Video Asylum

Posted by Zoltar The Inedible on February 27, 2012 at 16:37:46

In Reply to: RE: OK. Here goes. posted by Kal Rubinson on February 27, 2012 at 15:24:46

That pretty much covers it. I'll just add that Blu-ray players with separate multichannel audio outputs are less common, and more expensive. Only worth considering if you already had a really nice pre-HDMI (or even pre-Digital Surround) processor or receiver that has discrete multichannel inputs. Or want a minimalist surround system where you just use a multichannel volume control between the Blu-ray source and some quantity of power amps. (Decent surround processors allow for running without a centre channel speaker or subwoofer, by distributing the centre channel signal to the left and right front, and/or doing the same with the subwoofer signal. So, you could upgrade from stereo to real discrete surround by adding just one pair of speakers for the rear. Any decent 5.1 or 7.x receiver will have this ability.)

Some models of A/V receiver include preamp outputs, so you could use a separate amp for the front speakers and the internal amps for the surround. Some do 7.2 which presumably means outputs for left and right subwoofers, which might be better for music. Most 7.x receivers can upconvert standard definition sources (VCR, laserdisc) to HDMI, which will save the annoyance of switching inputs at the TV as well as the receiver. They also tend to have more HDMI inputs than 5.1 models. But, if you don't have a lot of different sources, you may be perfectly happy with a 5.1 receiver (a decent Pioneer can be had for $250 on sale).

Be wary of used HDMI receivers. Some early models just switched HDMI video without extracting the audio portion. Some had serious bugs in the firmware (like an h/k receiver I spotted in a pawn shop). Check the reviews on Amazon.

I read someplace that 5% of A/V receivers develop problems, which is an argument in favor of buying new with an extended warranty. Now that we've got multichannel lossless audio support, there's not much room for improvement.