Onkyo TX-SR875 Plus Sky+HD Reccomendations.

[admin_exported]

Hi there, I have finally taken the leap to Sky HD and now am wondering how to get the most out of it. I believe that the 875 has a decent upscaling chip (I currently have it upscaling DVD from my Marantze DV7001) and it seems to do a pretty good job. However I now have 2 issues:

Firstly, I'm not sure how best to set up the Sky HD box? I've read numerous threads on what to set on which piece of kit - I currently have HDMI and Optical cable from HD box to 875 then 875 to Sony KDL40W4500. The Sky box is set to 1080i (it wont let me set Auto???) and the 875 set to 1080P, is this the best way to have it set up?

Secondly, the trouble-and-strife doesn't like having surround sound etc on 'normal' tv programs (i.e. soaps and reality tv rubbish) so I wondered if I would notice any drop in picture quality if I just connect the Sky box directly to the telly with HDMI so that she can watch 'normal' telly through tv speakers and I can just switch the 875 on for proper stuff! My other solution was to connect the sky to tv using a scart lead to make life easier for the missus?

Why is life so complicated??? Cheers for your advice.

 

[Andrew Everard]

marshal478:Firstly, I'm not sure how best to set up the Sky HD box? I've read numerous threads on what to set on which piece of kit - I currently have HDMI and Optical cable from HD box to 875 then 875 to Sony KDL40W4500. The Sky box is set to 1080i (it wont let me set Auto???) and the 875 set to 1080P, is this the best way to have it set up?

Yes, that's fine.

marshal478:Secondly, the trouble-and-strife doesn't like having
surround sound etc on 'normal' tv programs (i.e. soaps and reality tv
rubbish) so I wondered if I would notice any drop in picture quality if
I just connect the Sky box directly to the telly with HDMI so that she
can watch 'normal' telly through tv speakers and I can just switch the
875 on for proper stuff!

Probably not - that'd be fine, too, though of course you won't then get the automatic picture and sound switching you have with your current configuration.

marshal478:My other solution was to connect the sky to
tv using a scart lead to make life easier for the missus?

Yes, that would work too, although then she won't get HD when watching Sky HD transmissions.

marshal478:Why is life so complicated???

Hey, don't knock it - it's keeping me in a job!

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers for the quick reply Andrew - I will probably go with the scart option as she will no doubt be unable to see the difference beteen HD and SD

!!!

 

[Anonymous]

marshal478:
Secondly, the trouble-and-strife doesn't like having surround sound etc on 'normal' tv programs (i.e. soaps and reality tv rubbish) so I wondered if I would notice any drop in picture quality if I just connect the Sky box directly to the telly with HDMI so that she can watch 'normal' telly through tv speakers and I can just switch the 875 on for proper stuff! My other solution was to connect the sky to tv using a scart lead to make life easier for the missus?

Why is life so complicated??? Cheers for your advice.

I had the same initial chat with the missus. Turns out it wasn't that she didn't want the surround sound ability, it was just that she didn't want to have to use yet another remote control to change the volume. As soon as I programmed the SKY HD remote to control the volume on my amp she was happy.
Hopefully your solution could be as simple as mine was.

 

[Andrew Everard]

marshal478:Cheers for the quick reply Andrew - I will probably go with the scart option as she will no doubt be unable to see the difference beteen HD and SD

!!!

She reads these forums, you know...

 

[Sorreltiger]

...and she'll soon be telling you that your cherished HD box is a waste of money as the picture's so poor. ÿUsing a scart lead would be a terrible idea if you don't need to IMHO. ÿHave you thought of getting a Harmony remote at the new reduced price? ÿIt keeps everyone in this house, young and old, extremely happy and they don't need me to enjoy the system.

 

[Liam19]

marshal478:
Hi there, I have finally taken the leap to Sky HD and now am wondering how to get the most out of it.ÿ I believe that the 875 has a decent upscaling chip (I currently have it upscaling DVD from my Marantze DV7001) and it seems to do a pretty good job.ÿ However I now have 2 issues:

ÿ

Firstly, I'm not sure how best to set up the Sky HD box?ÿ I've read numerous threads on what to set on which piece of kit - I currently have HDMI and Optical cable from HD box to 875 then 875 to Sony KDL40W4500.ÿ The Sky box is set to 1080i (it wont let me set Auto???) and the 875 set to 1080P, is this the best way to have it set up?ÿ

Secondly, the trouble-and-strife doesn't like having surround sound etc on 'normal' tv programs (i.e. soaps and reality tv rubbish) so I wondered if I would notice any drop in picture quality if I just connect the Sky box directly to the telly with HDMI so that she can watch 'normal' telly through tv speakers and I can just switch the 875 on for proper stuff!ÿ My other solution was to connect the sky to tv using a scart lead to make life easier for the missus?

Why is life so complicated???ÿ Cheers for your advice.

Regarding your second question - could you not aquaint your 'trouble-and-strife' (lol) with the 'Stereo' button on the Onkyo's remote control? That way, you can keep Sky+HD set up the way you first described, and with one button push your wife can switch to stereo for regular TV viewing. Just simply press 'Surr' when you want to switch back for movie time!

Seems like the simplest solution to me, by far.