advice please. new to AV receivers!

[monkfeesh]

Hi, im looking at updating my tired and old acoustic solutions 5.1 surround sound kit and upgrading to something a bit more beefy!!

ive only recently started looking at AV receivers, and im baffled by a lot of things.

Basically, i have a PS3 (for blu ray) and 360 elite, which i thought i could just run HDMI from both to the receiver, with just 1 hdmi out to the tv....
can this be done without using the optical cables? this is where im confused, as am i right in saying that the AV receiever has to be hdmi 1.3 for me to use just hdmi for audio/video??? im looking at minimal use of cables too ya see!!

also can i run basic sky through the 606 to upscale picture????

ive seen the Onkyo 606 been put around alot by people so have been looking at this, plus was looking at ONKYO SKSHT518-BLK at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc. for speakers... (im only in a small-ish room so BIG speakers are not practical!)

im looking at about a £500 budget (but am willing to go a little more if its deemed worth it.)

is my choice of the 606 acceptable? or is there something else recommended/better to choose?

many thanks

 

[davepuma]

Basically, i have a PS3 (for blu ray) and 360 elite, which i thought i could just run HDMI from both to the receiver, with just 1 hdmi out to the tv....
can this be done without using the optical cables? this is where im confused, as am i right in saying that the AV receiever has to be hdmi 1.3 for me to use just hdmi for audio/video??? im looking at minimal use of cables too ya see!!

Not necessarily, as HDMI v1.3 applies in this case to HD audio decoding, which would not be used by either. The PS3 can decode and output the decoded audio stream as LPCM, which certain (but not all) HDMI equipped amps can handle. There is a sticky at the top of the page that details compatible amps. The Xbox 360 only outputs raw data (bitstream) DD5.1 but any of the amps mentioned, or indeed any v1.3 equipped amp with HD audio decoding can handle audio over HDMI in any format.

also can i run basic sky through the 606 to upscale picture????

Yes but so does your TV. Obviously compare using the scaler within the amp and on the TV. A fair amount of people don't rate the scalers fitted to budget amps, it's more a gimmick and a feature to get one over the competition imho. I would rather see them concentrate on audio quality at any price point but particularly at the budget level.

ive seen the Onkyo 606 been put around alot by people so have been looking at this, plus was looking at ONKYO SKSHT518-BLK at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc. for speakers... (im only in a small-ish room so BIG speakers are not practical!)

I have no idea how the Onkyo speakers sound. I'm sure if you do a search, owners opionions will come up. Remember the 606 has recently been replaced by the 607, the differences being an extra input and the addition of a few (imho) gimmick sound features, which aren't really worth bothering with at present.

im looking at about a £500 budget (but am willing to go a little more if its deemed worth it.)

is my choice of the 606 acceptable? or is there something else recommended/better to choose?

£500 is a fair budget but obviously if you increase it, you open up more options and would get a better speaker package e.g. Q-Acoustics and so on. There are various amps around at this price point but they're in short supply. Do you have a Richer Sounds/Sevenoaks/Superfi/Independent AV Dealer nearby which would allow you to listen and get hands on and hopefully appreciate the differences for yourserlf?

 

[monkfeesh]

I do have a richer sounds near,will give them a go.thanks for your reply