Video via A/V Receiver -Good, Bad or just Convienent?

[BuddTX]

Suprised that there is not a thread on this already (I did a search with no results).

What is everyone's opinion on running the Video signal through one's A/V receiver or pre-out?

I have some observations, but no real answers.

1. More convienent, of course. One button changes the Audio as well as the Video. (I never had a problem with switching the receiver , then the TV!)

2. Use the best port, all the time. If your monitor is lacking multiple S-video or Component video (or dvi or hdmi), you don't have to comprimise.

3. Up-conversion. NOT an expert here. All video signals can hit the monitor "at it's best" by using component (or dvi or hdmi). Supposedly, receivers will up-convert the signal to be a better signal. OF COURSE, the soruce itself can not be improved upon, but "more of the same" might be good. But, is up-converting an S-video or composite video signal good? I do not know.

4. More stuff to get in the way. Is less better? Is going from A to B better than going from A to B to C? Again, maybe sometimes yes, maybe sometimes no.

I have a new receiver, that has AV switching (Pioneer VSX-1014) and I now have all my video going from the source, to the receiver, to the HD monitor.

My Dish Network 805 S-video connection now goes from the 805 to the Pioneer, to the Sanyo HDTV Monitor.

Before, the S-video went from the 805 to the Sanyo Monitor. Is the signal better? To my eyes, it does appear to be a little more vibrant and detailed.

My 5 year old DVD also seems to be crisper and clearer, but this is not scientific, just me looking at the picture (this dvd does not even have progressive scan).

What are your thoughts?

 

[cdru]

Unless your A/V receiver has some type of video processing capability, it just is an electical (or possibly mechanical) means of redirecting the video. You could do the same thing with a set of jumpers on a patch panel. It's just the receiver is more convienent.

Any improvements in picture quality is not the result of the receiver but more likely purely in your head. If anything, picture quality would suffer due to more interconnects, rf noise, etc.

 

[cl1986]

I would use the reciever, because explaining to my wife that to watch tv you put the reciever on "TV" is alot easier than saying put the reciever on TV and the turn the tv to imput 4, and for the dvd turn the reciever to dvd and the tv to imput 6. And so on and so on. AND also if your tv is 10 feet from your equipment (Like most home theatres) then you only have to buy one exspensive 15 foot component or DVI cable. Ya the TV and DVD on the reciever is way easier, and most people "should" be able to figure it out.

 

[TuxCoder]

I agree with cdru above, it's just electronic switching unless your AV receiver does some 'intelligent' processing. Quite a bit better, signal integrity wise, and convenient, than using pushbutton or rotary selectors.

... put the reciever on TV and the turn the tv to imput 4, and for the dvd turn the reciever to dvd and the tv to imput 6. And so on and so on.

If you want to talk about complicated, how's this:

Sony STR-DExxx AV receiver partially managing: 5-disc DVD player, VCR, Dish Network DVR 522, Pansat 2500A, Digital OTA receiver. All but DVD is backfed through house coax to all other TVs (with help of a 3-band combiner). Viewing instructions as follows:

• DVD - Turn off Pansat 2500A, set AV xcvr to 'DVD', put RPTV on Input 2 (Composite, Ch. 92). Audio only through AV xcvr in Dolby Digital or PCM.
• VCR (analog OTA) - Tune TV(s) to Ch. 4, turn off Pansat 2500A, set VCR's TV/VCR mode to 'VCR', change channels with VCR tuner. Audio through TV(s) in stereo.
• DVR 522 - Put RPTV on Input 1 (S-Video, Ch. 90). Audio through TV in stereo or through AV xcvr in DD/PCM (set to 'SAT'). For all other TV(s), tune to Ch. 60.
• Pansat 2500A (FTA) - Tune TV(s) to Ch. 4, set VCR's TV/VCR mode to 'TV'. For stereo audio through AV xcvr, set AV xcvr to 'VID'. For DD/PCM audio, turn off DVD player and set AV xcvr to 'DVD'. With stereo audio ('VID'), tune RPTV to Input 2 (Composite, Ch. 92) for better picture.
• Digital OTA - Tune TV(s) to Ch. 4, set VCR's TV/VCR mode to 'VCR', set VCR to Input (LINE).

At the 'command center' where all this is, is my 52" RCA RPTV. It maps its inputs to user-defined channel numbers (in my case, 90 and 92). Some 'videophiles' may cringe at my video paths. But given the number of devices, number of inputs and output types, and the desire to see all of it on my other TVs, this is basically the only way to go.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Hmm. I've got the Sony STR-DE695 as part of my HT-in-a-box. Maybe the same box you bought. One touch switching for everything, no problemo. Love it.

 

[TuxCoder]

Yeah I can never remember the exact number, but I'm pretty sure it has a 5 in it.

I love mine but it only has 2 digital audio um, how to say, "input devices" allowed but with 3 ports. Hard to explain... it has optical for both devices, TV/SAT and DVD/LD. Then it has coax for DVD but not also for TV for some reason. So it mostly works out for me now, with optical coming out the DVD player and 522, and coax coming out the Pansat 2500A. But now I have the digital OTA box with optical, I need to find some optical input selector (like this) or upgrade my AV xcvr.

One other gripe with my STR-DExxx is it keeps composite and S-Video as separate busses. I would love if only it would adapt the composite into the S-Video bus so I can use more of my devices' S-Video outputs.

SimpleSimon, does yours have a vertical blue LED to indicate 5.1?

 

[BuddTX]

Any improvements in picture quality is not the result of the receiver but more likely purely in your head. If anything, picture quality would suffer due to more interconnects, rf noise, etc.

Thanks for all the posts.

Well, I have always been a purist, (direct connections) but I have been very happy with all my video connected to my Pioneer VSX 1014 receiver.

It is NOT a convienence issue for me (I understand completely how to manage my connections), but I get very good video signals from all my sources.

When I get my new dvd player (most probably the Samsung HD 941), I will hook that guy directly to my tv via HDMI cable.

I have always wondered if someone ever did a tests comparing "direct" to "via reciever".