Sanity Check on V863 Setup

[757Captain]

Folks,

First time poster, and very new to home theater systems. Yesterday I finished setting up my very first HT setup. The gear is as such:

Sony 40" Bravia Z Series LCD TV
Yamaha V863 Receiver
Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player
Comcast HD and Digital Cable with Scientific Atlanta 8300 Cable Box

I made all the connections via HDMI, and ran the auto setup for the V863 receiver. I've looked the manual over a few times, but still not certain if auto-setup has the system configured properly for the best possible picture and sound via digital cable and Blu-ray. Everything looks and sounds fine, but figured I'd check-in with those more knowledgeable here. Are there any tweaks I need to do to optimize the sound and pic? I can't find any mention of if auto-setup on the receiver automatically sets things up for HD audio and pic from the BD and cable box? I'd sure appreciate any feedback from those familiar with this unit, as the manual is a bit weak...

Many thanks in advance! Hope to get the system tweaked, I promised the kids a movie night tonight!

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum! You have yourself some really nice gear.

I don't believe that the auto set-up does anything for the video. For audio, those systems seem to set the front speakers to large, while most people reset them back to small to send the bass to a subwoofer.

What speakers are you using, and do you have a subwoofer?

 

[757Captain]

Hi, thanks for the reply! I'm using an older 5.1 set of Energy Encore speakers. I do have a subwoofer (Energy Encore 8).

 

[Adam]

If it were me, I'd set all of the speakers to "SMALL" if they aren't set that way already, and I'd set the crossover frequency to either 80Hz or 90Hz. You can always try both and see what you prefer (you might not be able to tell a difference). Set the crossover frequency on the subwoofer itself (the dial on the sub box) to as high as it will go - that way, the sub's crossover won't be filtering anything out of the signal that the receiver is sending to it.

 

[mtbound10]

Captain~

I am in the same boat as you and I have had my 863 for a while now.

Finally catching on though...

I have all my speakers set to small

My LFE is set to Sub

I have my sub crossover up all the way and my reciever crossed at 110 0r 120 ?

I also just went through and turned the Db up on the reciever for the sub from -2.5 or -3 to 2.5 and it made a huge difference.

dont get me wrong, I am by no means well versed in this stuff... but if you have any other guinea pig questions let me know... chances are I have been there and tried it and have still not got it right so we might be able to help each other out

Cheers

 

[757Captain]

Captain~

I am in the same boat as you and I have had my 863 for a while now.

Finally catching on though...

I have all my speakers set to small

My LFE is set to Sub

I have my sub crossover up all the way and my reciever crossed at 110 0r 120 ?

I also just went through and turned the Db up on the reciever for the sub from -2.5 or -3 to 2.5 and it made a huge difference.

dont get me wrong, I am by no means well versed in this stuff... but if you have any other guinea pig questions let me know... chances are I have been there and tried it and have still not got it right so we might be able to help each other out

Cheers

Hey thanks very much! The specific questions I have are along the lines of making sure I have the unit setup for the best picture and sound from Comcast (digital cable) and the blu-ray player. I will definitely tweak the speakers as suggested as well. Thanks mtbound10 and everyone!

 

[757Captain]

If it were me, I'd set all of the speakers to "SMALL" if they aren't set that way already, and I'd set the crossover frequency to either 80Hz or 90Hz. You can always try both and see what you prefer (you might not be able to tell a difference). Set the crossover frequency on the subwoofer itself (the dial on the sub box) to as high as it will go - that way, the sub's crossover won't be filtering anything out of the signal that the receiver is sending to it.

Adam,

Thanks... The sub has two dials actually:

BL(Bass Level) Control
This rotary control adjusts the output level of your encore8 Subwoofer,
and should be used to balance the level of the subwoofer with that of
your main speakers.

LPF(Low Pass Filter) Control
This control adjusts the high frequency roll-off of the subwoofer.
Continuously variable from 50Hz to 100Hz, it is used to precisely match
the subwoofer bass reproduction with your main speakers.

Any ideas on how to set this thing up? Thanks...

 

[Adam]

Set the crossover dial on the sub to 100Hz (that's what I meant previous by as high as it will go). That max crossover is why I recommended either 80Hz or 90Hz for the crossover in your receiver. The specs on the sub said that it goes up to 100Hz. If you set the crossover on the receiver to 120Hz, then your speakers won't play below 120Hz, but your sub won't play above 100Hz - so you'll have a dip between 100Hz and 120Hz.

Also, your speakers are rated down to 70Hz. So, while 80Hz is the recommended crossover per THX, it might be too low for those speakers. So, I mentioned trying out 90Hz.

As for the volume knob on the sub ("BL Control"), keep that where it is for now. The receiver should have done a decent job setting up the output levels on your speakers. If you think that the bass is too low, then you can certainly increase the level - either by changing the subwoofer output level on the receiver or by changing the volume knob on the subwoofer.

There are more involved ways to calibrate a system, and we'd be happy to point you in the right direction and talk you through it. However, the above are what I recommend for your movie night tonight.

 

[757Captain]

Ok, well movie night was a big hit. Pls keep the suggestions and ideas coming... One of the questions I have is:

How do I ensure that the receiver is playing the correct sound format (I'm assuming it's Dolby Digital) when playing a blu-ray disc? Also, I have it setup for 7ch enhanced when I watch TV, is this a good idea?

Thanks guys...

 

[mtbound10]

How is your system hooked up...

