Pioneer, but from what I understand the Onkyo will.

 

[edwindrake]

avaserfi - THANK YOU!

Avaserfi,

Thank you for your help - I greatly appreciate it.

Regards,
EdwinDrake

 

[edwindrake]

Avaserfi - Onkyo 875 --Where to Buy???

Avaserfi,

Thank you for recommending the Onkyo 875 - I greatly appreciate it.

I've looked around the web and the best price I've seen is around $1,600.

You had mentioned in your posting that I could possibly buy one for $850.

Where can I get the Onkyo 875 for around $850?

Let me know when you get a chance.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[avaserfi]

Avaserfi,

Thank you for recommending the Onkyo 875 - I greatly appreciate it.

I've looked around the web and the best price I've seen is around $1,600.

You had mentioned in your posting that I could possibly buy one for $850.

Where can I get the Onkyo 875 for around $850?

Let me know when you get a chance.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

Apologies, rereading my post I was thinking of the 805 (only has 720p processing) not the 875 which is significantly more expensive due to its advanced processing. Since I made this mistake I will try to rectify myself .

Depending on your display type it will actually upscale the signal received to its native resolution. So if your display is natively 1080p (1920x1080) then it automatically upscales the signal to its native resolution. The reason for this is because a display cannot output anything but its own native resolution. Now people choose to buy an upscaling AVR or processor is normally because of either getting caught up in a gimmick; have an actual problem that needs to be fixed via upscaling such as macroblocking and lastly because they can, oftentimes, do a better job than a display at upscaling.

Again, sorry about the misinformation.

So, what kind of display do you have and why are you so dead set on getting this 1080 processing?

 

[edwindrake]

Avaserfi --- Answer Your Question?

Avaserfi,

Thank you for the clarification on the Onkyo 875.

To answer your question why I am looking for the 1080 upscaling is because my HD Cable is with Charter Communications where I only get around 5 HD Channels and 1/3 of the channels are analog and the remaining channels are just digital and not HD. Therefore, the picture for 99% of the channels I watch is poor at best and I was looking for an AV Receiver that could improve my picture quality via upscaling or upconverting the horrible signal from my Cable provider.

Further, I wanted an AV Receiver that could improve the picture of my regular DVD's as well and maximize my Pioneer Plasma HDTV capabilities.

So, any information you can provide me to help would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[avaserfi]

I see, perhaps you should look into a better cable service . In reality this would be your best option as an upscaled signal cannot hold a candle to a HD signal.

As far as more reasonably priced receivers I would recommend the Pioneer over the Sony as I am not a fan of Sony receivers. One thing I have noticed about Pioneer Plasmas is they seem to have pretty good internal processing so the receiver might not help too much.

What is the model number and size of your plasma? This will also help some.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have an older generation Pioneer HDTV and currently have HD Cable.

I'm looking for an AV Receiver that is compatible w/my HDTV and will upconvert/upscale all signals to 1080.

I've been looking at the Pioneer Elite VSX-82TXS and Sony STR-DA3300ES as options to meet my needs.

I would like to spend no more than $900 on an AV Receiver.

Any suggestions and/or feedback on the Pioneer or Sony and/or any suggestions for receivers to meet my needs - would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, I am very much a novice when it comes to electronics - so I need something that will be extremely user friendly.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

What is the native resolution of that TV? It could be 720p and able to accept 1080i signals and convert it to 720p.
Your cable TV stations don't send 1080p signals but 720p or 1080i and the tv will do that.
What video source do you want to up-convert? Can your DVD player do that now? You may not need one just right now?

 

[Thaedium]

1) What is the difference between 1080i and 1080p?

2) Does the Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH that you mention do all of the upscaling that I need, i.e. upscale cable box and dvd player video signals?

1) What avaserfi said

2) The VSX-94TXH does 1080p upscaling of any video source. However, it uses the Farouja chips which in many peoples opinion is not as good as the Onkyo's Reon HQV video processor.

Having never seen the Reon in action, and having played with my 94 for a couple weeks now I think it does a great job. But ignorance just might be bliss, I just don't know. Simply put though, yes, it will upscale your video signals to 1080p.

 

[avaserfi]

1) What avaserfi said

2) The VSX-94TXH does 1080p upscaling of any video source. However, it uses the Farouja chips which in many peoples opinion is not as good as the Onkyo's Reon HQV video processor.

