Upconversion Question

[stephenp1983]

I am looking at the Yamaha hty-5990 receiver. It says it has upconversion to 480p I believe. Now does that mean that it will take any standard definition signal and convert it to 480p, or enhanced definition. If this is so are there any audio receivers that will convert a standard definition to 720p. This may be a dumb, question and I may be looking at it the wrong way, but I was curious about it a I'm think about purchasing this receiver. Thanks in advance.

[JJkizak]

"Upconversion" is a salesmans dream. However, they do work well. There are many around at this time and most of them utilize the HDMI output connections. (Video & Audio). It's not the same as pure 720P or 1080I or 480P but it's good and better than what you started with. Check the AVS forum for all of the latest hoopla on HT and related subjects.

JJK

[efzauner]

Hi Stephenp

You can download the owners manual at http://www.yamaha.com/yec/customer/manuals/PDFs/HTR-5990_e(U).pdf

Page 20 has a diagram and explanation of what this unit can do.

page 83 has a more detailed explanation:

you can basically convert 480i Composite Video and S video and component video to 480p Component video

and HDMI. THis is a nice feature to be able to connect any source and have it switched and upconverted to HDMI.

Only the monitor out jacks upconvert. THe record out are direct connect.

They also say "unconvetional video signals" cannot be upconverted. What ever that means? I guess it is a disclaimer that the receiver is not perfect.

Also, on page 106 it says that analog audio is NOT converted to HDMI, so you still have to connect analog audio from our cable/sat box, vcr, dvd etc to your TV etc. Bummer. Can your TV take HDMI video and analog Audio separately? Or is this assuming that all audio will go thru your HT receiver. This stuff is complex. I think systems should always have an EASY mode that allows wife and kids to turn on the TV and watch without having to turn on and fiddle with the HT receiver. You may end up connecting HDMI and all the svideo,component video and audio any way to your TV just so that others can watch and listen directly.

HDMI cannot be used for SACD or DVD-A. Bummer... The industry has to get their act together!

There is too much to post here, I suggest you read thru the relevant sections of the manual, and then ask additional questions here.

I am presuming that it will convert component 480i/480p/720p/1080i to the corresponding HDMI, but not to 1080p. There is no mention of converting 480i/480p/720p/1080i HDMI to 1080I HDMI. This is very confusing. There is also another disclaimer stating that component 720p and 1080i converted to HDMI may result in worse quality. Fun isnt it?

Keep in mind that any 1080i or 1080p TV will upconvert anyway. The issue is convenience and which unit has the better upconversion.

So, having fun yet? Is the average consumer supposed to read and undersand all of this? Let alone connect it all up? As much as I love to hate Bose, they hide the consumer from all this stuff. Sure the Bose units are not infinitely flexible, but it does not take a PHD to connect them... I would not buy a Bose, but I would get one for my 79 year old dad.

[DrWho]

This stuff is complex. I think systems should

always have an EASY mode that allows wife and kids to turn on the TV

and watch without having to turn on and fiddle with the HT receiver.

You may end up connecting HDMI and all the svideo,component video and

audio any way to your TV just so that others can watch and listen

directly.

So, having fun yet? Is the average consumer supposed

to read and undersand all of this? Let alone connect it all up? As much

as I love to hate Bose, they hide the consumer from all this stuff.

Sure the Bose units are not infinitely flexible, but it does not

take a PHD to connect them... I would not buy a Bose, but I would get

one for my 79 year old dad.

Any system that is hooked up correctly will be easy to operate. A lot

of people start off on the wrong foot and feel they have to run

everything through their TV first and then to the reciever. In an ideal

world, everything goes to the reciever and then reroutes the signal

according to the input that you select. The TV should just be turned on

and used as a video source.

So is the average consumer supposed to be able to hook this up on their

own? Well it doesn't take too much research to figure it out, but I

know my grandparents weren't able to figure it out. So in their case

they would need to "hire out" experienced help...in other words I went

over there and hooked it up for them (and made it very easy to use).

This is all fine and dandy in the perfect world, but what is more

annoying is that they originally had a professional install their

system for them! And he hooked it up like mega crap - you had to push

like 5 buttons on the remote just to change between TV and DVD....and

it was another set of switching to use the VCR. That was a perfect

example of a system set up like crap and sadly it was professional that

did it. And that is why I said to hire out experienced help and not professional help (they're not always the same thing).

