Home Audio and Video

[cedarcreek216]

I don't know exact model numbers, but we have a dedicated media room with a Sony projector and 100" screen. Sony ES receiver, Energy 12" Sub and Dali Lektor LCR surface mounted all around, PS3 Blu Ray and Uverse DVR box.

If you've never heard the Dali product line, it's amazing, been the best money spent in that room.

[Chexi]

Yes, Dali's are very nice and a great value. I really like them for music. If my theater room had not come with the full Earthquake setup, I probably would have gone with Dali.

[east tx skier]

If your pre/pro/receiver does not have HDMI (which my marantz sr8400 does not), but has 5.1 or 7.1 analog ins, you can have the source unit decode the lossless audio and run uncompressed audio into the pre/pro/receiver via those analogs (assuming your source has 5.1 or 7.1 analog outs). These analog jacks were initially added to sources for DVD Audio or SACD I think, but some of the higher-end Blu-ray players also have 7.1 analog outs for people who have great older pre/pros or receivers that pre-date HDMI. If you have a good pre/pro or receiver with 5.1 or 7.1 analog ins, a source unit with 5.1/7.1 analog outs and a set of decent analog cables, you will not lose much (if anything) versus lossless over HDMI other than the little logo in the VFD of the receiver / pre/pro.

Gotcha. Figured that might be the case.

[east tx skier]

I forgot, but you also lose video switching/scaling at the pre/pro receiver (assuming you are using HDMI for video)... but you wouldn't have had that anyway with an older unit. An older unit with 7.1 analog setup and a cheap HDMI switcher or even better a DVDO iScan Duo for video/switching and scaling (and color management system) gets you state of the art performance. You would lose on screen display of course.

You sort of lost me there. My home theater receiver will scale an analog video source to 1080p via HDMI to the monitor, but I rarely use that feature, if at all. My Blu-Ray player will scale up anything less than 1080p to 1080p. Of course, it's all scaled when it hits the TV, there being only one native resolution on an LCD. Plus, with more and more on demand content from Dish being 1080p, I don't really want to go to analog there. I know there are ways I could tweak it to maximize my video quality. But, HDMI is just so darned easy, it has made me lazy.

[east tx skier]

Chexi and ETS, if either of you two happen to be in MN, let us know, my wife and I will take you out for the day. I'm heading out to Trophy Lakes Estates III this weekend for a Midwest Regional 3 event Tournament. Still haven't launched our boat this season, weather stinks and wife out of town, we're "D.I.N.K.S"!! And Yes Chexi, hopefully the PACK will win it again, even being a Vikes fan!! I'm not a real HOMER......

Thanks for the offer! No plans to head that direction, but you never know what the future holds.

[Chexi]

You sort of lost me there. My home theater receiver will scale an analog video source to 1080p via HDMI to the monitor, but I rarely use that feature, if at all. My Blu-Ray player will scale up anything less than 1080p to 1080p. Of course, it's all scaled when it hits the TV, there being only one native resolution on an LCD. Plus, with more and more on demand content from Dish being 1080p, I don't really want to go to analog there. I know there are ways I could tweak it to maximize my video quality. But, HDMI is just so darned easy, it has made me lazy.

I'm just saying that if you use an older receiver that is not HDMI, you will not have video scaling or on screen menus (from the receiver) for your HDMI sources. It's an obvious point that I probably did not need to make. Sorry for the confusion.

Also, there are scalers and then there are scalers. I have yet to see a TV that really scaled well. Some blu-ray players do a good job at it. In most cases, a dedicated video processor does the best job, but there are some blu-ray players that can give them a run for their money these days (albeit limited to disc-based media).

A really good scaler also has a full color management system in it (as should a reference TV). This is different from the normal color controls in a non-reference TV or even in blu-ray players. A full CMS allows correction of errors in the color pallate (typically corrects the expanded gamut in most displays), allowing for reference colors. It's one of those things you don't realize is important until you see a reference setup. When you on screen grass really looks like grass and not some neon nightmare and flesh tones are dead on, then you have reached video nirvana. The only ones I know of that are still available are the Radiance line, the DVDO iScan Duo, and a home theater PC with CMS software. I have the DVDO iScan Duo and love it. $800 well spent.

[east tx skier]

My gear is consumer grade at best. I played around with a cheap scaler in hopes of getting another year out of my old Mitsubishi 1080i CRT, which had no HDMI or DVI, only Component and VGA. It wasn't worth anything and led me to just upgrade to a nice 55" Samsung full array LED. As for scaling, the BluRay scales the disc media, the receiver scales the non-disc media that come over anything other than HDMI and the TV scales anything that doesn't get through. I've never thought that any of it did a particularly bad job. DVDs look nearly as good as BluRay discs, the Blu-Rays just tend to have better audio. TV used the CNET suggested video adjustments as a baseline and then was adjusted using Digital Video Essentials.

I have no complaints.

[Chexi]

I'm not using a CMS on my Samsung TV either, and it looks pretty darn good too. My PJ's colors were way off, so that's where it was needed. Scalers and CMS are not universally needed.