# My Brand New Sony AVR...gone already!



## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

I ordered the new Sony AVR (1070) Saturday and got it Sunday. Pretty quick! That's the only good thing that happened.

I have a Sony AVR, a 1010 model, that kept switching inputs randomly. I had hoped the new AVR would put an end to that, but all I got were more headaches. Of course it had the same problem, I kinda figured that would happen. I really think it has something to do with the 4K Sammy, I just don't know why. After I got the AVR hooked up, took me just a few minutes, I spent 3 hours trying to get all the HDMI inputs to work. Ended up with two port failures...they just put out nothing, whether that's a failure not, I really don't know. Then the random switching began. I also quickly noticed a degraded picture and nothing I did with the AVR brought my usual good picture back. Finally used the TV's remote and found the picture setting had been changed. By the AVR, I have to think since I never touch the TV's settings.

I know I could have shut the HDMI control to off and the new AVR would have worked, but between the HDMI port problem and the random switching I got fed up.

After 3 hours I gave up and took it to the UPS store and sent it back to Amazon. I think I'll just live with the old AVR for a while longer. I did get the ARC function to work with the new AVR, now I know how it's supposed to work but it doesn't on the old 1010. The instructions to get it to work are in the manual, but it just doesn't work.

Anyhow, I'm done with AVRs for a while.

Rich


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Don't give up yet!! 

Over the last few months I've had a Harman Kardon AVR3600 & AVR3700, looked hard at a Denon 4200 and got the Onkyo NR757 I have kept.

I have a selection of AVRs in the house as I've gotten too lazy to play 'dodge the scammers' on Craigslist! I've got in order of age:
Harman Kardon AVR274
Denon S1313 (?)
Denon S900W
Harman Kardon AVR3600
Onkyo NR757

Maybe I should switch them in and out just for the halibut!!


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## Eva (Nov 8, 2013)

I gave up on Sony long ago when I had a Receiver, CD changer, Minidisc and double cassette crash and burn on me. Since I still into the old stuff, I replaced them with Tascam stuff I got from eBay and never had an issue with those. Since I record at home (I'm a singer) I used those now and then.


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## Jbdaws (Aug 4, 2016)

Get you a Yamaha bro I picked up a rxv781 a couple weeks back. It's got all the latest Atmos, Dts:X, all the dsp modes you could ask for I couldn't be any happier. It sounds amazing no matter what I throw at it, Blu-Ray, Music, Directv etc. Passthrough works perfectly and this thing runs so cool.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Rich said:


> I ordered the new Sony AVR (1070) Saturday and got it Sunday. Pretty quick! That's the only good thing that happened.
> 
> I have a Sony AVR, a 1010 model, that kept switching inputs randomly. I had hoped the new AVR would put an end to that, but all I got were more headaches. Of course it had the same problem, I kinda figured that would happen. I really think it has something to do with the 4K Sammy, I just don't know why. After I got the AVR hooked up, took me just a few minutes, I spent 3 hours trying to get all the HDMI inputs to work. Ended up with two port failures...they just put out nothing, whether that's a failure not, I really don't know. Then the random switching began. I also quickly noticed a degraded picture and nothing I did with the AVR brought my usual good picture back. Finally used the TV's remote and found the picture setting had been changed. By the AVR, I have to think since I never touch the TV's settings.
> 
> ...


Your problem wasn't getting an avr. It was getting a Sony.

Long story short, look at Yamaha or Denon. Skip everyone else especially Sony. Is there a model in sonys line that's good? Probably but it's only their high end stuff I'd even consider looking at and even then, bang for buck has never really panned out against Yamaha and Denon for me. Their entry level stuff has never competed well with Yamaha and Denon. (Some people also like Pioneer and HK which are ok to.) the only problem I ever have with my Denon is it just won't die and make me upgrade. Works as good today as it did over 10 years ago when I got it! :lol:


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

I gotta agree on the Yamaha and Denon. Both are high quality brands. I have two Yamaha AVR's and a Pioneer. I like the Pioneer for its 4 HDMI inputs, but oyherwise it doesn't measure up to the Yamahas.


