AV receivers with 2 HDMI outputs - HELP!

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I've just built a dedicated cinema room, and am thinking of buying an AV receiver / amp with 2 HDMI outputs (one for the Samsung LCD, and one for my projector). I've been thinking about models like the Onkyo 876/906 (which are available with huge discounts) and the new Sony 5400ES, but have a question that I can't seem to Google the answer for...

Can the 2 HDMI outputs provide different resolutions? My LCD is 1360x768 (which both my HTPC and Xbox can provide), but the projector is 1080p and doesn't like 768p signals!

Help!!! 🙂

Neil.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Sorry for the delay, just been leafing through manuals to find out, and it looks like the answer is 'no' on all those receivers.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Andrew,

Blimey that was a fast reply - many thanks!

Just out of interest, is this something that any AV amp is likely to support? I can stretch to about £2K if needed / warranted...

...or of course if there is a decent scaler out there (Lumagen / DVDO)... Otherwise, I'm going to end up having to change resolutions depending on what output device I want to use (which seems a tad silly!)

Surely having 2 HDMI outputs is a bit pointless if it can't accommodate different resolutions?

Neil.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Can't the TV accept 1080 pictures? Leave everything on 1080 and to pass through the receiver to whichever output you're watching at the time?

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I don't know of anything this side of a pro scaler/switcher able to do this, but really changing resolution when you switch displays won't take a moment, and seems the most cost-effective way of doing it.

If you wanted to do this in a receiver, you'd really need to have two complete scaling systems working in parallel, and this would have obvious cost implications. I guess the receiver designers think that most people using the twin HDMI outs will have a projector able to handle the receiver's maximum resolution, and a TV also able to work with it.

 

[Anonymous]

Cofnchtr:Hi,

Can't the TV accept 1080 pictures? Leave everything on 1080 and to pass through the receiver to whichever output you're watching at the time?

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

Hi,

No, the TV is only a 26" LCD (it's actually just to allow me to fiddle with settings, and play music, etc, without having to fire up the projector), and does 720p/1080i/768p (I like 768p, because the HTPC gets 1:1 pixel mapping at that res, which means I can read text more clearly on it!)

Thanks for the advice guys - I guess I'll just have to swap resolutions to use the PJ (which isn't too bad at the start of a session - maybe 30-45 seconds of fiddling).

Neil.

 

[cram]

Is it just the PC that is giving you the problem? If so why not use a video card with dual outs (which most are these days). Have he 2nd out go direct to the TV and not use the receiver. Then extend your desktop and duplicate your icons on to both screens

Alternatively sell your LCD and get one that supports 1080p.