problem with HDMI passing through Onkyo 806

manman

I had never seen this problem until today, but now this is really bugging me... I was playing my xbox 360 which is hooked up via HDMI through my Onkyo 806, and in some parts of the game darker patterns would show these tiny blue lines- kind of like a blue noise. It doesn't show up a lot and when it does it's not overwhelming, but it's easily noticeable. I noticed this while watching a divx video on my PS3 a few weeks ago as well, but it was highly compressed- not the best picture, so at the time I thought it was the file itself. Never noticed it again until now. I haven't yet seen it through cable tv or blu-ray yet.

I tried hooking up the 360 directly to the TV and the problem doesn't show up at all, so I know it has something to do with the receiver. I would REALLY like to keep everything hooked up through the Onkyo if possible because it's the least amount of cables while being able to play audio in surround sound on my HT set up.

Some other things to note- I was using the same input when I did the comparison, so it's not the picture settings- and I also have HDMI set to "through" and noise reduction off, so it won't upscale or do any signal processing (that I know of). Has anyone experienced this before or have any idea how I can solve this problem while still using HDMI through the Onkyo?

EDIT: one more thing to note- I tried switching the different input sources and got the same result, so it's not related to a specific input.

PolkThug

When you went directly to TV, were you using the same cable?

manman

Ok- first let me say "my bad" on this one. I should have done the google search BEFORE rushing to post. Bad form on my part.

I did solve this problem, but it turns out this is a known issue by Onkyo and many people have had this problem, so in case anyone else runs into it, here's the deal:

Apparently the 806 and some of the other models (all with the faroudja chip I believe) have some problems with 1080p input sources- and this is reported to happen with almost all 1080p input sources EXCEPT when the signal is 1080p/24, because for some reason it does no processing on that...

If you change your input source to 1080i, that fixes the problem even if you set the receiver to upscale to 1080p. But the better solution is to go into the OSD settings and set "Immediate Display" to off. That's the setting that lets the receiver slap a little onscreen visual on your tv when you turn the volume up/down etc. I guess having that on means the receiver has to do some processing of the signal even when it's set to "through".

If I didn't get it at such a good price and want all 5 of those HDMI inputs I'd be taking this thing back just on principle because a machine that costs that much should work 100% as advertised. But for the price I payed, this fix works for me. I'll upgrade when my budget is right

Again, sorry for jumping the gun- but I hope this helps someone else out!

Dawgfish

manman,

Thanks for the info. I replaced my Onkyo 806 last week with a Denon 2809 in my main set-up and moved the Onkyo downstairs. I always had problems with black backgrounds on any source (except 24 hz BLu Rays like you suggested, now that I think about it) when using the 806. There were always these gray and blue blobs or ghosts in the background. I am not getting any of these with the Denon. I now know what true black looks like on my TV with the Denon and it's refreshing. I like the 806 overall and think it's a good unit, but there were a few nagging glitches with it. The black not being black was one. Another one was the amount of time it took to recognize and play hi-def audio blu-ray sources. The Blu-Ray would play for a good 15 to 30 seconds before the signal would be picked up by the reciever and played on the screen and audio would play through the reciever. With the Denon, when the blu-ray loads and plays on the player, it instantly plays through the reciever.

Sorry to hijack your thread, I'm just saying there are lots of nagging little problems with the 806 that I'm not having with the Denon. I hope this info may be helpful to those who may be deciding between these two recievers.

Steve

wutadumsn23

Hmmm, that is strange I have had my 806 for 4 months or so now and have not had a single problem with it. Have my PS3 hooked up to it and it works like a champ. Well, I take that back, when used for awhile for blu-rays it can sometimes be a space heater, but I have it well vented and am thinking about getting a fan for it.

Dawgfish

I think the fact that you are playing Blu-ray on the PS3 has a lot to do with why you are not seeing the delay (I think, maybe I just got a lemon). The PS3 is decoding the hd sound format and passing it to the reciever in PCM format. My 806 did not have any problems with signals being outputted in PCM. It was when it recieved bit-streamed data in the HD-Master format that it had the delay issues. I noticed the problems with the black though in nearly every format. Are you not having this issue with your setup? I've done a little research and have heard of the 806 not passing true black as an issue with other owners. Maybe you lucked out and got a good unit, or maybe it was in the setup. Hard to say at this point. The 806 is a good unit overall. I would stilll have no problems recommending it as a solid choice for A/V reciever in the $1000 dollar range. I like the Denon better overall, but others may not. That's just my experience and tastes.

wutadumsn23

I guess I must have gotten lucky from the sounds of it since I have had zero problems with my 806, but like you said even with the confirmed issues you and other people are having I would still recommend the 806 to anybody in search of an AVR under 1K.

comfortablycurt

I've heard of this happening quite a few times. Seems like it's a pretty widespread issue on the 806. Hopefully Onkyo will release some kind of firmware update for it to fix the problem.

kaisersose

Had this problem while watching movies through hdmi with my Samsung BD 5000 dual player. It goes away when I hook my player via component.

jdwmap

I believe the fix is a hardware change, not a software fix, so you have to send it in. It is the main reason I am looking to the 876 for the video processing.

cheddar

In my experience with my sharp hdtv (although an older model), I've come to not trust internal scalers and video processing in general for watching a quality signal that starts out 1080p. It's good that the onkyo has an option to completely disable its internal video processing. I often wonder how many less noticeable video processing problems make it through.

kevhed72

From what I read in other forums, supposedly Onkyo knows about this issue and units with a serial number w/ a "G" or later in it have already had the hardware issue fixed. I'm curoius manman...what letter does your serial number on the unit have...if this is correct.
I have been eyeing this unit awhile, and the 876 is quite a jump in price...

