av receivers

Richard is getting a strange buzzing noise as he watches videos from his Roku 4K Ultra. It happens when watching YouTube. He'll turn down the volume on his home theater system and turns up the video on his Roku remote. It's tinny, but it's clear with no buzz. Leo suspects that there's a mismatch of codecs. There are so many different video codecs now that this can happen. So you could be watching a movie with DolbyVision HDR, and the encoding is confusing the AV Receiver. It could also be an analog problem. Check your speaker cables. Also look to be sure wires are crossing and touching.

Richard's optical speakers are suddenly malfunctioning with only one speaker working. Leo says if the wires are connected, then it could be a bad speaker wire. They can fail. The speaker can also fail. Do the easy thing first ... replace the wires. Also, try using a different device like a turntable. That will eliminate the receiver. Also, change the connections from left to right. If the other speaker goes out and the current speaker has sound again, then the AV receiver may be going out.

Richard will be buying a new TV and sound system soon and wants to know what to get. Leo says to determine the size; you want bigger than you think. These days, 70" or more is better for movies. And if you can darken the room, then an OLED is ideal. But if the room has brighter ambient light, then an LCD screen is going to be best. So, it depends on the room you put it in. As for sound, a soundbar will work really well, but you want to get a subwoofer.

Ed has bought three AV receivers over the last five years, and all three have died in less than two years. Leo says that adding a surge suppressor that does power conditioning and an uninterruptable power supply will guard against "dirty power" and power spikes that can happen after a power outage. It's not normal for AV receivers, or any tech, to die too quickly and consistently. So it points to something other than the device itself. Leo also recommends not putting them in a sealed cabinet, which can cause overheating. You can also look for a line conditioner.

Bruce is having issues with his TV that the audio gets out of sync and the video goes blank on his TIVO Edge. Leo says it's losing HDMI sync when you run it through the AV receiver. And it's likely the AV Receiver that's causing it since Bruce isn't having issues connecting through his Xbox or directly. Is there a setting he needs to look for in his AVR? Look in the settings for eliminating the sync handshake. That's what's dropping out. If you can make it always on, it would never have to lose the handshake. Leo also suspects a new HDMI cable may solve the problem.

Hans would like a good home theater receiver and turntable that can also work as his home theater. Leo is a fan of Denon. Onkyo and Marantz are also very good. They are very affordable and give you a lot of bang for your buck. Be mindful of how many inputs the AVR has, because it can double as an AV receiver. So count up your HDMI devices you have hooked up and it'll point you to which model to get. Leo, for instance, has seven devices he connects to his. Also make sure it can support 4K and HDR to future proof your system, as well as Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound. 

Larry has 12-year-old florescent backlit TV and it's time to upgrade to 4K. It's in a surround sound system with a Denon receiver and he would rather not upgrade that as well. Leo says there is an "upgrade cascade" that happens when there is a home theater system. If an AV system drives video, then users have to upgrade it. But if it's just running the audio, they'll be fine. Just use the optical out on a new TV. Upgrade the ROKU box to 4K capable. But what's even more important is the HDR support 4K brings.

Ed wants to get a wireless AV receiver for his home, that'll also work with the TV. Leo says that he uses Sonos... but nowadays, he can do the same thing Sonos does for less money. Leo says that he can get a pretty good AV receiver from Onkyo or Denon for around $400 that will stream as well, and then choose his own speakers.  It really comes down to what's most important - sound quality or price point. Leo says that he can get better if he wants to pay for it. ELAC speakers will do that. 

Adam recently bought an LG OLED 65" TV. But using his Sony receiver with Dolby 5.1, should he plug everything into that first? Leo says that his general standard is to route everything through the AV receiver and then to the OLED. But if he is streaming from the TV itself, he will need an audio return channel (ARC) in order to get that audio through the home theatre system.