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Yamaha definitely builds good AVRs, but I find them harsh to my ears. 
Denons are all about 'flat'. They are excellent and their EQ system is wonderful, but I prefer a 'warmer' sound. Which led me to...
Harman Kardons over the years. Hard to beat the sound quality they produce, and up to the next to last year they produced AVRs, they were all sold performers with a solid build. Alas, HK got out of the AVR business as their last year of production units were not very good.
Ended up with Onkyo which is on par with the HKs for audio from movies/shows but not quite as good as HKs for music.

For me the Onkyo is the right product, but I would consider Marantz as potentially a choice as they are a bit sweeter than the Denons from reviews/comments I've seen.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

lparsons21 said:


> Don't give up yet!!
> 
> Over the last few months I've had a Harman Kardon AVR3600 & AVR3700, looked hard at a Denon 4200 and got the Onkyo NR757 I have kept.
> 
> ...


What I really want is an AVR that has something like the older Sony AVRs' HDMI1, HDMI2, etc on the remote. I really don't like the way the remotes are configured on most of the AVRs I've looked at. Even the Sony 1070 has only dedicated buttons on the remote. I know I could change the names of the dedicated buttons so they come up as something else on the AVR's screen but that seems like settling too.

Rich


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Rich, that seems to be the way things are going to be going forward. I don't think I've seen any AVR remotes that do what you want these days.

That's part of the reason I got a Harmony One years ago, and more recently replaced it with the Harmony Elite. Set up devices and activities that I name the way I want and then not worry about the rest of it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Jbdaws said:


> Get you a Yamaha bro I picked up a rxv781 a couple weeks back. It's got all the latest Atmos, Dts:X, all the dsp modes you could ask for I couldn't be any happier. It sounds amazing no matter what I throw at it, Blu-Ray, Music, Directv etc. Passthrough works perfectly and this thing runs so cool.


What model and brand TV are you using that Yamaha with? I ask because both of the Sony AVRs I have will work perfectly with a Panasonic plasma but not with the Samsung JS8500 4K set. The problem must be caused by the TV, I think (and I've spent a lot of time pondering this). Both of the Sony AVRs I own do the same thing when hooked up to the JS8500 and the Sony 1070 did the same thing yesterday. The only constant in all this is the JS8500.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> Your problem wasn't getting an avr. _*It was getting a Sony.*_
> 
> Long story short, look at Yamaha or Denon. Skip everyone else especially Sony. Is there a model in sonys line that's good? Probably but it's only their high end stuff I'd even consider looking at and even then, bang for buck has never really panned out against Yamaha and Denon for me. Their entry level stuff has never competed well with Yamaha and Denon. (Some people also like Pioneer and HK which are ok to.) the only problem I ever have with my Denon is it just won't die and make me upgrade. Works as good today as it did over 10 years ago when I got it! :lol:


I understood that when I ordered the 1070. I thought it was worth trying. I did try a Denon earlier this year and that didn't work correctly either.

Read my earlier post about dedicated buttons on this thread. I've seen some reviews online complaining about the dedicated buttons, specifically the Onkyo 800 AVR that is too big for my entertainment rack. This is the first time I've had any real issues with any Sony AVR and I've had several. Seems really odd to me that the Sonys don't work correctly with the JS8500 and they work perfectly with my plasmas. I don't know what to make of that.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

lparsons21 said:


> Yamaha definitely builds good AVRs, but I find them harsh to my ears.
> Denons are all about 'flat'. They are excellent and their EQ system is wonderful, but I prefer a 'warmer' sound. Which led me to...
> Harman Kardons over the years. Hard to beat the sound quality they produce, and up to the next to last year they produced AVRs, they were all sold performers with a solid build. Alas, HK got out of the AVR business as their last year of production units were not very good.
> Ended up with Onkyo which is on par with the HKs for audio from movies/shows but not quite as good as HKs for music.
> ...


I had one Yamaha and it was really bad. I got it at a Costco, that might be why it stunk. On your 757, do you use a port for USB or CDs and do they put out video? I could not get that 1070 to put out video (or audio) on ports labeled USB or CD (the CD port had another designation beside the CD don't remember what it was). I did get all four devices to work but none would work on those two ports and I would have had to use an ugly front panel HDMI port to use all four devices. All in all, it would have been "settling" to keep it and I just don't like settling for something.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

lparsons21 said:


> _*Rich, that seems to be the way things are going to be going forward. I don't think I've seen any AVR remotes that do what you want these days.*_
> 
> That's part of the reason I got a Harmony One years ago, and more recently replaced it with the Harmony Elite. Set up devices and activities that I name the way I want and then not worry about the rest of it.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


That just makes me want to avoid a new AVR. I don't really need one.

