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ArnoldSlick
03-13-2006, 05:57 PM
Hey - i'm new to the forum and looking for some advice from people far more educated on this type of thing than i am.

I currently have a Samsung HLN617W1 TV, a Samsung SIR-TS360 DirecTV HD receiver, a Samsung DVD-HD841 DVD player, and a below average Kenwood A/V receiver. My TV has (1) DVI input and (0) HDMI inputs. Both my DVD player and my DirecTV receiver have (1) DVI output.

I'm looking to upgrade my receiver and i'd like some input from the group. My goal is to get a mid-range receiver with DVI switching capabilities.

I've done some preliminary research and it appears that the receiver that would best fit my needs and my budget is the Marantz SR8500.

Questions for the group:
1. Are there any receives that you would recommend that is similar to the Marantz SR8500?
2. Am i better off going w/ something less expensive and adding a seperate DVI Switcher?
3. Another receiver i found is by Outlaw - any experience with thier products?

Any and all help and advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

musicman1999
03-13-2006, 06:14 PM
arnold

dvi is pretty much dead.Look for a hdmi reciever and use dvi-hdmi adapters,this will give you many more options.Or use component for one of your sources.

bill

nightflier
04-07-2006, 09:20 AM
HDMI may be more popular in HT, but there are advantages to both:

- DVI cables are a lot less fragile than HDMI. In addition, DVI cables have solid connectors that have screws to attach the cable solidly, whereas HDMI connectors rely on pressure only.

- DVI does not pass audio, whereas HDMI does. Theoretically, you could run a DVD player, receiver, & TV with just two HDMI cables. With DVI you would have to add two coax or optical cables to carry the sound.

- DVI cables are a tad less expensive, especially over long runs.

- While HDMI rules the roost in HT, DVI is more prevalent in the computer world.

- HDMI-DVI & DVI-HDMI adapters are needlessly expensive.

- There are two DVI standards and they are not compatible. DVI-D, a purely digital interface and DVI-A, an analog interface that is what you would need for your HDTV. You can use a DVI-I cable that works on both interfaces, but you need to make sure that both your source and input are one or the other. In HT, you'll typically use DVI-A.

- It looks like Blue-Ray & HD-DVD players will only support higher resolutions like 720p, 1080i, and 1080p (depending on what your HDTV supports) over HDMI & DVI connections. Component connections, while capable of up to 1080i, will be limitted to 480p (aka Progressive Scan as on current DVD players).

- Several companies (Outlaw, Marantz, Samsung, etc.) support DVI, and adapters while overpriced are easy to come by, so DVI is still a viable standard. Because of DVI's popularity in the computer industry and in Europe/Asia, it is unlikely it will disappear too soon.

- In this country, both DVI and HDMI devices must include HDCP, an as-yet uncracked copy protection standard.

N. Abstentia
04-07-2006, 12:35 PM
I'm not so sure about DVI being dead..I've never seen a computer with an HDMI output, yet 99% of comptuers have a DVI output.

Also all the projectors and preamps I looked at in my price range had DVI and not HDMI.

Not saying one is better, just saying that DVI is far from dead.