Hi there - this is my first post! I've been lurking around for some time - the more I read the more confused I become. I need some advice on an AV receiver - please forgive me if I'm slightly long-winded. :-[
My current setup is a 42" Panasonic Viera plasma (something x 768 resolution), with a HT in a box connected to it - and SD-PVR and Playstation 2 connected to TV. I've been doing some research lately to upgrade a Zioncom playTime multimedia player to a newer chip that can play HD content (H.264/mkv etc.). That's a story for another thread, but I'm choosing between Popcorn Hour A-110, NMT MDX-1000 and the Tvix 6500.
Any case, after doing some research I came to the conclusion that I need a decent AV receiver to more fully enjoy my tv and HD content. I also want to (as far as possible) future proof - I'm considering purchasing a PS3 and the new HD-PVR. I want to link everything to the receiver, with one HDMI cable to the Panny.
After some serious research I've learnt a lot, and become utterly confused with all the options. ???The haze is starting to clear somewhat, but not fast enough.
Basically what I now think I want/need is the following -
1 x HDMI out to TV
2-4 x HDMI in (multimedia player, HD-PVR, PS3, DVD)
ability to upconvert component to 720p/1080p
ability to upscale to 1080p (not needed for my Panny, but for future)
HDMI 1.3a
I'm looking at the Yamaha RXV-663. It has only 2 HDMI inputs, but should be ok for now (I understand you can carry 720p over component, so HD-PVR could go through component for instance). It seems to have decent upscaling and upconversion. And the price is right - approx. R7,500, which suits my budget.
My question - would you recommend this AV receiver? Are there any other you would recommend? I'm battling to find the equivalent specs models of Onkyo/Marantz/Denon/NAD. There's a lot of raving about the Onkyo 605 for instance - better option maybe?
Thanks (and sorry for all the info again ;D)
My current setup is a 42" Panasonic Viera plasma (something x 768 resolution), with a HT in a box connected to it - and SD-PVR and Playstation 2 connected to TV. I've been doing some research lately to upgrade a Zioncom playTime multimedia player to a newer chip that can play HD content (H.264/mkv etc.). That's a story for another thread, but I'm choosing between Popcorn Hour A-110, NMT MDX-1000 and the Tvix 6500.
Any case, after doing some research I came to the conclusion that I need a decent AV receiver to more fully enjoy my tv and HD content. I also want to (as far as possible) future proof - I'm considering purchasing a PS3 and the new HD-PVR. I want to link everything to the receiver, with one HDMI cable to the Panny.
After some serious research I've learnt a lot, and become utterly confused with all the options. ???The haze is starting to clear somewhat, but not fast enough.
Basically what I now think I want/need is the following -
1 x HDMI out to TV
2-4 x HDMI in (multimedia player, HD-PVR, PS3, DVD)
ability to upconvert component to 720p/1080p
ability to upscale to 1080p (not needed for my Panny, but for future)
HDMI 1.3a
I'm looking at the Yamaha RXV-663. It has only 2 HDMI inputs, but should be ok for now (I understand you can carry 720p over component, so HD-PVR could go through component for instance). It seems to have decent upscaling and upconversion. And the price is right - approx. R7,500, which suits my budget.
My question - would you recommend this AV receiver? Are there any other you would recommend? I'm battling to find the equivalent specs models of Onkyo/Marantz/Denon/NAD. There's a lot of raving about the Onkyo 605 for instance - better option maybe?
Thanks (and sorry for all the info again ;D)