Rich


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

Rich said:


> I had one Yamaha and it was really bad. I got it at a Costco, that might be why it stunk. On your 757, do you use a port for USB or CDs and do they put out video? I could not get that 1070 to put out video (or audio) on ports labeled USB or CD (the CD port had another designation beside the CD don't remember what it was). I did get all four devices to work but none would work on those two ports and I would have had to use an ugly front panel HDMI port to use all four devices. All in all, it would have been "settling" to keep it and I just don't like settling for something.
> 
> Rich


The 757 has 8 HDMI ports, 7 on the back and one on the front. I'm using them all. I don't use the USB port at all so have no idea what it supports though the manual is available online if you'd like to peruse it.

As to you later comment about not needing a new AVR, well I didn't either. I could and did have my HK 3600 connected just fine with some creative cabling. Combination of the 4 HDMI inputs on it, a 4-port HDMI switch and using the 4K HDMI ports on the TV. I could have continued using it as I could put the 4K sources (FireTV box & Dish Hopper 3) HDMI direct to the TV, opticals to the AVR. And since the difference between DD+ and DD to my ears isn't much, it worked fine

If I got a 4K bluray player I would have to cable differently with it, but still would have been doable and even had support for the more advanced audio codecs from bluray.

I just chose to upgrade.

Lloyd from the Pixel


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

lparsons21 said:


> The 757 has 8 HDMI ports, 7 on the back and one on the front. I'm using them all. I don't use the USB port at all so have no idea what it supports though the manual is available online if you'd like to peruse it.
> 
> As to you later comment about not needing a new AVR, well I didn't either. I could and did have my HK 3600 connected just fine with some creative cabling. Combination of the 4 HDMI inputs on it, a 4-port HDMI switch and using the 4K HDMI ports on the TV. I could have continued using it as I could put the 4K sources (FireTV box & Dish Hopper 3) HDMI direct to the TV, opticals to the AVR. And since the difference between DD+ and DD to my ears isn't much, it worked fine
> 
> ...


The USB port on the 1070 was an HDMI port. I thought it would work with any HDMI input. Or was there a problem with the AVR itself? I have no idea what to expect from these things. I'll let things calm down for a couple weeks and reevaluate then. I did not enjoy yesterday at all.

I will say this: Those banana plugs are a tremendous time saver as are the wire numbers/letters on my speaker wires. I put the old AVR back in just a few minutes. I buy the wire numbers/letters at our Home Depot or Lowes in the electrical department.

Rich


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Rich said:


> What I really want is an AVR that has something like the older Sony AVRs' HDMI1, HDMI2, etc on the remote. I really don't like the way the remotes are configured on most of the AVRs I've looked at. Even the Sony 1070 has only dedicated buttons on the remote. I know I could change the names of the dedicated buttons so they come up as something else on the AVR's screen but that seems like settling too.
> 
> Rich


Not sure exactly what you're looking for on the remotes, but my Yamaha has buttons for the HDMI inputs (all 5) and 6 over AV inputs (see picture below).

Before your next purchase, you might want to download the user's manual to see if it has what you're looking for or even Google images of the unit you're thinking about buying.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

trh said:


> Not sure exactly what you're looking for on the remotes, but my Yamaha has buttons for the HDMI inputs (all 5) and 6 over AV inputs (see picture below).
> 
> Before your next purchase, you might want to download the user's manual to see if it has what you're looking for or even Google images of the unit you're thinking about buying.


I do download the manuals each time I buy an AVR. I knew the Sony was gonna be problematic concerning the remote, but I did want to try it. The mistake I made was not finding someone with a Sammy JS8500 who was running a Sony 1070 (or any Sony AVR). Both my older Sony AVRs work perfectly with the Panny plasmas and that fact should not be ignored. If they work with other TVs, why not the JS8500? I have only the JS8500 and my plasmas to use for comparison, but I know the Sony AVRs work correctly with Sony TVs and others. What is there about the JS8500 or is it all the Sammy 4Ks? I have no way to know and can only hope someone with a similar Sammy reads this thread and report his experiences with Sony AVRs. I cannot believe this is an anomaly.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Installing the Sony 1070 caused my JS8500 4K TV to reset to factory defaults! I did not realize how many small tweaks I had done. I'm in the process of resetting all the controls now. I know I've often written that the set was good to go out of the box, but I must have tweaked it to a larger extent than I realized.

