- Jun 30, 2004
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Around 2011, I purchased an ONKYO TX-NR616 AVR and an LG "Smart" TV. I was daunted by the ONKYO: I had never conceived of a "Smart" AVR before. But -- confident about Windows Media Center under Win 7 -- I set this app up, and it worked fine.
First of all, I had a Logitech 5.1 speaker set already connected to the HTPC. I could switch between the Logitechs and the ONKYO receiver (5.1 also) from the Windows sound dialogs, and Media center actually had an app which made this change simpler and yet totally reliable.
All video plus audio or video without audio was fed first to the ONKYO from the HTPC, and passed on to the LG TV. This connection between the HTPC, ONKYO and TV took advantage of an ONKYO "STandby" feature which allowed the video pass-through to the TV without the ONKYO"s being fully powered, and when I'd chosen the Logitech speakers on the PC. There was no need to have the ARC/eARC features of the ONKYO-TV connection. I was comfortable with this arrangement.
Then, five or six years ago, we were losing support for Win 7 and Media Center. Our systems were being upgraded to Windows 10; my cable-TV provider was no longer supporting their cableCARDs and they weren't renting out new ones; you had to subscribe to EGR software to continue with updated guide menus for Media Center TV. I finally sent my SiliconDust network triple-tuner HDHomeRun devices to the recycler. Now we have embraced streaming with ROKU and GoogleTV, but no local, traditional captures to the HTPC. Yet, the HTPC has 300 DVR recordings, and I can port my music collection to the ONKYO or TV from it, or play the music through the Logitech PC speakers. I have yet to re-enable easy switching between the Logitech and the ONKYO"s JBLs.
At the moment, the HTPC feeds only HDMI video to the TV directly, and it uses the Logitech 5.1 speakers. The TV, on the other hand, feeds audio back to the ONKYO, whether the input is ROKU->HDMI-TV or the TV itself.
This ONKYO has "updates" that it seems to manage on its own, with a twisted pair ethernet connection. Trying since last week to resurrect it, it wouldn't turn on with the manual push-button. I disconnected it. No cigar. I was about to recycle it. Then, just hours after making this tentative recycling decision, and probably triggered by power-cycling the new Sony Bravia, I found that it turned itself on, but wasn't giving the TV audio feed. At this time, the ONKYO and TV were connected with their respective ARC/eARC HDMI ports. According to Sony and other sources, the connectiion between ONKYO and Sony TV may have required both optical audio connection and the HDMI (ARC). That ARC port on the ONKYO was previously feeding video/no-audio to the TV in the old configuration. Adding the optical audio cable in the mix finally worked. I'm just mystified how I was sitting at my desk, the audio from the MSNBC news program suddenly went up in volume, and I found the ONKYO working again.
I've had some glitches using PowerDVD on the HTPC fed directly to the TV: starting a previously recorded DVR would sometimes (not always) raise a Windows dialog about enabling HDR features of the new Sony TV, and the software would go into an endless loop whether I chose either option in the dialog -- it didn't matter. I could close the app from the Windows taskbar some of the time; other times, I needed to "End Task" from Task Manager. These glitches may involve configuration at Windows for the Sony, but as a second monitor, it only offers up a "Sony 30" TV" option, providing a 4K resolution but only at maximum 60hz refresh rate. The Sony will provide 120Hz as needed.
So here's what I'm wondering. Obviously, the HDMI/ARC-eARC port is necessary for both the audio (fed back from TV to ONKYO) and any video passthrough from other HDMI inputs to the ONKYO -- like an optical disc player, LP turntable or cassette player. I obviously don't need those devices anymore, with an HTPC that allows for CD and BD disc play and MP3 files or file sources. But if I did, they'd be plugged into designated HDMI inputs on the ONKYO.
I'm just a bit confused. Maybe things will work better if I pass the HDMI from the HTPC through the ONKYO as I had done once, rather than connecting it directly to the TV. The ONKYO must be set to "TV/CD" in its array of sources to enable the TV tuner feeding the ONKYO with audio, and it would otherwise use the "PC" setting for an HTPC input at the designated "PC" HDMI input port. Is this going to work, while still passing the TV tuner sound output back to the ONKYO? I think this would still allow me to switch the HTPC from the Logitechs to the ONKYO's JBLs.
If you have insights, please enlighten me. I asked someone why a person would buy a modern $500 soundbar for their TV, when they'd get better surround-sound with an AVR featuring 5.1 or 7.1 speaker connections. I think I understand this -- they don't want to hassle with a TV-to-receiver configuration, so they buy a soundbar. But I've always wanted to do things my own way, to squeeze out the best from my "Home Theater".