Anyways, though there may be some more complexity involved with setting

up a higher fidelity system....if you feel that fidelity is worth the

extra expenditure then it should also be worthwhile to get it hooked up

correctly - even if that means doing a little homework or hiring

someone to do it for you. If you hire out, then make sure the system is

easy to use afterwards - if not, then don't pay them or make them stay

until it's up to your standards (as that would be the whole reason

you're paying them).

[Ray Garrison]

That's only true if you have sufficient resources to get the necessary

equipment to make the connections simple. In my case, I have a

COMCAST cable box connected to a DVD Recorder / VCR player, connected

to a TeeVee and an integrated amp. Integrated amp is no problem,

as audio out from CD / DVD / VHS / Cable all comes through on same

output, so just turn on the amp. TeeVee, however, is another

story entirely.

DVD output is available on S-VHS jack, so I use that when playing

DVDs. S-VHS jack on TeeVee is limited to input 1, and if an S-VHS

cable is connected in input 1, the composit video input is

disabled. VHS output is only available on composit, so that has

to be connected to TeeVee input 2. External vido input on DVD

deck (from cable) is automatically converted internally to S-VHS signal

and is only available on S-VHS output. If there is a DVD in the

player, it will not pass the extenal signal through to the S-VHS out

unless you take the disc out of the player. So I get a phone call

as work like this.

"Honey, the TV isn't working."

"Okay, what do you mean? What are you trying to watch, and what's happening?"

"Sponge Bob is on, and Nicholas is upset that he's missing the show."

"Okay, so you're trying to watch the cable. Can you hear the program?"

"No."

"Is the amp turned on?"

"Yes."

"What input is the amp set to?"

"How do I tell?"

"On the lower right side there are three buttons next to the volume control. Is the middle button pressed in?"

"I think so."

"Okay. Is the cable box turned on?"

"Yes, it shows the time."

"That doesn't mean it's turned on. It always shows the time. Does it show anything else?"

"Uh, it has a 41 on it."

"Okay, that means it's on and it's tuned to Nick. Is the DVD player on?"

"Yes."

"Uh, are you sure? What's on the front panel?"

"A bunch of dashes."

"Okay, that means it's turned off. Push the power button on the DVD remote."

"Which one is the DVD remote?"

"The one labeled JVC."

"Okay, the front says Hello now... wait, something's happening... okay, it stopped. Now what?"

"Do you hear anything?"

"No."

"Okay, the DVD player is probably not set to the external input... we

need to set it to input 1 rather than the internal tuner..."

"What?"

"I was just talking out loud. There's a button on the DVD remote

where all the buttons with the numbers on them are located, I think it

says 0 on the key, and AUX in little blue letters above it. Push

that."

"Okay, now wha OH MY GOD TURN IT DOWN TURN IT DOWN TURN IT DOWN"

"So you have sound now. Do you have a picture?"

"No."

"Okay, the TV is probably set to the wrong input. On the TV remote, press the Ant/Video button."

"Which is the TV remote?"

"The one labeled Toshiba."

"Where's the Antivideo button?"

"The Ant/Video button. It's just above the right arrow key in the middle of the remote."

"Nothing happens."

"Is the TV turned on?"

"How do I tell?"

"Push the Power button on the Toshiba remote."

"Okay, now I have a screen full of grey speckles."

"Okay, the TV is set to an antenna input. Press the Ant'Video button."

"Now I have a blue screen."

"Okay... does it say anything?"

"No."

"Okay... is there a disc on the DVD player?"

"How do I tell?"

"Push the drawer open button on the front of the DVD player - that's the button next to the slot where you put the disc in."

"Okay... yes, there's a disc in it."

"Take out the disc and close the door."

"Okay... okay... something's happening... okay, now we have a

picture. Wait a minute, Sponge Bob is over. Nick want's to

watch one of his tapes."

"okay..."

[DrWho]

There has gotta be a better way to hook that up...lol

(sounds like my grandparent's situation).

[Born2RockU]

Okay, now wha OH MY GOD TURN IT DOWN TURN IT DOWN TURN IT DOWN"

Hillarious...but so true at times. I remember those days

...thank god my system is set up perfect.

Two buttons...one for my Pioneer Hi-Def Monitor and one for my Klipsch System ran by my processor..