On the plus side, my Info button on the remote works again, I must have shut it off...

The resetting of the TV leads me to an even stronger belief that the JS8500 is at the heart of my problems. 

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

trh said:


> Not sure exactly what you're looking for on the remotes, but my Yamaha has buttons for the HDMI inputs (all 5) and 6 over AV inputs (see picture below).
> 
> Before your next purchase, you might want to download the user's manual to see if it has what you're looking for or even Google images of the unit you're thinking about buying.


For whatever reason, Amazon only has a couple 4K Yamahas for sale. I did find one with a similar remote. Thanx. I gather your's is not a 4K AVR?

Rich


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

Rich said:


> For whatever reason, Amazon only has a couple 4K Yamahas for sale. I did find one with a similar remote. Thanx. I gather your's is not a 4K AVR?
> 
> Rich


No. It is about 3 years old. We also don't have any 4K TVs, so not an issue yet.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Rich said:


> For whatever reason, Amazon only has a couple 4K Yamahas for sale. I did find one with a similar remote. Thanx. I gather your's is not a 4K AVR?
> 
> Rich


Yamaha receivers that are possibly in the price / features you want. They do 4K.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=5017502,5081700,5081800&url=%2Fsite%2Fsearchpage.jsp%3Fcp%3D1%26searchType%3Dsearch%26_dyncharset%3DUTF-8%26ks%3D960%26sc%3DGlobal%26list%3Dy%26usc%3DAll%2520Categories%26type%3Dpage%26id%3Dpcat17071%26iht%3Dn%26seeAll%3D%26browsedCategory%3Dpcmcat309300050002%26st%3Dcategoryid%2524pcmcat309300050002%26qp%3Dbrand_facet%253DBrand%7EYamaha%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7E4K%2520UHD%2520Video%2520Pass%2520Through%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7EWi-Fi%2520Built-in%26sp%3D%252Bcurrentprice%2520skuidsaas&productString=bb5017502*bb5081700*bb5081800


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> Yamaha receivers that are possibly in the price / features you want. They do 4K.
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=5017502,5081700,5081800&url=%2Fsite%2Fsearchpage.jsp%3Fcp%3D1%26searchType%3Dsearch%26_dyncharset%3DUTF-8%26ks%3D960%26sc%3DGlobal%26list%3Dy%26usc%3DAll%2520Categories%26type%3Dpage%26id%3Dpcat17071%26iht%3Dn%26seeAll%3D%26browsedCategory%3Dpcmcat309300050002%26st%3Dcategoryid%2524pcmcat309300050002%26qp%3Dbrand_facet%253DBrand%7EYamaha%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7E4K%2520UHD%2520Video%2520Pass%2520Through%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7EWi-Fi%2520Built-in%26sp%3D%252Bcurrentprice%2520skuidsaas&productString=bb5017502*bb5081700*bb5081800


I did look at the linked Yamahas at BB. Thing is, I've been saving Reward Points on Amex for several years with the intention of buying an AVR with them. Can't do that at BB. If I don't use the rewards for something soon, my wife is gonna use them...

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> Yamaha receivers that are possibly in the price / features you want. They do 4K.
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=5017502,5081700,5081800&url=%2Fsite%2Fsearchpage.jsp%3Fcp%3D1%26searchType%3Dsearch%26_dyncharset%3DUTF-8%26ks%3D960%26sc%3DGlobal%26list%3Dy%26usc%3DAll%2520Categories%26type%3Dpage%26id%3Dpcat17071%26iht%3Dn%26seeAll%3D%26browsedCategory%3Dpcmcat309300050002%26st%3Dcategoryid%2524pcmcat309300050002%26qp%3Dbrand_facet%253DBrand%7EYamaha%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7E4K%2520UHD%2520Video%2520Pass%2520Through%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7EWi-Fi%2520Built-in%26sp%3D%252Bcurrentprice%2520skuidsaas&productString=bb5017502*bb5081700*bb5081800


You've got a 4K Sammy, don't you?

