HDMI and Component Simultanelously?

[DennyC]

Are the HDMI and component jacks active simultaneously? Ie., if I hook things up like this:

HR20 > to AV Receiver via HDMI > to TV Input 1 via HDMI
HR20 > to TV Input 2 via component and optical cables

will I be able to watch TV on either input (obviously with sound from the A/V receiver in the first example, and sound from the TV in the second)?

Thanks!

[Michael D'Angelo]

Are the HDMI and component jacks active simultaneously? Ie., if I hook things up like this:

HR20 > to AV Receiver via HDMI > to TV Input 1 via HDMI
HR20 > to TV Input 2 via component and optical cables

will I be able to watch TV on either input (obviously with sound from the A/V receiver in the first example, and sound from the TV in the second)?

Thanks!

Yes you can do that. All A/V outputs on the HR20 are on.

[DennyC]

Thanks. I'm about to order a new A/V receiver with HDMI, but my wife prefers to listen to TV via the TV speakers-- wanted to make sure my plan for using separate "his and her" inputs on the TV would work!

[Canis Lupus]

Hey Denny,
If your current A/V Receiver supports TOSLINK (digital optical) audio, you wouldn't need to replace it just to accommodate the HDMI audio. I assume you're planning this A/V upgrade as part of a larger new A/V scheme (or your current receiver has no digital inputs)?

[bwaldron]

Yes you can do that. All A/V outputs on the HR20 are on.

Yes, one of the nicer features compared to the HR10.

[DennyC]

I assume you're planning this A/V upgrade as part of a larger new A/V scheme...

Pretty much. We just got a new 60" HDTV, and my current receiver (a relatively ancient Denon AVR-3000), which has always been twitchy with heat issues, has been positively bitchy lately. We were watching our first DVD movie on the new TV the other night when the receiver clicked off due to overheat, right in the middle of a climactic scene. Consequently, my lovely wife has issued instructions that I replace it, so I figure I might as well buy one with HDMI switching.

[wjbjr]

Pretty much. We just got a new 60" HDTV, and my current receiver (a relatively ancient Denon AVR-3000), which has always been twitchy with heat issues, has been positively bitchy lately. We were watching our first DVD movie on the new TV the other night when the receiver clicked off due to overheat, right in the middle of a climactic scene. Consequently, my lovely wife has issued instructions that I replace it, so I figure I might as well buy one with HDMI switching.

Before you purchase a new A/V receiver, you might want to try the following:

Buy a small ($10) desk fan and place it to blow in a downward direction across the top vents of the Denon. If it is not too late, this will solve the heating problem -- as it has for my Denon 3300.

Connect the HDMI directly to the TV and the digital audio to the Denon via toslink. This will allow either individual or simultaneous audio from the A/V and/or TV.

[wjbjr]

Yes you can do that. All A/V outputs on the HR20 are on.

Good to know. But will it simultaneously transmit 1080i/720p to an HD display via HDMI or Component and a signal to an SD CRT via 'S' or composit?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Good to know. But will it simultaneously transmit 1080i/720p to an HD display via HDMI or Component and a signal to an SD CRT via 'S' or composit?

Yes but the HD program will down-convert to 480i and play in letter box format on the SD CRT.

[wjbjr]

Yes but the HD program will down-convert to 480i and play in letter box format on the SD CRT.

Thank you for the reply.

That is OK. The SD TV is a small one in the kitchen and is visible and "hearable" from the HDTV family room location. So the displays must be in synch -- thus requiring that they emanate from one receiver.

[tonyd79]

Are the HDMI and component jacks active simultaneously? Ie., if I hook things up like this:

HR20 > to AV Receiver via HDMI > to TV Input 1 via HDMI
HR20 > to TV Input 2 via component and optical cables

will I be able to watch TV on either input (obviously with sound from the A/V receiver in the first example, and sound from the TV in the second)?

Thanks!

For your first hookup, check to see if you can turn off audio to the TV of if your TV will handle 5.1 (or more). Many AVRs will look at the entire HDMI chain to see that all units can handle full audio. If one cannot, it may degrade the audio, even what it uses itself.

[MRinDenver]

For your first hookup, check to see if you can turn off audio to the TV of if your TV will handle 5.1 (or more). Many AVRs will look at the entire HDMI chain to see that all units can handle full audio. If one cannot, it may degrade the audio, even what it uses itself.

And if you are going to run three outputs, one through an AVR, be prepared for some possible lip synch issues. Maybe, maybe not, but possible.

Were it me, I'd tell my wife it wouldn't route the audio 'cept through the AVR, then I'd teach her how to use the remote.

[tonyd79]

The HDMI thru shouldn't have lip synch issues. The optical may. Most AVRs have adjustments for synching audio and video. At least ones that are pricey enough to handle HDMI and HD processing.

[DennyC]

...this will solve the heating problem...

Only temporarily, I'm afraid. :(

I think I said earlier that mine was a AVR-3000; it's actually a 3300, and it has had heat issues since day one. I first took the doors off the entertainment center, and when that didn't work, I installed a fairly elaborate ducted fan system (sucking air in through the front of the open cabinet, over the vents, and exhausting out the back) that has worked for the last several years. However, the problem has started again, even with the fan system in operation, and frankly, I'm tired of fooling with it.

I've got a new Sony STR-DA1000 ordered, when it arrives I'll put the Denon on ebay (with appropriate notification and disclaimers on it's heat issues, of course) and see if somebody else wants it. I really think it might work fine if it were sitting on an open shelf instead of inside a cabinet.

[DennyC]

And if you are going to run three outputs, one through an AVR, be prepared for some possible lip synch issues. Maybe, maybe not, but possible.

Were it me, I'd tell my wife it wouldn't route the audio 'cept through the AVR, then I'd teach her how to use the remote.

My new receiver is supposed to be equipped to deal with any lip synch issues, so that shouldn't be a problem.

And, I've tried to teach her how to use remotes (beyond the basics) in the past, without success-- I don't she's trainable. For my efforts, I have both a Pronto and an MX-500 sitting on her side table, unused, while she uses the remote that came with the DVR. I don't think she's trainable on these things; thankfully, she has other assets and abilities that make up for that relatively minor shortcoming. :)

[DennyC]

Good to know. But will it simultaneously transmit 1080i/720p to an HD display via HDMI or Component and a signal to an SD CRT via 'S' or composit?


My present hookup has HDMI from the HR20 to the TV, Toslink to the A/V receiver, and composite from the HR20 to a modulator (where the signal is mixed with the antenna feed and sent to every room in the house over RG-6 cable). This setup works fine (with the obvious limitations on quality inherent in such a hookup) and the audio from all sources seems to match perfectly.