Murray1

I was planning on purchasing an 806 but if they do not have their HD Audio format dialed in I will move on to a Denon. Anyone with personal experience, please let the rest of us future buyers know so we can make the right decision. Thanks.........

wutadumsn23

Murray1--

I have owned the Onkyo TX-SR806 for about 5 months now and have been nothing short of amazed by it's performance. I have had no issues with it what-so-ever and I'm not sure of the serial number with regards to the "G" or higher, but I am running all digital cables (HDMI, Optical, etc.) in and out of my receiver and using it in a passthrough capacity with my PS3 being the HD source for Blu-Ray's and gaming. There is no upconversion taking place anywhere in my setup and maybe that's why I haven't had any issues with it, but I don't know for sure. As for there being HD Audio format problems, I haven't heard of any audio problems, just video problems. Of course I may be out of the loop on this, but as I said I have had no problems with my unit at all. I run 2 Monitor 70's, 1 CS2, and 2 Monitor 40's off of it with amazing results. I can't wait to add a 3 or 5 channel amp to see what my speakers are really capable of, lol. All in all I have always had a soft spot for Onkyo receivers and didn't hesitate to buy the 806 when I was shopping around for a new HT setup.

Mike21

For what its worth, I have an 8 month old Onk 805 and have never had any problems with it except heat (which I fixed w/ an $8 desk fan).

Dawgfish

Murray 1,

I own both the Onkyo 806 and the Denon 2809CI and I much prefer the Denon 2809. It's not that I dislike the 806, because I do like it and think it is a solid performer. The Denon however outperforms the Onkyo in the two areas that count, sound quality and build quality. Sound quality is a personnal thing, others may have a different opinion than mine and prefer the Onkyo's sound, so listen to both and see what you think. In my setup, however, the Denon has a warmer, less processed sound with music and is much more dynamic and detailed with movies. I think the Denon's Auddyssey XT calibration does a much better job than the standard Auddysey calibration that the 806 has. Keep in mind that I am judging both of these units as preamps, as external amps are powereing all of my speakers.

The one thing I can say definitely though about the Denon over the Onkyo, is the Denon has no nagging glitches. I can't say the same of the Onyo. I had the 1080p pass through problems discussed above. I never got a true black screen with the Onyo. There were always "ghosts" in the picture. I had handshake issues when playing Blue Rays using DTS HD Master Audio. The Blue Ray would often play for a good 10 to 30 seconds or more before the Onkyo would recognize the signal and transmit it to the TV. It was a reciever issue, I tried hooking the blu ray player directly to the tv and I did not get this delay, nor do I get the delay with the same Blu-Ray player played through the Denon. I have no issues with the 2809. It's refreshing to see what true black looks like on my HDTV now.

The Denon is also much better designed to act as a preamp. The 806 does not have a ac power plug on the rear. When I was using the Onkyo, I ran an external fan on it (which brings up another issue, the Denon runs much cooler that the Onkyo), and I always had to remember to manually turn off the fan. If it had an ac power plug, the fan would have turned on and off when you turned the reciever on and off. The Denon has two 12volt trigger outs to add amps. The Onkyo did not have this. It does have a trigger out for the Zone 2, which can be used to trigger an external amp, but you had to manually turn on the second zone with the remote, instead of it automatically powering the amp up when the reciever was turned on. These are small items I know, but to me the Denon is much better designed and built.

There are some things that I like better with the Onkyo over the Denon. The OSD on the Onkyo is light years better and easier to use than the Denon's. The Onkyo is much easier to setup. I like how the Onyo has volume level and other overlays over the video picture where the Denon does not. I like the Onkyos remote better than the Denon's. You can also get some great deals on the 806. I've seen them as low as $650 new online, which is a really good deal and at that price it would be a tough decision between the 806 and paying $1200 for the Denon. If I were paying prices closer to the Onkyo's $1000 retail however, there is no question that I would definitely recommend the Denon over the Onkyo 806 any day of the week. The 2809 was a big step up for me. Hope this helps.

Steve

Murray1

kevhed72 wrote: »

From what I read in other forums, supposedly Onkyo knows about this issue and units with a serial number w/ a "G" or later in it have already had the hardware issue fixed. I'm curoius manman...what letter does your serial number on the unit have...if this is correct.
I have been eyeing this unit awhile, and the 876 is quite a jump in price...

Can any 806 users check their s/n's for G or later and report back results?

wutadumsn23

Murray1 wrote: »

Can any 806 users check their s/n's for G or later and report back results?

I am at work right now, but will check the s/n later and let you know.

kevhed72

Check this out on the blue dots:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/onkyo-owners-forum/861460-onkyo-tx-sr806-blue-dots-black-1080p.html

While this receiver looks great for the price, and overall gets great reviews, I don't think I can deal with any type of "glitches" or defects for any amount of money. The 876 may be the way to go. Also, I noticed that Electronics Expo had a couple of higher-end Yamaha receivers at a reduced price...the 1800 and 2900.

wutadumsn23

Murray1 wrote: »

Can any 806 users check their s/n's for G or later and report back results?

Just to add even more confusion to this subject, I checked the serial number of my 806 and short of publishing the exact serial number for all to see (hey you guys are cool, but even I don't trust everyone, lol) the only two letters anywhere in my units serial number are a "D" and a "C" Like I said I have had zero problems with my 806 since day one and my serial number is not a "G" or above, lol. Bottom line is go with what you feel comfortable with, after all you are the one forking out the cash, not us. Maybe I got lucky, but I still love my 806, and don't regret buying it one bit.

Murray1

Guess I will need to contact Onkyo direct before purchasing and see if they have corrected problem.