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> Yamaha receivers that are possibly in the price / features you want. They do 4K.
> http://www.bestbuy.com/site/compare?skus=5017502,5081700,5081800&url=%2Fsite%2Fsearchpage.jsp%3Fcp%3D1%26searchType%3Dsearch%26_dyncharset%3DUTF-8%26ks%3D960%26sc%3DGlobal%26list%3Dy%26usc%3DAll%2520Categories%26type%3Dpage%26id%3Dpcat17071%26iht%3Dn%26seeAll%3D%26browsedCategory%3Dpcmcat309300050002%26st%3Dcategoryid%2524pcmcat309300050002%26qp%3Dbrand_facet%253DBrand%7EYamaha%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7E4K%2520UHD%2520Video%2520Pass%2520Through%255Efeatures_facet%253DFeatures%7EWi-Fi%2520Built-in%26sp%3D%252Bcurrentprice%2520skuidsaas&productString=bb5017502*bb5081700*bb5081800


Can't help but wonder why Amazon doesn't list the linked above Yamahas.

Rich


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Rich said:


> Can't help but wonder why Amazon doesn't list the linked above Yamahas.
> 
> Rich


If you go down the left side of Amazon's page in the filter sections until you get to the year manufactured you will find that they have just 1 Yamaha AVR made in 2016 and 1 in 2015.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> If you go down the left side of Amazon's page in the filter sections until you get to the year manufactured you will find that they have just 1 Yamaha AVR made in 2016 and 1 in 2015.


Why aren't more listed on Amazon? I find that odd. Calling Amazon and asking them why would be futile.

Rich


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Rich said:


> Why aren't more listed on Amazon? I find that odd. Calling Amazon and asking them why would be futile.
> 
> Rich


Possibly because then they could not sell them for less than other people.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Rich said:


> Why aren't more listed on Amazon? I find that odd. Calling Amazon and asking them why would be futile.
> 
> Rich


A lot of retailers don't allow online sales unless its authorized and I doubt they'd authorize amazon for much of their gear. I'm sure Denon and everyone else doesn't authorize amazon for their higher end stuff either. Mostly because you can't st the help you need from amazon if you need help setting up and they want to protect their dealers.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

jimmie57 said:


> Possibly because then they could not sell them for less than other people.


The BB prices didn't seem high and they didn't have many either. I didn't do a price comparison. I thought Amazon just sold as many things as they could and somehow made a profit doing that. I've never quite understood how they make a profit...

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

inkahauts said:


> A lot of retailers don't allow online sales unless its authorized and I doubt they'd authorize amazon for much of their gear. I'm sure Denon and everyone else doesn't authorize amazon for their higher end stuff either. Mostly because you can't st the help you need from amazon if you need help setting up and they want to protect their dealers.


That makes sense.

Rich


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## Jbdaws (Aug 4, 2016)

Rich said:


> What model and brand TV are you using that Yamaha with? I ask because both of the Sony AVRs I have will work perfectly with a Panasonic plasma but not with the Samsung JS8500 4K set. The problem must be caused by the TV, I think (and I've spent a lot of time pondering this). Both of the Sony AVRs I own do the same thing when hooked up to the JS8500 and the Sony 1070 did the same thing yesterday. The only constant in all this is the JS8500.
> 
> Rich


It's an older Samsung UN55D6000 hdmi control works if I choose to have used it for control through a Raspberry Pi running XBMC. I've got it off most of the time never switches inputs etc

Also the Yamaha remote has input buttons for hdmi 1,2,3,4 and 5


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

inkahauts said:


> A lot of retailers don't allow online sales unless its authorized and I doubt they'd authorize amazon for much of their gear. I'm sure Denon and everyone else doesn't authorize amazon for their higher end stuff either. Mostly because you can't st the help you need from amazon if you need help setting up and they want to protect their dealers.


I was just surfing around and went to the Yamaha USA website. Clicked on "Online Retailer" and a whole sheet of Authorized Dealers came up.
Amazon is an Authorized Dealer for Yamaha.
http://usa.yamaha.com/dealers/


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Rich: Check out bhphotovideo and crutchfield. Both have a large variety of Yamaha and Denon AVR's that are 4K compatible Yamaha's RX-V581 is a 7.2 receiver with 4 HDMI's. Crutchfield and B&H have the RX-V681, which has 6 HDMI outs, on sale ending today (8/20) at midnight, for $549.99 and $549.95, respectively.


