FuzzyinLondon:This questions been asked a lot recently so I'm actually going to test. I managed to sell my Onkyo 605 recently and have managed to get a 875 just over the weekend. I've only just got it set up and connected but if I get a chance to test it this week. I'm going to compare the quality of SD Sky via s-video through the receiver and via RGB Scart through the tv. I'm also going to feed dvd at 576i via HDMI to each to see which does better with that. I'll post the results later this week for anyone who's interested.
Right, I finally got around to testing this over the weekend with the help of my cousin who acted as an independent pair of eyes so a big thanks to him. Sky+ was going to tv(4280XD) via a Philex Thor RGB Scart into Input 1 and to the Onkyo 875 via S-Video and out to display via HDMI into Input 3. I calibrated the inputs to D65 standard - well as close as is possible on a 4280XD(you can get closer on a 428XD if you have it ISF calibrated). One thing I found is that putting the same settings on the Onkyo's pictures as I had on the RGB input yielded different results. It must be to do with the way that the tv handles a HDMI signal so it's important to calibrate each input separately to get the best out of it (This is where having two separate HDMI outs will come in very handy on the 876).
I also tested DVD playback to compare which was best at upscaling a 576i signal from a Toshiba EP30. Everything is hooked up with 1m lengths of QED HDMI-P leads. This is a much fairer test than the Sky+ test where you could argue that the Onkyo is at a disadvantage because it's being fed via S-video.
To the results. With Sky+, the Pioneer wins but only just and it was much closer than I thought it would be. The Onkyo does a great job with the S-video feed and gives a very clean picture with both 720p and 1080p. However the picture scaled via the Pio is just that bit sharper and the movement that bit more natural although blank areas of colour looked slightly fizzier than through the Onkyo. Overall, the Pio shades it. My feeling is that if the Sky+ box was capable of outputting component, it would be much harder to call.
With DVD, it was even closer. Pioneer owners have always recommended to me that I should leave my player set to 576i for best results. However, for convenience more than anything, I've always had my EP30 set to 1080p to avoid having to switch the resolutions for different types of discs. I've been so impressed with the picture from the Toshiba that I've never felt the need to mess around with it. When testing the Onkyo against the Pio, I used the Toshiba as a reference point. There was barely anything between the three but if pushed, I would say that it was a tie between the Onkyo and the Toshiba with Pio just behind. We did a few test scenes and it was hard to see any difference at all. It was only when we went to the main battle scene from Return Of The King that we thought that the Onkyo gave a slightly sharper punchier picture, on par with the Tosh. If anything, it proves what a good machine the Toshiba is (anyone who managed to snap one up when they were £60 got an absolute bargain).
So it's a bit of a mixed bag as far as the results go. Having now tested it, I'm very impressed with the de-interlacing and scaling abilities of the 875 and, most importantly for me, I don't regret buying it. I probably won't be utilizing its scaling abilities very much but I feel good knowing that if, for any reason, I had to replace my beloved 4280, I at least have a receiver that will be able to give me the kind of picture quality I'm now used to.
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