HDMI or otherwise?

When you use 7 channel enhancer or stereo it is just taking the output and sending it out to all channels (speakers) in your system it does not act as a decoder it just makes a larger sound field without decoding.

If you set your reciever to auto in the "manual setup" to "input menu" then select each individual source... in this case "DVD" the "decoder mode" set to auto will automatically determine what decoder is needed to play your DVD in the right format.

Again, this is all info that I have deciphered with help from guys like Adam (thanks!) to setup my system. Alot of this depends on how you have your system hooked up...

Take photography for instance... every time you change one parameter it will effect another parameter that you have not touched! Alot of this seems to come down to balance.

Please correct me if I am wrong... (adam, isiberian...)

 

[mtbound10]

I have a question....

If I have 1080i available from my cable box.... do I want to set my "video conversion" to OFF...

I have everything running through HDMI.

Video conversion states "Use this feature to set whether to convert the video signals at the VIDEO, S VIDEO, and COMPONENT VIDEO jacks."

My choices are ON (converts composite, s-video, and component video signals interchangably and upconverts composite, s video and component video signals to hdmi.)

OFF (does not convert any signal)

If I choose "ON" my choices are as follows...

THROUGH, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p.

Does this mean whenever I am watching a channel that is not in HD on my cable box that the "analog" signal will be upconverted to whichever I choose?

 

[Adam]

Hi. Based on your description (and my memory of the manual), you aren't using that feature because you have everything connected using HDMI. Your receiver doesn't need to convert anything.

Also, with HDMI, all of the signals are digital - there are no analog signals being sent over HDMI to your receiver.

Your final question is about upscaling. I'd have to check the manual to get the settings for that over HDMI - but I'm pretty sure that the 863 does it.

EDIT: I don't see anything in the manual for scaling of an HDMI input signal to an HDMI output signal.

 

[mtbound10]

I guess the next question is...

With my connections all being made by HDMI, do I lose quality if conversion is set to "on" and then "through" or is it just sending the original scale through to my monitor.

Second question... Lets say I am watching something less than "HD" on my cable box, one of the early channels for instance channel "3"... would that be coming through in a less advanced scale like 480i? And if so does the 863 take that scale and upscale to 1080i or p if I so choose?

 

[757Captain]

I guess the next question is...

With my connections all being made by HDMI, do I lose quality if conversion is set to "on" and then "through" or is it just sending the original scale through to my monitor.

Second question... Lets say I am watching something less than "HD" on my cable box, one of the early channels for instance channel "3"... would that be coming through in a less advanced scale like 480i? And if so does the 863 take that scale and upscale to 1080i or p if I so choose?

Just tagging along, I was wondering the exact same thing!

Thanks!

 

[Adam]

I guess the next question is...

With my connections all being made by HDMI, do I lose quality if conversion is set to "on" and then "through" or is it just sending the original scale through to my monitor.

Second question... Lets say I am watching something less than "HD" on my cable box, one of the early channels for instance channel "3"... would that be coming through in a less advanced scale like 480i? And if so does the 863 take that scale and upscale to 1080i or p if I so choose?

My take from the manual is that it isn't doing anything with the HDMI feed whether you set conversion to ON or OFF, and the scaling preference only applies to the analog inputs that are converted. That's my take on it.

Here's my advice. Watch something that you know is in standard definition. Change the conversion from ON to OFF and check if you see any difference. With conversion ON, change the scaling options and check if you see any difference.

Perhaps someone else here knows for sure if there's a setting for the HDMI inputs.

 

[mtbound10]

tou'che~

I will give it a try later...

damn newbies!

(just kiddin)

 

[Adam]

damn newbies!

Not at all! I just suggested that because I have no idea if it scales HDMI video, and you've got the power to find out right in front of you.

 

[mtbound10]

Well I was watching Tiger defeat the rest of the field earlier... The grass was green the picture was clear and it was in full screen, on HD of course. My cable box was showing 1080i... The only fault I found was looking at the greens (meaning the grass) I could see spots that were bright and spots that were "bland" almost like different colors of pixilation... kind of like blotchy skin for lack of a better analogy...

Now, on the same channel, non hd, with the RX-V863 set to upscale (HDMI CONVERSION-ON, HDMI RESOLUTION-1080i, 1080p, 720p...) I saw no similarity to the HD version of the same picture. There was a noticeable difference between the "high quality" HD and the lower quality "common" scale.

I have heard mixed emotions about the 863 in regards to a few issues, one being its upscaling capabilities...

Quite honestly, I have no Idea if I have my system set up to upscale properly so I can not say whether or not my 863is not up to par, or if I am not up to par...

On the other hand...I just watched the BR version of IRON MAN..... for the love of all that is good... I could feel the base through my couch!!!! It was pretty fantastic. The sound was spot on and the picture was great as well. My g/f kept telling me it was like being in a theater!!! YAY me!

I have never done anything to calibrate my tv though, and will have to dive into that next!

But back to the right settings... I do not know if my Monitor, DVD and reciever are working together properly or not, and whether I have them set to do the right work is well beyond me!

 

[757Captain]

Lol, I'm in the same boat... Not sure if I have the whole system tuned properly... Oh well, looks like it will have to wait a few days. Back to work Tuesday morning for a 4 day trip.

Cheers!

 

[mtbound10]

Godspeed Gilligan!

I will keep the forum alive... I have more questions now than when this started.