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## Jbdaws (Aug 4, 2016)

Cholly said:


> Rich: Check out bhphotovideo and crutchfield. Both have a large variety of Yamaha and Denon AVR's that are 4K compatible Yamaha's RX-V581 is a 7.2 receiver with 4 HDMI's. Crutchfield and B&H have the RX-V681, which has 6 HDMI outs, on sale ending today (8/20) at midnight, for $549.99 and $549.95, respectively.


Best Buy also has the 681 and if worried about things not working out the return policy is usually pretty good


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Just not sure I want to go thru another AVR install right now. Appreciate the posts. I did find the RX-V681 on Amazon at the same sales price. I read the reviews and they were mostly good. Only 7 reviews and one bad review. 

Rich


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

I'm still using an older Yamaha HTR-5730 circa 2004(?) with no HDMI inputs (use HDMI switcher and Toslink) but it still works fine for my needs. 

Do AVRs still program radio stations in "banks"? I hate that.


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## Delroy E Walleye (Jun 9, 2012)

Rich said:


> Why aren't more listed on Amazon? I find that odd. Calling Amazon and asking them why would be futile.
> 
> Rich


I don't know for sure. Maybe has something to do with AP already breaking the back (literally and figuratively) of UPS and they just don't want to ship those heay-a**ed monstrosities all over the darn country for "free" to prime members. Just a guess...

It's only gonna get worse (and I'm about to become a member).


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Delroy E Walleye said:


> I don't know for sure. Maybe has something to do with AP already breaking the back (literally and figuratively) of UPS and they just don't want to ship those heay-a**ed monstrosities all over the darn country for "free" to prime members. Just a guess...
> 
> It's only gonna get worse (and I'm about to become a member).


Have you tried Walmart's new Prime-like service? I've done some looking and it looks like they have better pricing on a lot of items. It only costs ~ half of what AP costs for the annual service.

Rich


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## Delroy E Walleye (Jun 9, 2012)

Rich said:


> Have you tried Walmart's new Prime-like service? I've done some looking and it looks like they have better pricing on a lot of items. It only costs ~ half of what AP costs for the annual service.
> 
> Rich


I have done the free shipping for items not carried in the store (free shipping to the store, that is). An experience in itself just trying to pick up the item.

First you gotta go way to the back of the store and find that department. A guy who didn't even work there (probably a freight carrier) had to tell me what to do to "summon" an employee. In the meantime there were other employees "strolling through" (looking like they were trying to "hide" from doing any work).

Will gladly pay for shipping to home address after that experience. After all how many $$ is one's time and effort worth?

But I'll definitely check out their service. Haven't been to that site in a while. One thing I did like about their site is it could tell you which stores might have an item in stock.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Delroy E Walleye said:


> I have done the free shipping for items not carried in the store (free shipping to the store, that is). An experience in itself just trying to pick up the item.
> 
> First you gotta go way to the back of the store and find that department. A guy who didn't even work there (probably a freight carrier) had to tell me what to do to "summon" an employee. In the meantime there were other employees "strolling through" (looking like they were trying to "hide" from doing any work).
> 
> ...


I did compare prices and Walmart seemed to sell the same items for a couple bucks less than Amazon. I've never joined or bought anything online from Walmart...not sure I want to do that for some reason.

Seems like anytime you need help at WM it's just not there. Long lines at the customer care desk, not enough folks manning the desk.

Rich


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Walmart's "Free Shipping Pass" looks interesting at $49 per year for 2nd day delivery to your home for eligible items (items that show the shipping pass logo). One advantage - apparently, if you don't like a product, you can return it at any Walmart store at no charge. Not the case with Amazon.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Cholly said:


> Walmart's "Free Shipping Pass" looks interesting at $49 per year for 2nd day delivery to your home for eligible items (items that show the shipping pass logo). One advantage - apparently, if you don't like a product, you can return it at any Walmart store at no charge. Not the case with Amazon.


Mmm. I'm really gonna have to explore this option further. I usually take Amazon returns to a UPS store and it's in the same complex as our Walmart. But then there's the problem with that awful return desk service at WM.

Rich


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## mikemyers (May 19, 2010)

I have a Sony XBR55 one year old TV, and just got the STR DN1070 receiver, along with the Sony speakers. I haven't had a receiver in ages, and it seemed to take forever to understand how to set up the new one. It took me several phone calls to Sony Tech Support to get it all figured out.

