Home theater update

[Indydriver]

After 11 years, my Best Buy supplied and installed home theater system is ready for an upgrade. First let me say that, because of the extraordinary perfection of the original installation and it's flawless performance for all these years, I'm going back through Magnolia and the Geek Squad.

My Pioneer Elite 50" plasma has been a trouper but is ghosting badly. My inwall speakers remain great and thank goodness they left plenty of room for a 65"er. I will go with a 4K Samsung 8000 series flat screen and matching DVD. My primary concern is whether or not I will have to also replace my Denon 1906 receiver which does not have HDMI inputs.

Any thoughts on this last issue? My goal is to be completely 4K/HDR capable for DVDs and Comcast (when they get around to it).

 

[raytseng]

It is not strictly required; All the new high-end samsung TVs have multiple HDMI inputs; so your TV can be the new "hub" taking in all the hdmi av sources; and then you pass the sound to the Receiver for surround sound.

If you have a mixture of components though such as RCA cables and other non-hdmi sources;
then things are less neat and you have sometimes Video going from your receiver to TV; whereas other times it goes from tv to receiver only for sound.

This might require you to do the remote control mambo and swap multiple settings on multiple devices when you are changig sources though

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
and then you pass the sound to the Receiver for surround sound.

Not sure what the situation is today, but a few years back, this used to be problematic at best. Due to some silly copyright protection standard, on some sources, TVs would down-convert audio to 2-channel stereo when passing the sound over to an external device, so you were not getting true surround sound to your receiver.

I say just get a new receiver for convenience.

 

[Wolf359]

I have an even older receiver which doesn't have HDMI. My comcast box has an optical out for surround sound so it doesn't need to come from the TV unless you're using an antenna.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
My inwall speakers remain great and thank goodness they left plenty of room for a 65"er. I will go with a 4K Samsung 8000 series flat screen and matching DVD. My primary concern is whether or not I will have to also replace my Denon 1906 receiver which does not have HDMI inputs.

Any thoughts on this last issue? My goal is to be completely 4K/HDR capable for DVDs and Comcast (when they get around to it).


Save the cash and pick up either the Vizio P65 or M65 or even the M70 if you can squeeze it. 4k, FALD, HDR, Dolby Vision, and a better deal than the 8000 series Samsung. You could put the savings into upgrading your receiver.

We upgraded from a 5 series Samsung Plasma to a M70 and love it. The picture is AMAZING.

 

[DriveHard]

If you get a DVD/Blu-Ray player that has a digital audio out, that would be your next best option to upgrading your receiver. Obviously HDMI offers the best option for sound reproduction as it can simply carry more multi-channel sound information than digital or analogue (unless you have discrete analogue inputs). You run an HDMI cord to your TV, then a digital audio cord to your receiver. You may have to sync the sound...which is usually in the advance setup in the DVD player. I have been set up this way for some time now, as I wanted to avoid updating a very nice receiver myself.

Another choice I looked into is an HDMI decoder. This is great if you have 7.1 discrete analogue inputs on your receiver. The HDMI can decode the higher bit rate sound coming from the HMDI source and convert it into the 7.1 channels. This offers the benefits of HDMI sound, but allows you to keep your old receiver. Downfalls here is that you will lose your signal processing that happens in the receiver. My receiver does some phenomenal processing allowing me to feel like I am in different famous venus...and I did not want to lose that either. Also, the HDMI decoders are somewhat pricey for what they are.

There are also some DVD/Blu-ray players that have 7.1 discrete analogue outputs built in...just one more option to think about, but with the same limitations listed above.

 

[Indydriver]

Thanks for the info. I'll see what I can work out with the "geek" and report back.

So far, the service from BB hasn't been perfect. The good news...I ordered the TV and BR player Saturday night. The TV was delivered on Monday and the player arrived via UPS today. Not bad. But, the TV delivery had a four hour window and was 1.5 hrs late. I called 1-800-BEST BUY and after 25 minutes on hold was told they would be there in 45 minutes (which was close). They promised to send a $25 gift card for my inconvenience.

If the technician accomplishes the goal of complete 4K/HDR surround sound upgrade, I'll be happy. Hopefully, I'll be good for another dozen+ years.

 

[DriveHard]

interesting...they are making audio HDMI decoders for under $50 now.

 

[Gillsy]

Originally Posted By: Indydriver
After 11 years, my Best Buy supplied and installed home theater system is ready for an upgrade. First let me say that, because of the extraordinary perfection of the original installation and it's flawless performance for all these years, I'm going back through Magnolia and the Geek Squad.

My Pioneer Elite 50" plasma has been a trouper but is ghosting badly. My inwall speakers remain great and thank goodness they left plenty of room for a 65"er. I will go with a 4K Samsung 8000 series flat screen and matching DVD. My primary concern is whether or not I will have to also replace my Denon 1906 receiver which does not have HDMI inputs.

Any thoughts on this last issue? My goal is to be completely 4K/HDR capable for DVDs and Comcast (when they get around to it).
It is my understanding that HDMI was required to get to 1080p. I would therefore assume that would be required for 4k as well. Going to a larger screen will more than likely reveal the limitations of 750p.

 

[Indydriver]

Samsung 8000 4K TV and Blu-Ray installed yesterday. Geek Squad did a great job. After watching them do the whole thing, I could have DIY'd but glad to have the pros there to answer questions and make everything just right.

First thing is WOW! What a picture! It really does "upscale" the standard Comcast signal. I watched the game last night on NFL Network and it was just great. I don't have any 4K media just yet but standard BR discs are super sharp. The TV is connected to my local wifi and can get 4K programming from UTube, Netflix, Amazon, HBO etc. those with subscription services generally offer a free month to try it out.

The primary concern I had going in--will I be able to save my old receiver--was solved with the optical cable. So, I have full 4K/HDR capability now including internet broadcasts. I am super pleased and would highly recommend this equipment and Geek Squad if you need it.

The only thing I would add is to figure out what HDMI cables you need and mail order from Monoprice. "Premium" 4K cables are only $5 for 10 footers. GS wanted $30 for 4' Rocketfish.