How the video processing of Onkyo TX-sr 705 works

[mahiruha]

Hi,
After reading lot of praises about Oppo DVD player I finally decided to buy Oppo DV-981 HD. When I was talking to the guy over I asked him a question that since both oppo and onkyo has DCDi by Faroudja how it is ensured that which Faroudja is used. He told me if the oppo sends a signal greater than 720p then onkyo will simply pass it through and onkyo Faroudja won't come into play. I believed he right. Then I started to think that I am inputting my current Sony DVD player input signal as 1080i and the onkyo is simply passing it through hence onkyo is not using the Faroudja technology at all. Hence I logically concluded that If I send 575P signal from my DVD player Onkyo will use it Faroudja chi and upscale to 1080I but this isn't the case since my projector show the output signal as 576P. Then I visited the onkyo 705 thread got the following insights.

""
4) Does this receiver upscale my video to 1080p?

This receiver wont upscale to 1080p. The maximum resolution it can upscale video to is 720p. If you want an Onkyo receiver that upscales low resolution sources to 1080p I recommend you look at the Onkyo 875 or Onkyo 905 models.

5) So are you saying this receiver downscales ALL my signals to 720p?

No. This receiver passes signals from the same source input type to the same source output type at whatever resolution it was when it began.
For example:
1080p HDMI input = 1080p HDMI output
1080p component input = 1080p component output

The only time it downscales videos is when you change the input type via the receiver.
For Example:
1080 Component input = 720p HDMI output
""
Then I found this littlebit adventurous idea

How do I force the 705 to upscale video to 720p? (Also, other adjustable video settings)
1) Turn on Receiver
2) HOLD down the "Aux" button and press "Standby" button once.
3) Release the "Aux" button.
4) The LED display should read "Resolution: Auto." Locate the circular directional control pad to the left of the main volume knob. Use this circular directional pad and click "right or left" to change to select 720p or cycle through other settings you desire.
5) You can also use this circular directional pad and click "up or down" to cycle through other adjustable video options located in this hidden menu.

So my final understanding is the FAroudja technology is always on in onkyo 705 it has nothing to do with upscaling.Hence if I connect a Oppo 981HD to it then both the Faroudja chip will come into play. If anybody can explain me If I am correct or completely wrong that will be really helpful. Mainly I want to know is it worthwhile to connect oppo 981 to this receiver.
Many thanks,
Mahi.

 

[marsilians]

Good questions and the explanation is in the answer to 5)

It all boils down to connection cables - HDMI or Component and is because of the Faroudja chip is being programmed to work.

* if you are using HDMI cables for input to output (which is what the 981 supports), then the receiver does what is called as "HDMI pass through" it does not tamper with the input at all and acts a simple pipe. Some receivers automatically sense this and do it. For others, you have to set in the receiver video processing menu.

* if you use component to connect to receiver and HDMI to TV, thats when the downscale happens. This is because there is no mass market receiver that I know of today that can upscale component video to 1080P.

This is due to stupid & incorrect thinking by the industry associations that HDMI is somehow more secure and can prevent privacy than component.

So your point

1080p component input = 1080p component output

is theoretical at best.


Now I am not sure why you have to go into a hidden menu to set the onkyo to output 720P as it should be a menu option.

Also, what sources are you using that you are seeing 576P? Its straightforward if you upscale any DVDs by the Oppo to 720 and pass it through to the receiver. For STB, the best you will get is 480P for standard definition signals.

Hi,
After reading lot of praises about Oppo DVD player I finally decided to buy Oppo DV-981 HD. When I was talking to the guy over I asked him a question that since both oppo and onkyo has DCDi by Faroudja how it is ensured that which Faroudja is used. He told me if the oppo sends a signal greater than 720p then onkyo will simply pass it through and onkyo Faroudja won't come into play. I believed he right. Then I started to think that I am inputting my current Sony DVD player input signal as 1080i and the onkyo is simply passing it through hence onkyo is not using the Faroudja technology at all. Hence I logically concluded that If I send 575P signal from my DVD player Onkyo will use it Faroudja chi and upscale to 1080I but this isn't the case since my projector show the output signal as 576P. Then I visited the onkyo 705 thread got the following insights.

""
4) Does this receiver upscale my video to 1080p?

This receiver wont upscale to 1080p. The maximum resolution it can upscale video to is 720p. If you want an Onkyo receiver that upscales low resolution sources to 1080p I recommend you look at the Onkyo 875 or Onkyo 905 models.

5) So are you saying this receiver downscales ALL my signals to 720p?

No. This receiver passes signals from the same source input type to the same source output type at whatever resolution it was when it began.
For example:
1080p HDMI input = 1080p HDMI output
1080p component input = 1080p component output

The only time it downscales videos is when you change the input type via the receiver.
For Example:
1080 Component input = 720p HDMI output
""
Then I found this littlebit adventurous idea

How do I force the 705 to upscale video to 720p? (Also, other adjustable video settings)
1) Turn on Receiver
2) HOLD down the "Aux" button and press "Standby" button once.
3) Release the "Aux" button.
4) The LED display should read "Resolution: Auto." Locate the circular directional control pad to the left of the main volume knob. Use this circular directional pad and click "right or left" to change to select 720p or cycle through other settings you desire.
5) You can also use this circular directional pad and click "up or down" to cycle through other adjustable video options located in this hidden menu.

So my final understanding is the FAroudja technology is always on in onkyo 705 it has nothing to do with upscaling.Hence if I connect a Oppo 981HD to it then both the Faroudja chip will come into play. If anybody can explain me If I am correct or completely wrong that will be really helpful. Mainly I want to know is it worthwhile to connect oppo 981 to this receiver.
Many thanks,
Mahi.

 

[marsilians]

Duplicate post - so can be deleted.

 

[mahiruha]

Also, what sources are you using that you are seeing 576P? Its straightforward if you upscale any DVDs by the Oppo to 720 and pass it through to the receiver. For STB, the best you will get is 480P for standard definition signals.

I am just using my sony DVD Player - DVP-NS78H as a source and just changing the input signal to 576P to see if the Onkyo is doing any upscaling atall. To my surprize it is not doing any. So I am not really understanding that if Onkyo is at all using the Faroudja technology.Is it possible that it is using the Faroudja tecnology but not doing any upscaling. To double check I downloaded the manual of TX-SR 875 which has similar features but Faroudja is replaced by HQV. In that manual I have found a descent video processing setting as follows which explain things clearly. I would have hoped that Onkyo 705 should have a similer menu.


Use the Up and Down [ ]/[ ]
buttons to select Resolution,
and use the Left and Right
[ ]/[ ] buttons to select:
Through:
Select this to pass video
through the AV receiver at the
same resolution and with no
conversion.
Auto:
Select this to have the AV
receiver automatically convert
video at resolutions not
supported by your TV.
480p:
Select this for 480p output
and video conversion as necessary.
(Not available when
the HDMI Monitor setting is
set to No.)
720p:
Select this for 720p output
and video conversion as necessary.
1080i:
Select this for 1080i output
and video conversion as necessary.
1080p:
Select this for 1080p output
and video conversion as necessary.
(Not available when
the HDMI Monitor setting is set to No.)

Hence I guess the secret video menu is the key. Is it advisable to do these things ourself or better to do in front of a onkyo person.
Thanks,
Mahi.