Panny 42PZ85B and Sky+ - How should I connect!!

[ttothemizzo]

Hi all,

I am having a bit of a dilemma on how I would hook up my new system (my first home cinema system in fact) that I am about to order in order to get the best out of it.

I am getting a 42PZ85B, Onkyo 606 (with QAcoustics 1010i's). I already have PS3, Wii and Sky+.

My main question is how I should connect the sky+ - I have heard that the Onkyo 606 does not produce a very good upscaled picture when connected (as it needs to go through S video) - Is this right? If so, will the panny TV be able to do a decent enough job of upscaling SD sky+ content without having to run it through the amp? And are there any other disadvantages of doing so?

I have also heard that the PS3 does a pretty good job of upscaling DVD content - is this right? Unfortunately I have been previously using an SD TV only (shocking I know!!)

Thanks in advance to all!

 

[ttothemizzo]

Can anyone help? I am still stumped and can't fine the answer on the forums after searching!

Thanks...

 

[un1eash]

Sky+ use a scart set to RGB to Tv and optical cable to the Amp.

 

[thornton]

Can I be really annoying and suggest you upgrade to SKY HD? If you have SKY+ you can almost certainly use the same dish feeds and do a simple box swap. Of course there is cash involved but it is so much better. Then you do not have to think about this - HDMI maybe?

I do not work for SKY. I upgraded to HD from + as soon as I could pick up a box without installation fees and have never regretted it. Swapped the cables and did a card upgrade over the phone. You do have a 1080 line TV after all.

 

[Lin3ar]

Can I be really annoying and suggest you upgrade to SKY HD? If you have SKY+ you can almost certainly use the same dish feeds and do a simple box swap. Of course there is cash involved but it is so much better. Then you do not have to think about this - HDMI maybe?

I do not work for SKY. I upgraded to HD from + as soon as I could pick up a box without installation fees and have never regretted it. Swapped the cables and did a card upgrade over the phone. You do have a 1080 line TV after all.

I am a big fan of SkyHD and if you can afford the box plus an extra £10 a month then it is a no brainer.I am expecting great things when my missus (hopefully) gets me a 46PZ80 for my 40th in a couple of months.

 

[YellowSphere]

If you don't upgrade to Sky HD then RGB Scart to the screen is fine.

As far as upscaling from the PS3 goes, only you can decide whether or not you prefer the TV or the PS3 scaling. There is an option in the PS3 menus to turn upscaling on or off, if you set it to off it'll output at 576p for DVDs and 1080p for Blu-Ray. Or you can set it on and see how it looks to you outputting DVD at 1080p!

 

[ttothemizzo]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I wasn't planning on upgrading to HD simply because I would only get the benefit of 5-6 HD channels. Currently I only subscribe for the 6 entertainment mixes (no sports or movies - sad I know!) and initially only got the package as bundled with sky broadband and phone i am paying less than what BT used to charge me for broadband only!! I guess I will stick to scart to TV and optical to AVR for the 5.1 sound.

On the PS3 front, presumably if I set upscaling to "off" and then feed it through the AVR, the AVR will upscale before sending it to the TV? Which would do the better job of upscaling - the Onkyo 606 or the PS3?

 

[choddo2006]

Just make sure you set the Sky Picture Settings to RGB not PAL - you can check that now.

And the PS3 is almost certainly the best scaling engine in that chain.

and I assume you're going to get a component cable & set the Wii to "EDTV" mode?

 

[ttothemizzo]

Shall do Choddo - Thanks!

So just to recap, I'm going to have sky+ Scart to TV (RGB) for picture (which TV will upscale) and optical from sky+ to Onkyo for 5.1 sound. Will then have PS3 HDMI to Onkyo then Onkyo HDMI to TV (with PS3 set "on for upscaling"). Then finally have Wii by component into Onkyo (which will presumably upscale before sending to TV).

As I write this, the one question that springs into mind is whether I realy need the upsclaing capability of the Onkyo at all? Or would it be better getting an AVR without this feature? Would spending the same money on something else get me better a better amp (albeit without upscaling)?

 

[choddo2006]

One thing I'm not sure on is whether the 606 will transcode component video to HDMI. Might have to plug Wii direct to TV if not. You probably don't need the scaling in the Onkyo but if it will do s-video, component to HDMI then it's a good hub for most video sources.

Probably worth asking in the amp forum for some expert opinions on that area

 

[srusher]

Get an RGB SCART (3rd party) Wii cable from GAME and plug it into the second SCART on the TV. Job done.

 

[choddo2006]

Get an RGB SCART (3rd party) Wii cable from GAME and plug it into the second SCART on the TV. Job done.

Component is by far the best option

 

[pulp58]

Shall do Choddo - Thanks!

So just to recap, I'm going to have sky+ Scart to TV (RGB) for picture (which TV will upscale) and optical from sky+ to Onkyo for 5.1 sound. Will then have PS3 HDMI to Onkyo then Onkyo HDMI to TV (with PS3 set "on for upscaling"). Then finally have Wii by component into Onkyo (which will presumably upscale before sending to TV).

As I write this, the one question that springs into mind is whether I realy need the upsclaing capability of the Onkyo at all? Or would it be better getting an AVR without this feature? Would spending the same money on something else get me better a better amp (albeit without upscaling)?

I would not upscale more than once, either let the TV or Onkyo do the work, otherwise you will get unwanted products in the final result, given that interpolation can only be at best a guess as to what the mising picture information should be, upscale a guess again and you get a guess of a guess, if that makes sense.