Looking at 4K TV, do I need to upgrade my AV Receiver too?

[TheOne]

Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster!

I'm looking at the prospect of purchasing a new TV, with the Samsung UE55HU7200 currently top of my list. As much as I want it now, think it's going to be sensible to wait until end Feb when the new 2015 range drops and hopefully will see some price reductions! The wait is killing me!

One thing I wanted to check was whether I also needed a new AV receiver to realise the benefit of 4K.

Current set up is a Sony AV receiver (STR-DG720). Xbox One, PS3 connected via HDMI and SkyHD via optical out. Receiver is connected to the TV via HDMI.

The temporary workaround I can think of is to connect all the equipment direct to the TV and connect the TV to the receiver via optical out. Would this work or will it be OK to still route everything through the receiver?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Simple answer is no not yet there are no 4K blu ray players just yet so no need for new amp even when there are you might not have to upgrade. But hopfully soon for those 4k players!!! just get the TV when your ready.

 

[Andy Clough]

Depends what your 4K source will be. If you're streaming Netflix, Amazon or YouTube 4K content directly through the TV's smart interface, then you'll be fine, but if you plan to connect any external 4K devices (such as a 4K Blu-ray player) through the AV receiver to the TV, then you'd need an AV receiver capable of handling 4K passthrough, which many of the newer ones do.

 

[TheOne]

Depends what your 4K source will be. If you're streaming Netflix, Amazon or YouTube 4K content directly through the TV's smart interface, then you'll be fine, but if you plan to connect any external 4K devices (such as a 4K Blu-ray player) through the AV receiver to the TV, then you'd need an AV receiver capable of handling 4K passthrough, which many of the newer ones do.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Netflix and Amazon Instant Video will be my initial source of 4K content. I currently have my Xbox set up to access Netflix UK and the PS3 to access Netflix US so I can use the TV's smart interface for the UK version, but will probably still continue to use the PS3 (or Xbox) to access the US site.

In terms of the receiver, will my idea of connecting everything to the TV and the TV to the receiver via optical out work? My receiver is quite old so doesn't have 4K passthrough and the wife has set me a budget and ideally I'd like to use it all on the TV and the receiver would wait until later in the year.

 

[Andy Clough]

Yes, that would work, but even better would be to use an HDMI socket on your new TV with ARC (Audio Return Channel) - assuming it has one - to feed the audio signal from the TV to your receiver.

 

[bigboss]

Depends what your 4K source will be. If you're streaming Netflix, Amazon or YouTube 4K content directly through the TV's smart interface, then you'll be fine, but if you plan to connect any external 4K devices (such as a 4K Blu-ray player) through the AV receiver to the TV, then you'd need an AV receiver capable of handling 4K passthrough, which many of the newer ones do.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Netflix and Amazon Instant Video will be my initial source of 4K content.  I currently have my Xbox set up to access Netflix UK and the PS3 to access Netflix US so I can use the TV's smart interface for the UK version, but will probably still continue to use the PS3 (or Xbox) to access the US site.

In terms of the receiver, will my idea of connecting everything to the TV and the TV to the receiver via optical out work?  My receiver is quite old so doesn't have 4K passthrough and the wife has set me a budget and ideally I'd like to use it all on the TV and the receiver would wait until later in the year.

Xbox and PS3 will not support Netflix 4K as far as I'm aware. You can get a new AV receiver by all.means, but I don't think you'll be using 4K passthrough just as yet. The earliest you would use 4K passthrough would be December 2015 if you're amongst the first to buy a 4K blu ray player.

As Andy said, connect 4K source to your TV directly and use HDMI ARC to send the audio from TV to AV receiver. This obviates the need for a 4K capable AVR.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

The earliest you would use 4K passthrough would be December 2015 if you're amongst the first to buy a 4K blu ray player.

Which I certainly will not be!