A11VX - Changing sound source

[Drex]

I have all my equipment connected to this amp for audio & viideo switching,which is great until i want to browse the internet on my PC and listen to music at the same time !

My 3910 Dvd player is what i am using for music at the moment and this is connected to my amp via Hdmi & Firewire.

Is there an easy way of doing this ?

 

[Jules]

You can select a video source independently of audio on Denon amps, but unfortinately NOT with HDMI. If you use an analogue video connection (component, S-Video etc) then the Denon is excellent for doing what you want it to do. There's a 'video select' button on the front panel to do it. There's also a remote control command, but I think Denon left it off the controller supplied with the amp, so you'll need a Harmony or Pronto to operate this feature remotely.

I think its something to do with copy protection on the HDMI connection which makes this impossible to implement.

I'd suggest connecting sources with both HDMI and component video if possible....it gives you the best of both worlds.

 

[Drex]

Can only connect the pc via hdmi........will this work ?

 

[Jules]

Can only connect the pc via hdmi........will this work ?

I don't believe it will. The Denon will not convert a digital video source (like HDMI) to analogue, and you can only switch analogue video indepently from audio sources.

 

[Drex]

The graphics card that i use has 2 Dvi ouputs and it is one of these that i am using with a Dvi > Hdmi converter which connects this to a Hdmi input on the amp.

What about if i go from the graphic cards Dvi to the Denon's Dvi instead ?

Surely this won't work either as Dvi is still a digital connection ?

Have just realised that the graphics card has a s-video connection as well,should i try using this instead of the Dvi connection ?

 

[Drex]

Ok........at the moment my pc i s connected to my amp with Hdmi (video) and Optical (sound)

My 3910 is connected to my amp with Hdmi (video) and Firewire (sound)

So if i change these 2 device from Hdmi to component or s-video then i should be able to switch video sources.......yes ?

 

[Drex]

Hmmm..........ok,just tried s-video and the picture was rubbish !

So,the pc has to be connected via Hdmi.

Are there amps out there that can split the video & sound source via hdmi ?

 

[Jules]

Hmmm..........ok,just tried s-video and the picture was rubbish !

Yep, S-video from a PC will look awful.

Are there amps out there that can split the video & sound source via hdmi ?

Not to my knowledge, but then I only really have detailed knowledge of Denon amps.

If you asked me to bet on a manufacturer that did provide it, I'd go for Yamaha on their latest flagship monster (about £5000 I think though).

Generally, HDMI is great but restrictive. A lot of people still use component video for this reason as the picture quality is often just good.

 

[Drex]

I got a s-video > component splitter cable in the box with the graphics card.

So,I tried this............but the image looked exactly the same as s-video ?

Shouldn't it look a lot better than s-video ?

or not,as it is just plugging into a s-video connection to start with ?

 

[Jules]

Unfortunately your signal quality will only ever be as good as the source.
If you're starting with an S-Video connection then that's a good as it's going to get.

So, your splitter will not improve upon the S-Video output.

Do you not have 2 HDMI inputs on your TV? If so, could you not just route the PC directly to one of the TV's own inputs?
Alternatively, (and this is what I'd do) if your set has a VGA input, you could use a DVI > VGA converter and an ordinary VGA monitor cable.

Both the above options should give a pristine picture quality if you can accomodate them.

 

[Drex]

Yes,the tv has 2 hdmi's and 1 vga connection.

Is there any other beneficial reasons for connecting via vga instead of hdmi other than keeping 1 of the hdmi ports free ?