Advice needed on setup for my new F8500

[Don Vito Corleone]

Last weekend my 8-year-old Samsung HL-R5067W finally bit the dust when its color wheel exploded. I actually had a spare floating around but it didn't fit, which I viewed as the Lord giving me permission to buy a new set for the final episodes of Breaking Bad!

I have ordered a Samsung PN51F8500, which will be delivered Friday. Obviously this is a much more full-featured set than my old one, and has 4 HDMI inputs rather than just 1.

This brings me to my question for smart TV experts:

I have a Denon AVR-3808ci receiver which I have been using happily for about 5 years. Currently all of my source devices are plugged into it, and pass by a single HDMI cable to my set. My sources include:

- Oppo BDP-93 blu ray player
- Xbox 360 (HDMI version)
- Scientific Atlanta set-top box
- Apple TV
- Cambridge Audio CD player (obviously not relevant to this discussion)

I also have a Roku that I have never plugged in, and a 4-port HDMI switcher I can press into service if necessary/helpful.

My Oppo and the TV are both 3D-capable, which I believe requires 2 HDMI cables. I would probably use that seldom if ever but would like to at least have the capability. I use a Harmony One to control everything, so can reprogram that for whatever configuration works best.

The question, really, is this: am I better off plugging some or all of these devices directly into the TV, then feeding audio from the TV to the receiver by optical, or continuing to pass everything through the receiver? I think as a practical matter the only thing that would be problematic in terms of continuing with my existing setup would be 3D from the Oppo, due to the 2 cables. I suppose I could have blu ray and the TV's built-in smart TV features as the only things passing from the set to the receiver, but would the TV in any way inhibit the Denon's decoding of the newer blu ray codecs?

Thanks for any input anyone can provide.

 

[fralexandr]

is your setup 5.1? if your setup is stereo, this won't be a problem.

optical doesn't have the bandwidth to send 5.1 DTSHD/Dolby TrueHD/PCM. I think the pn51f8500 can send dolby digital/dts 5.1 through optical from hdmi sources.
http://www.avforums.com/forums/plas...ers-thread-continuation-plasma-thread-30.html

the AVR-3808ci doesn't support ARC, so the TV won't be able to use HDMI to send audio to the receiver .

the hdmi switcher might be your best bet.

 

[Number1]

I don't know that your receiver will pass through a 3D HDMI signal. If not, use one of the input on the TV for the OPO HDMI1 connection and feed the receiver with the OPO HDMI2. This way you will get full HD audio and video. You will have to set up your Harmony accordingly.
For the other devices, route all your HDMI cables through the receiver, then feed the TV with the receiver's output. Considering the age of your receiver, ARC is not supported so you will need an optical cable between the receiver and the TV so your TV's apps can send sound to the receiver. 5.1 is fully supported by your TV's apps.

Some people claim you can can get 5.1 from the TVs HDMI inputs to the receiver trough the TV's optical. I highly doubt it.

Or be done with the obsolete receiver and get yourself something nice like, I don't know, a Denon AVRX4000. Just kidding.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Very helpful, guys - thanks! I had forgotten that the Oppo can send 3D by using one HDMI cable through the receiver and another direct to the set. Somehow that seems too good/easy to be true, but we shall see.

Yes, my setup is 5.1 - I have Rockets from the late AV123 (they're great speakers even if the owner ended up being a con artist) and a Hsu Research 12" subwoofer (I believe it's an STF-3).