First of all, I had a Logitech 5.1 speaker set already connected to the HTPC. I could switch between the Logitechs and the ONKYO receiver (5.1 also) from the Windows sound dialogs, and Media center actually had an app which made this change simpler and yet totally reliable.
All video plus audio or video without audio was fed first to the ONKYO from the HTPC, and passed on to the LG TV. This connection between the HTPC, ONKYO and TV took advantage of an ONKYO "STandby" feature which allowed the video pass-through to the TV without the ONKYO"s being fully powered, and when I'd chosen the Logitech speakers on the PC. There was no need to have the ARC/eARC features of the ONKYO-TV connection. I was comfortable with this arrangement.
Then, five or six years ago, we were losing support for Win 7 and Media Center. Our systems were being upgraded to Windows 10; my cable-TV provider was no longer supporting their cableCARDs and they weren't renting out new ones; you had to subscribe to EGR software to continue with updated guide menus for Media Center TV. I finally sent my SiliconDust network triple-tuner HDHomeRun devices to the recycler. Now we have embraced streaming with ROKU and GoogleTV, but no local, traditional captures to the HTPC. Yet, the HTPC has 300 DVR recordings, and I can port my music collection to the ONKYO or TV from it, or play the music through the Logitech PC speakers. I have yet to re-enable easy switching between the Logitech and the ONKYO"s JBLs.
At the moment, the HTPC feeds only HDMI video to the TV directly, and it uses the Logitech 5.1 speakers. The TV, on the other hand, feeds audio back to the ONKYO, whether the input is ROKU->HDMI-TV or the TV itself.
This ONKYO has "updates" that it seems to manage on its own, with a twisted pair ethernet connection. Trying since last week to resurrect it, it wouldn't turn on with the manual push-button. I disconnected it. No cigar. I was about to recycle it. Then, just hours after making this tentative recycling decision, and probably triggered by power-cycling the new Sony Bravia, I found that it turned itself on, but wasn't giving the TV audio feed. At this time, the ONKYO and TV were connected with their respective ARC/eARC HDMI ports. According to Sony and other sources, the connectiion between ONKYO and Sony TV may have required both optical audio connection and the HDMI (ARC). That ARC port on the ONKYO was previously feeding video/no-audio to the TV in the old configuration. Adding the optical audio cable in the mix finally worked. I'm just mystified how I was sitting at my desk, the audio from the MSNBC news program suddenly went up in volume, and I found the ONKYO working again.
I've had some glitches using PowerDVD on the HTPC fed directly to the TV: starting a previously recorded DVR would sometimes (not always) raise a Windows dialog about enabling HDR features of the new Sony TV, and the software would go into an endless loop whether I chose either option in the dialog -- it didn't matter. I could close the app from the Windows taskbar some of the time; other times, I needed to "End Task" from Task Manager. These glitches may involve configuration at Windows for the Sony, but as a second monitor, it only offers up a "Sony 30" TV" option, providing a 4K resolution but only at maximum 60hz refresh rate. The Sony will provide 120Hz as needed.
So here's what I'm wondering. Obviously, the HDMI/ARC-eARC port is necessary for both the audio (fed back from TV to ONKYO) and any video passthrough from other HDMI inputs to the ONKYO -- like an optical disc player, LP turntable or cassette player. I obviously don't need those devices anymore, with an HTPC that allows for CD and BD disc play and MP3 files or file sources. But if I did, they'd be plugged into designated HDMI inputs on the ONKYO.
I'm just a bit confused. Maybe things will work better if I pass the HDMI from the HTPC through the ONKYO as I had done once, rather than connecting it directly to the TV. The ONKYO must be set to "TV/CD" in its array of sources to enable the TV tuner feeding the ONKYO with audio, and it would otherwise use the "PC" setting for an HTPC input at the designated "PC" HDMI input port. Is this going to work, while still passing the TV tuner sound output back to the ONKYO? I think this would still allow me to switch the HTPC from the Logitechs to the ONKYO's JBLs.
If you have insights, please enlighten me. I asked someone why a person would buy a modern $500 soundbar for their TV, when they'd get better surround-sound with an AVR featuring 5.1 or 7.1 speaker connections. I think I understand this -- they don't want to hassle with a TV-to-receiver configuration, so they buy a soundbar. But I've always wanted to do things my own way, to squeeze out the best from my "Home Theater".
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