Sony has the normal Tech Support line, and another "after hours" line that means you've got 24 hour support. The tech people will spend hours (literally) on the phone until everything is working properly, and in my case, the connected to my system via the internet to check out what was going on, and set things up correctly.

Both devices have computerized electronics, and talk to each other. As she explained it, this works best when the TV and Receiver are both Sony. She emphasized that any time I'm working on adding or changing connections, I should unplug the sets. Neither the TV nor the receiver is acting as a "standalone" device, because during use, what happens with one results in changes in the other. Both the TV and the receiver know where to send the sound (TV speakers or Home Theater) depending on what is turned on, and the ARC function (and optical cable) allow the TV to send OTA audio down to the Receiver, if it's on.

Something that confused me, is the set seemed to be "randomly" switching from one HDMI port to another, as you noted. After a while, I figured out that if I select my port for DirecTV, and the system takes longer than usual to determine what format I'm using (SD, HD, 4K, 3D, HDR, as well as all the possible audio formats) the 1070 switches to an input that is ready to use (like a set top box). But if only one device is turned on at a time, the system patiently waits for all the handshaking, and starts playing.

I'm in NO way an expert on home theater. I spent ages reading and looking at tv's, and selected the Sony as I've always had good luck with them. I then read up on receivers, went to see them at a local Best Buy shop, read some more, compared features, and my preference was the 1070. That it had a second HDMI output sealed the deal, as I now have a HDMI transmitter/receiver that will send that output to a system in my kitchen.

Sony provides just a "user guide" with the receiver. For me, that was not nearly enough information.

Here's a page to get access to all the available information:
Sony eSupport - STR-DN1070 - Support

....and here's a link to the actual manual that I am now working with:
https://docs.sony.com/release//Manual_4583748161.pdf


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

mikemyers said:


> I have a Sony XBR55 one year old TV, and just got the STR DN1070 receiver, along with the Sony speakers. I haven't had a receiver in ages, and it seemed to take forever to understand how to set up the new one. It took me several phone calls to Sony Tech Support to get it all figured out.
> 
> Sony has the normal Tech Support line, and another "after hours" line that means you've got 24 hour support. The tech people will spend hours (literally) on the phone until everything is working properly, and in my case, the connected to my system via the internet to check out what was going on, and set things up correctly.
> 
> ...


You appear to be having a similar problem to what I went thru. I blamed my problem on the Samsung TV that I had just purchased. I'm surprised your setup does the random switching thing. I ended up using the optical out port on my Samsung TV to the Sony AVR. Fortunately the TV does output 5.1 sound. I have no idea how to help you. I just gave up. I'm surprised Sony "Tech Support" actually helped you, I never got anywhere with them.

Those Sony manuals are really something, aren't they?

Rich


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## mikemyers (May 19, 2010)

Rich said:


> .......I'm surprised your setup does the random switching thing. I ended up using the optical out port on my Samsung TV to the Sony AVR..........Those Sony manuals are really something, aren't they?


From what I've seen so far, I'm pretty sure it's not "random switching". DirecTV seems to do strange things to the signal before it stabilizes, because a DTV technician programmed it to get the display to always show it in the right format. I'm trying to switch on the receiver from something to DirecTV, it tries, doesn't see an appropriate signal, and goes back to one of the other settings. If I hold down the button for DirecTV long enough, everything works properly. So far. Going to DirecTV is the only time my receiver acts this way.

The technician at Sony spent well over an hour getting things to work, connecting to my system via the internet, changing settings, and telling me what to do and when. When she finished, everything worked the way she said it should, but an hour or so later, when I used the TV to play OTA from my outdoor antenna, the TV started using its internal speakers again. My "quick fix" was to plug the optical cable back in.

It's not relevant to this discussion, but she told me that the remote only shows so much, and ditto for the on-screen display. She suggested that I look at the front panel of the receiver if I want to know more. So, I took *everything* apart, and re-installed the system, this time with the receiver up on the top shelf where I can see it without having to kneel down on the floor.

By the way, Sony does have a "good" manual for the receiver, but you need to either buy it, or download it. I learned a lot more from reading that manual than from looking at the small booklet that came with the receiver. I guess I'm one of the very few people left who actually reads that stuff.....


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