Denon AVR3808CI

[DrPaulsen]

Originally Posted by TheMoose

My 2 year search for a new home theater receiver has finally ended!
Ever since I got into HD I've wanted a receiver with at least 4 HDMI 1.3 inputs without spending a ton of cash, I decided on the Denon AVR3808CI.
While several brands have come out with multiple HDMI 1.3 inputs at a similar price including the Sony STR-DA5300ES with 6 inputs the single option that put the Denon at the top of my list was the ability to upgrade the firmware.
As fast as things are changing it's nice to know that this can be upgraded.
The fact that not all firmware upgrades will be free tells me that some new functions may be added & it's not all just bug fixes in the software that can be downloaded.
While the 3808CI can be bought at Best Buy in the Magnolia store within a store I highly recommend that you purchase it from a custom installer, the CI in the model number stands for custom Install & there are menus that only trained installers can access & they can diagnose problems over the internet, when I asked the sales guy at Magnolia about that he didn't have a clue what I was talking about (big surprise!).
My dealer went to the demo at CEDIA & is going to take the class provided by Denon to support this line of receivers.
I'm not impressed with the remote but the fact that both remotes have direct input buttons is a big plus, I programmed my Harmony 880 to run mine & when I'm sure I added all the functions I need it will go in the drawer with all the other stock remotes!
The Audyssey MultEQ XT auto setup was easy to do (it helps to have a tripod to mount the mike on) & it got the size & distance on all my speakers correct but oddly turned my Sub Woofer down so low it was barely putting anything out, a quick trip to the manual speaker setup corrected that.
I got it hooked up to my computer with no problems & my computer recognizes it but I haven't figured out how to stream music from my computer or get internet radio yet.

I wondered if there would be any handshake problems with the HDMI connections, I have my DirecTV HR20-700 HD-DVR, Sony Playstation 3 & Sony DVP-NS3100ES DVD player hooked up through HDMI to the 3808CI & a HDMI cable going to my Sony KDS-R70XBR2 & there was no problems.
It does have the "Playsforsure" sticker on it which means that anything that has been certified by the HDMI group should have no problems hooking up & playing & that worked in my case.
I've only had it a couple of weeks & have been through the owners manual twice but there is so many things this will do I'm going to have to go through it again.

I'm sure there is much more this receiver will do that I haven't found out yet but I do know that Ted Nugent sounds killer on it & I can really crank it up on action movies.
I'll add more as time goes by but for now here's a couple of pics & the specs.

TheMoose :

Just out of curiosity -- did you ever end up having any HDMI hand-shake problems (i.e. AV drop outs) between your Sony TV and Denon 3808CI? I have a similar Sony SXRD TV (KDS-50A2000) and am seriously looking at the 3808, but am concerned about running into the same type of video drop-out problems that have been widely reported (cf. Amazon reviews, AVSForum, etc.) with Sony TVs. FWIW, I'll mostly be watching movies via my PS3 and HDA3.

[TheMoose]

Originally Posted by DrPaulsen

TheMoose :

Just out of curiosity -- did you ever end up having any HDMI hand-shake problems (i.e. AV drop outs) between your Sony TV and Denon 3808CI? I have a similar Sony SXRD TV (KDS-50A2000) and am seriously looking at the 3808, but am concerned about running into the same type of video drop-out problems that have been widely reported (cf. Amazon reviews, AVSForum, etc.) with Sony TVs. FWIW, I'll mostly be watching movies via my PS3 and HDA3.

I had zero HDMI problems with my 70" XBR2, I have heard of some dropout problems but it seems real hit & miss.
One guy with model X TV has problems but several others with the same TV has no problems.

If you buy it at a good dealer just tell them if you have any problems you want to return it & you shouldn't have any problems.

If you do buy a 3808ci make sure you download the newest firmware update & the free (to new purchases) firmware upgrade that adds new Audsessy features.
before you run the Audessy setup the first time.

Good luck & let us know how it works out!

[pws442]

I am not sure that the upscaling/upconverting is working on my Denon 3808Ci, or if it is, I don't understand it.

Watching my reference DVD (The Girl Next Door - gotta love Elisha Cuthbert!) from my Samsung PD-P1500 Blu-Ray player, the Info button on my Mitsubishi WD-73833 shows 1080p, as does the Sammy display, but from my (cheapie) Panasonic DVD-S53 it shows 480p. I have the Denon 3808Ci set to Auto, in the HDMI Resolution menu, and have even changed it to 1080p, without any change in the Info display. I stepped through all the settings, and the sources are set to convert. I have the latest firmware installed.

Mind you, the picture looks just fine. Am I missing something here?

[TheMoose]

Originally Posted by pws442

I am not sure that the upscaling/upconverting is working on my Denon 3808Ci, or if it is, I don't understand it.

Watching my reference DVD (The Girl Next Door - gotta love Elisha Cuthbert!) from my Samsung PD-P1500 Blu-Ray player, the Info button on my Mitsubishi WD-73833 shows 1080p, as does the Sammy display, but from my (cheapie) Panasonic DVD-S53 it shows 480p. I have the Denon 3808Ci set to Auto, in the HDMI Resolution menu, and have even changed it to 1080p, without any change in the Info display. I stepped through all the settings, and the sources are set to convert. I have the latest firmware installed.

Mind you, the picture looks just fine. Am I missing something here?

How is it connected?
The only thing not connected by HDMI in my system is a VCR & it's hooked up with a S/Video cable & it does not upconvert either, it may be a DRM thing.

[pws442]

Originally Posted by TheMoose

How is it connected?
The only thing not connected by HDMI in my system is a VCR & it's hooked up with a S/Video cable & it does not upconvert either, it may be a DRM thing.

I have everything connected via HDMI. Cable, Blu-Ray, and DVD go in, and out to the TV.

[pws442]

I have another problem since the latest upgrade. the web browser does not accept commands. It stays on Main CD, with volume at zero. There is not an XM option, nor iNet/USb selection available. When I use the remote to get therek, it continually says that it is trying to acquire the network. I can ping the Denon, but the Hyperterm sessiion returns nothing. As soon as I try to execute a command from the web browser, it returns to no power status, volume at 0db, and the input selection as "SOURCE". Please help me!