I'm looking to upgrade my Older Onkyo receiver for one that has HDMI switching. I'm looking forward to ridding the system of most of the wires and just having three HDMI cables, one for the HD box,one for the upconverting DVD player and one to the plasma TV. The Onkyo TX-SR803 looks real good but the fact is I don't have $800 to plunk down after the big purchase of the TV and console. Any ideas?
Honestly, I'd stick with component for several more years. You aren't going to get a better HD picture if you are switching HDMI through a low end receiver, and your SD channels will likely look BETTER with component. I love new technology like the next guy, but HDMI is a very immature technology and needs more time to evolve. Spend the money you save on a better receiver with better pre-amp and processing.
I've read a lot of buzz about a new version of HDMI being needed for HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Supposedly you must have the new version of HDMI to get full resolution, or the image will be scaled down to 480p through component.
What this means for anyone like myself who purchased a new TV with HDMI is what I'm left wondering.
Kano-- You will need DVI or HDMI for Blu-Ray and HD. Component cables don't have the bandwidth, not to mention the eventual copyright protection that will eventually be required. I hear that Sherwood Newcastle has a component that will convert any component video signal to HDCP-compliant HDMI at $299. If it works well, this certainly seems like a fairly inexpensive way to keep value in non-HDMI receivers and pre-amps. Also it seems like a good way to keep curreent on the moving target of HDMI--particularly the audio part of the signal for those without i-link (firewire).
HSB-600 HDMI-Link (available December, 2005)
The HDMI-Link is an advanced audio/video switcher and video format converter designed to integrate the video output from an advanced A/V receiver with the A/V output of two HDMI-capable digital A/V source units into an HDMI-capable video monitor or TV.