There's A New A/V Receiver In The House - Denon AVR-3808CI
A couple of posts ago, I talked about the need for a new A/V receiver. The basic problem is that I now have a fair few input devices and two of them have HDMI outputs, whereas my TV only has one HDMI input. It’d be nice to route the video and audio signals through the same place.
Problems solved:
- Mismatch of what’s being shown to what’s being heard. You know the problem - you hit ‘TiVo’ on the universal remote and you get the TiVo coming out of the speakers and the AppleTV on the display. The Logitech remote handles that nicely with it’s ‘help’ button, but it’s still a pain.
- If you don’t use the remote you’ve got to switch both the TV and the receiver.
- My TV only has one HDMI input which means that the TiVo is plugged into that so that I can watch HD content (HDCP being required). This means that I can’t watch HD content from the iTunes Movie store as it also requires HDCP - having the receiver route the video signal solves this problem.
- I wanted outside speakers and to have different things playing inside and outside. I.e. the kids can watch Dora on the TV while we’re listening to music outside courtesy of the AppleTV.
So I picked up the Denon AVR-3808CI and all my problems are solved. I also got a few bonuses into the bargain:
- TiVo and AppleTV hooked up via HDMI. Xbox360, Wii and DVD player hooked up via component and sundry audio connections.
- Outside speakers can play audio sources independently of what’s playing in the living room.
- Switching inputs is a breeze.
- The unit has an ethernet port and can stream internet radio. You can also manage it via a builtin webserver. I must say though, the design of the web content served leaves a lot to be desired.
- Nice GUI. As the unit is routing the video, it overlays it’s own GUI on top, such as audio levels and it’s setup/management interface.
The two spare HDMI inputs are also handy, as I suppose I’m going to have to get a Blu-ray player at some point…
Overall, pretty nice. It even met with spousal approval!
I did have one problem during setup though. The multi-zone support is nice and the idea was that I could be outside and listen to music from the AppleTV. Unfortunately it took me ages to get working.
The problem was that the Denon unit wouldn’t let me send audio sourced from an HDMI input (which the AppleTV is connected to) out to the second zone. I have no idea why.
To solve the problem I simply connected the units using an optical cable and had the receiver use that as the audio source for the AppleTV rather than the HDMI audio source. At that point, it would route the audio outside.
Anyhow, highly recommended.
And after setting it all up, I realised that every piece of A/V gear except for the DVD player in the living room is now on the internet - the Denon receiver, TiVo, AppleTV, Xbox360 and the Wii.
Wow.
On a related note, you might be thinking “Well, if the kids are watching the TiVo in the living room and you’re sat outside supping on an adult beverage, how do you control the AppleTV, sucker? The interface for it is on the TV which is being used by the kids!”
Well, I have my iPhone. On that iPhone I have the ‘Remote’ application which lets me browse the content and control the operation of the AppleTV over WiFi. And I can do it whilst sat outside supping on said adult beverage!
Sweet!
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I have been after something that does HDMI 1.3 and allows output to two seperate sets of speakers for a while.
I can see some research into this particular model in the not too distant future...
Steve,
I am not normally in the habit of providing comments to blogs and the like, however, with you I make an exception - indeed I emailed you in Mar 06. Anyway, I live in broad admitration of your tech filled life and wonder how you manage to get wife approval on all the kit - for example this AV amp. If you will forgive me, I have a few comments:
1. The AV amp concept sounds great - but actually having seen the photo at the link, I wonder what Mrs L thinks of the big black box under the TV - I know my wife wouldn't be impressed.
2. Does this work simply and first time, every time? I have great ideas about my future digital home/life - but the issue is always connectivity/interoperability/convenience. I love apple products (but broadly cannot afford them) but they seem to work well together and are simple to operate. AS soon as you introduce a different brand - sony is in my opinion the worst - you end up with loads of software etc that isn't helpful/compatible. You mention a universal remote, but even then I find that it invariable doesn't have the one button that you need that is propriety to your tv for example.
3. How long did it take to train the other members of the household how to view a HD apple movie whilst simultaneously streaming a CD to the garden while the Tivo is recording without accidentally firing up the 360?
4. Do you ever feel that we are striving for the ultimate home network/system and spend so much time trying to achieve it that we run out of time to enjoy it.
5. With your Google hat on - am I missing something, or if I use Google Reader (as I do) will I never get to see comments without accessing the original blog?
6. Viewing this in IE, why do I keep getting alerts to run add-ons?
Bit of a ramble I know, but I am currently in a hotel room bored on business.
Craig (UK)
Hi Craig! Thanks for the comments...
In response:
1. Actually, all the components are on a shelf next to the TV. There already was an A/V receiver there - I was just replacing that unit.
2. I've had no interoperability issues. All the connections are industry standard - HDMI, component, etc... as for the remote, I use a Logitech universal remote. It's programmed via the website where you get to select all the equipment you have - it's pretty comprehensive. In the case where it doesn't have a required button (in my case, the "nighttime" mode), then it was simple to have the unit learn the button.
3. No one has tried it other than me :-) But what I've done is have a *second* remote for outside. This is one of the remotes that came with the receiver. It's setup to simply switch on/off the outside zone and control the volume. Everything "inside" is done with the logitech remote, that way everything is pretty simple.
4. Nope!
5. I dunno. I wish it did though. The problem is that comments are mostly non-standard. In order for comment feeds to work, they have to be setup right which is rarely the case...
6. You do? Which version of IE? Is this the alert asking to run some windows media component? If so, that's a known bug in IE...
Cheers!
Steve,
Thanks for your responses to my comments. The Logitech remote sounds good, and I am pleased you haven't had any interoperability issues. The matter of training the family will always be an issue for me as I spend a lot of time away from home - sometimes for extended periods. I can imagine the situation where I end up with numerous calls etc regarding the fact that the TV won't switch on, or the radio is coming out of the speakers and not the DVD etc. In fact I already get this even though our DVD/Surround setup is a straightforward Pioneer one box lifestyle system.
Regarding the alerts when I view your blog, I am running IE7 on XP Home at the moment and the alert is to run Windows Media 6.4 Player Shim from MS Corp. If this is a known issue, fair enough. Just thought you would want to know.
Thanks,
Craig
I got my Denon receiver at www.consumerdepot.com