Chip-maker’s Delays Cause Home Theater Industry Woes Late in 2007

[kennyt]

Originally Posted by Robinson_A

I dread tearing my system apart.

Once I'm done there's that moment before I hit power where I have to close my eyes and hope everything works.

Ahhh that moment! I truly dread that time as well! I in fact expect it when doing a review! If I ever get it all right the first time I am truly amazed! Fortunately for me I have redone this system before and it wasn't as tough the tenth time around....

[wmac500]

I tried to hook up my brother's SONY RPTV to his Time-Warner cable box via HDMI. It worked... for about 5 seconds and then intermittantly every 2-3 seconds. I went out and bought new HDMI cables thinking that I my have a defective set, same result. I then bought a cheap ($40) upconverting DVD player with HDMI output. It worked flawlessly. I called Time-Warner about the HDMI issue and they said (and I still cannot believe this!!!) they "provide the cable box, but do not provide support for HDMI users." This happened AFTER my brother switched from Direct TV at my request because the cable system gave him Hi-def HDMI at no additional monthly cost and equipment expense. That's what I get for trying to bring him into the audio/video revolution. Darn HDMI!!!

[westcott]

I am fairly well informed when it comes to AV equipment but I can not express the frustration I felt over the holidays as I tried to integrate and HD DVD and Blu-Ray player into my existing HD satellite and front projection system.

I purchased an HDMI switch that was not compatible with one or all of my components. This meant tearing my AV credenza apart so I could access the HDMI cable ports and manually connect everything directly to my projector. All the while, guests are watching in complete disbelief. Not something novices need to see in order to instill confidence in purchasing HD equipment.

I finally found an HDMI switch that works with all of my equipment but it sure was a bumpy ride.

I am not confident that a chipset is going to solve all the woes of HDCP, HDMI handshaking, and copy protection schemes. Fair use is suffering the same plight as our civil rights. They are constantly being attacked and are slowly being chipped away at so that very little of our true rights are left intact.

[Dave Moritz]

I am wondering if there has been any issues with the Cirrus chip that is being redesigned? Or is it just a matter of a new and improved version not being available in mass numbers?

Has anyone had problems getting the new Denon AVR-3808ci or AVR-4308ci receivers? Does the Denon have the Cirrus chip set inside and if it does should I wait for the new Cirrus chip before buying? Granted I do not have the money for the receiver yet, but I am saving for it. And to be honest I have no intention of spending my money on a Onkyo solution for my ht. I would rather have the Denon so if anyone knows what the deal is I would sure appreciate some information on this subject.

Thanks

[RichS]

FWIW, it can work...

In the last month, I have rebuilt my HT from the ground up (Merry Christmas!), and almost everything is connected HDMI and works perfectly...

Sources:
TiVo HD Series 3 DVR (HDMI to receiver)
Oppo DV-980H DVD/SACD/DVD-A/CD player (HDMI to receiver)
Samsung BD-UP5000 BluRay/HD-DVD combo player (HDMI to receiver)
XBox 360 (HDMI to receiver)
Roku Soundbridge M2000 network music player (digital optical to receiver)
Receiver: Denon 4308CI (HDMI to display)
Display: Pioneer Kuro PDP-6010FD

This system ROCKS and works flawlessly. HDMI can/does work - at least in my case with gear all released in 2007 (I believe).

Don't waste your money on Monster Cable HDMI cables... I'm using all monoprice.com cables at like 1/10th the price and everything looks/sounds perfect.

There's always cable creep though... I had to add an 8-port network hub behind the HT as 5 (!) of the components have ethernet ports.

One more thing, the HDMI physical connector itself sucks. Too easy for the plug to come loose or unseated. Couldn't they have at least used a little locking tab like the ethernet/phone connectors?


Thanks and Happy New Year to all!

[busyhands]

While it's true that the govt. is wasting a lot of time and money on low-level or non-crimes, I don't think it's true that they don't care about copyright protection. Otherwise, why would they have passed the Digitial Millenium Consumer Disaster Act? (That name may not be exactly right....)

Our elected representatives get a whole lot more campaign contributions from the RIAA, MPAA, et al than from me and you, so they dance to the industry's tune, not ours. And if the industry says "all our customers are thieves and you must punish them before they can act", Congress will do it.

Vaguely reminiscent of "Minority Report", isn't it?