Marc Saltzman
Sun
The Pioneer Elite VSX-94TX, selling for $1,899.99, offers satellite radio support.
It’s the hub of your home theatre. Nope, not your television — it’s your audio-video (AV) receiver. That box does all the work to manage your sound by bringing in audio from multiple sources, decoding and amplifying it, and pushing it through to your surround-sound speakers, as well as taking in video from various components and routing it all to your TV.
What’s that? You don’t have one? You simply plug all of your home theatre components into the back of your television? Oh my.
With all the attention on high-definition displays, many consumers are forgetting or forgoing an AV receiver. And it’s a shame, as it’s one of the most important pieces of equipment to replicate the movie theatre experience in your home.
Setting up the receiver is no more difficult than any other component and will make a huge difference in your home entertainment. Whether you’re in the market for your first (or next) AV receiver, the following are a handful of new features you might want to look for and some receiver recommendations.
SAY HI TO HDMI
HDMI offers the highest quality compared to older cable technologies, such as component, S-Video and composite, and is capable of delivering 1080p resolution to a compatible high-definition television — meaning all 1,080 lines of resolution are shown “progressively” (i.e. simultaneously), instead of the older “interlaced” (or alternating) method that quickly alternates between even and odd lines. HDMI carries audio, too.
Not only will a single HDMI cable leading to your TV be a cleaner solution than a mess of spaghetti wiring but you can use your AV receiver remote to easily cycle between all of your video sources. This is called HDMI switching and is ideal for those who have a TV with only, say, two HDMI input jacks but who might own four HDMI-based components.
Another benefit of the technology is HDMI upconverting. Some receivers will take an older component, such as a VCR or DVD player connected to the receiver with the red, yellow and white composite (“RCA”) cables, and output the video to the television in much better quality thanks to the HDMI cable.
The latest HDMI is version 1.3, which offers more bandwidth for higher quality audio and video.
We like: Denon AVR-3808CI ($1,949; www.denon.ca)
MULTICHANNEL MADNESS
Many high-definition movies and video games today have been recorded or remastered in 7.1 surround sound.
You’ve probably heard of 5.1 surround sound: two left and right front speakers, a centre channel that sits just below or above your television (where up to 80 per cent of a movie’s dialogue comes from) and two left and right rear speakers. The “.1” in the equation is reserved for the multidirectional subwoofer, which sites on the floor, and delivers the booming bass. A different audio track is played through each of these six channels.
While it might sound like overkill, many home theatre enthusiasts have set up a 6.1 or 7.1 surround-sound room, which adds one or two additional rear speakers.
There are a number of new 7.1 audio technologies on various high-definition discs, such as DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD, so audiophiles will make sure their AV receiver has these audio decoders built-in.
We like: Yamaha RX-V1800 ($1,399; www.yamaha.ca/av)
NETWORKS, IPODS AND MORE
Many current AV receivers allow you to link your home theatre to your computer — via an Ethernet cable (wired) or 802.11 Wi-Fi (wireless) connection — enabling you to access all the music (and, in some cases, photos and videos) stored on a PC in another room.
An onscreen interface will let you navigate through your media library and select files to play. Often this networked AV receiver can also play music streaming from the Internet from online radio stations and other sources.
On a related note, the iPod has grown into such a cultural phenomenon many AV receivers include an iPod docking station (or sell it as an accessory). Now when you come home from work you can plop your digital music player in a dock, which also starts to recharge the iPod’s battery, and you can hear your favourite songs through your home theatre and in some instances view photos and videos on your television.
Many AV receivers also offer satellite radio support, letting subscribers to XM Satellite Radio or Sirius Satellite Radio hear CD-quality, commercial-free stations in the best possible sound.
We like: Pioneer Elite VSX-94TXH ($1,899.99; www.pioneerelectronics.ca)