HDMI Advantages?

[hos1966]

Hi, I am new to this forum and it is good to see that Arcam actually take an interest in it as well as having so many other knowledgeable individuals!

The reason for posting is this; I have been to my local dealers and have had a demo of the AVR300 and it sounds incredible via a set of MK K5 speakers but with the coming of HDMI is is worth buying a different av amp with this feature?

I already have a Pioneer Plasma screen with 2 HDMI inputs, would it be best to plug my DVD and Sky (when released) directly into it and use the AVR300 solely for sound processing?

Hope you can advise

hos1966

 

[niceguy235uk]

I would avoid using any form of switching or conversion if possible. I dont know enough about plasma tvs to go into too much detail but if you got 2 inputs on your display then i would use them if you can and the use avr for sound only (which is what i do albeit with a crt).

If you feel like spending lots of money then you can always go one step further and buy the Arcam pre/power combo which has hdmi inputs so that you can output on one cable etc.

 

[jakeman]

If HDMI switching is important to you then I would hold off on buying until Arcam has fixed the problem it seems to be having in this area. To be fair HDMI switching is also a concern for many other manufacturers. I have an avp700 which I enjoy greatly but hdmi switching doesn't function properly. On the other hand if you are looking for a good receiver without HDMI and don't have large power requirements the avr300 could work well for you.

 

[hos1966]

Many thanks for your advice gents, it is greatly appreciated.
Is there any advantages of using HDMI via an amp rather than directly connecting into a HDMI socket on a plasma other than reducing the amount of cables used?

 

[Henry]

Many thanks for your advice gents, it is greatly appreciated.
Is there any advantages of using HDMI via an amp rather than directly connecting into a HDMI socket on a plasma other than reducing the amount of cables used?

I would say that, as a rule of thumb, the less things and less processing in between the two points of any connection the better. If you've got two HDMI inputs, I can't really see any point in using the switching unless you want to reduce the number of cables.

 

[Crustyloafer]

I agree, keep the signal path as simple as possible unless you are running out of sockets on your display device.

 

[life sucks]

It would be very interesting if someone could compare SDI vs HDMI on Arcam players

 

[Nic Rhodes]

I prefer the SDI

 

[scarty16]

How about "Bragging Rights"

 

[Nic Rhodes]

?confused?

 

[scarty16]

not yet!

 

[Nic Rhodes]

I am

 

[scarty16]

happens to us all when we become "senior members"