Having never seen the Reon in action, and having played with my 94 for a couple weeks now I think it does a great job. But ignorance just might be bliss, I just don't know. Simply put though, yes, it will upscale your video signals to 1080p.

I would argue that it isn't an opinion that the Reon is better than the Farouja chips as the algorithms in the former are better than the latter. That being said for the price difference I wouldn't even consider buying the Onkyo.

Here is a perfect example recently my dad wanted to buy an Onkyo 905 or 875 over the 805 mainly due to the fact that they upscaled. After about an hour conversation (see me explaining the universe of upscaling) with him he finally settled on getting a 805 saving nearly a grand and will likely be buying an amp soon instead of wasting his money on features he doesn't need .

 

[Thaedium]

I would argue that it isn't an opinion that the Reon is better than the Farouja chips as the algorithms in the former are better than the latter. That being said for the price difference I wouldn't even consider buying the Onkyo.

Here is a perfect example recently my dad wanted to buy an Onkyo 905 or 875 over the 805 mainly due to the fact that they upscaled. After about an hour conversation (see me explaining the universe of upscaling) with him he finally settled on getting a 805 saving nearly a grand and will likely be buying an amp soon instead of wasting his money on features he doesn't need .

Well avaserfi, you're right. I'm just a wishfully thinking that my Farouja comes close to the Reon . However the price point is exactly what sold me on the 94TXH - similar recievers (feature-wise) from Denon seemed quite a bit more expensive to me, and I had heard really good things about the 94 in how it reproduced music. I must admit, I'm not unhappy with the purchase. The 94 outclasses my old Yamaha HTR-5850 significantly.

 

[Davemcc]

Well avaserfi, you're right. I'm just a wishfully thinking that my Farouja comes close to the Reon . However the price point is exactly what sold me on the 94TXH - similar recievers (feature-wise) from Denon seemed quite a bit more expensive to me, and I had heard really good things about the 94 in how it reproduced music. I must admit, I'm not unhappy with the purchase. The 94 outclasses my old Yamaha HTR-5850 significantly.

Don't feel bad at all. Those uber-expensive Denons also use a Faroudja chip. Feel good about saving a ton of money.

 

[edwindrake]

Avaserfi,

Thanks again for your help & unfortunately my cable options are limited to Charter or I can go to Dish or DirectTV - those are my only options.

Additionally, the specifications on my TV are as follows: Pioneer PDP-4214HD, 42 inch Plasma TV.

Again I appreciate all your help and any additional help that might have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[edwindrake]

Mtrycrafts,

I am not sure what the native resolution is on my TV.

However, the following are the specifcations for my TV: Pioneer PDP-4214HD, 42 inch Plasma TV.

Again I appreciate all your help and any additional help that might have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[avaserfi]

Well I just looked up your model here: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_290146100_290101944,00.html

It is 720p native (1024 x 768) but seems to accept 1080i. I would recommend sending it a 720p signal and nothing else if you can control this. This also means you don't need a receiver that does upscaling to 1080 . The pioneer sure seems to be a good bet in this case as it seems to do everything you need .

 

[edwindrake]

Mtrycrafts - TV Resolution?

Mtrycrafts,

The specifications on my TV are as follows: Pioneer PDP-4214HD, 42 inch Plasma TV.

Again I appreciate all your help and any additional help that you might have for me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
EdwinDrake

 

[edwindrake]

Avaserfi,

Thanks for the information on the resolution - You Rock!

I can't thank you enough for your help - especially since I'm so ignorant of this technology and you are obviously a Pro with Great Skill & Knowledge - Thanks!

So, based on your last posting regarding the resolution of my TV, which receiver should I consider purchasing that would upscale my cable & dvd signals for better picture viewing on my TV: 1) Pioneer VSX-82TXS or 2) Onkyo 805?

Again, Thanks for all your help!

Regards,
EdwinDrake

 

[avaserfi]

I would pick up the Pioneer as it actually upscales, but remember this might not solve your image problems as Pioneer displays will probably have similar upscaling capabilities. It might, it might not, but honestly, I wouldn't expect a huge improvement .

A review of the unit can be found here: http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/receivers/pioneer-vsx-82txs

As far as the Onkyo 805 goes. I have read online it upscales to 720p, but no higher. I called Onkyo just now and they confirmed my suspiscions, it doesn't. So if you are looking for an upscaling receiver this one isn't for you.

No problem helping out at all, its a confusing subject with much misinformation!