Urgent help on US receiver

[arnprasad]

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow I am going to US for couple of days and want to get a receiver..the one I am eyeying is Pioneer 1020K. Its last years version got all sorts of awards.

The inputs for this receiver will be

1) Tata sky HD - not sure if it outputs to NTSC
2) Hacked Nintendo Wii - its from UK, but since its hacked may output to NTSC..but lets say it outputs to PAL for now
3) PHillips DVD player from UK - but may output to PAL
4) Gateway laptop from USA with bluray - so will def output to NTSC

Please clarify if you are aware if receivers from US take PAL inputs as well...I am buying this particular receiver since itupscales video and if my wii and tata sky HD cant be input in it, then not sure why i should buy it even if its cheaper in USA..please help me out. Are you aware if other brands like Denon or Onkyo or Yamaha receivers bought in USA take PAL as inputs.? Thx

 

[anilva]

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow I am going to US for couple of days and want to get a receiver..the one I am eyeying is Pioneer 1020K. Its last years version got all sorts of awards.

The inputs for this receiver will be

1) Tata sky HD - not sure if it outputs to NTSC
2) Hacked Nintendo Wii - its from UK, but since its hacked may output to NTSC..but lets say it outputs to PAL for now
3) PHillips DVD player from UK - but may output to PAL
4) Gateway laptop from USA with bluray - so will def output to NTSC

Please clarify if you are aware if receivers from US take PAL inputs as well...I am buying this particular receiver since itupscales video and if my wii and tata sky HD cant be input in it, then not sure why i should buy it even if its cheaper in USA..please help me out. Are you aware if other brands like Denon or Onkyo or Yamaha receivers bought in USA take PAL as inputs.? Thx

No worry with PAL/NTSC. Most of the modern receivers take all of these. I know Denon/Yamaha and Onkyo do from personal experience.

Cheers.

 

[NetFreak]

1) Tata sky HD - not sure if it outputs to NTSC
2) Hacked Nintendo Wii - its from UK, but since its hacked may output to NTSC..but lets say it outputs to PAL for now
3) PHillips DVD player from UK - but may output to PAL
4) Gateway laptop from USA with bluray - so will def output to NTSC

TATA Sky HD and Gatewat Laptop would have HDMI ports. With these, there is no issue of PAL/NTSC.
If DVD has HDMI out, then that is set too.

With HDMI, you would save on cables too since this would carry video + multichannel audio.

 

[binaya.kumar]

Hi,

The choice is so good ... but my suggestion will be to go for Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha in the order mentioned ... More so because you are getting it from US. For Pioneer the service available in bangalore is not so good .... atleast I am not sure about the rest ...

I did the same mistake when I got my Pioneer 920K 2 months back from US. I read a lot of reviews and was not that concerned about the service in bangalore. Now, after a power failure the local technicians are still trying to figure out where the problem is .... for over a month now

CHEERS,
Binaya

 

[arnprasad]

Hi,

The choice is so good ... but my suggestion will be to go for Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha in the order mentioned ... More so because you are getting it from US. For Pioneer the service available in bangalore is not so good .... atleast I am not sure about the rest ...

I did the same mistake when I got my Pioneer 920K 2 months back from US. I read a lot of reviews and was not that concerned about the service in bangalore. Now, after a power failure the local technicians are still trying to figure out where the problem is .... for over a month now

CHEERS,
Binaya

too late.,i ordered mine 1020 yesterday as I am leaving today..will invest in a good voltage converter and hopefully it should do the trick...will be back this weekend and let you know if it works..thx buddy

 

[binaya.kumar]

Yeah dude ... u r a lot wiser than me .... and My bad I became wise only after mine went booooom ...... hey try and get a transformer from US as well ... probably could have ordered as well .... As i have read in the forum the ones from US are more reliable, lighter, smaller and cheaper ....

You made a great choice .... 1020K is incredible n u r gonna rock with THX

CHEERS

 

[ukjeyaraj]

too late.,i ordered mine 1020 yesterday as I am leaving today..will invest in a good voltage converter and hopefully it should do the trick...will be back this weekend and let you know if it works..thx buddy

Can you post a review on your AVR?

 

[arnprasad]

came in during weekdays..have to wait till weekend to buy a power adaptor..will keep updated.

also i will be using my yamaha sat speakers for now till i buy good ones.

 

[arnprasad]

Bought my Pioneer VSX 1020 last wednesday..had a chalk mark but still no one stopped me.

bought transformer for 2400.

Things connected to the Receiver are:

(1) Tata sky HD - outputs to PAL only??
(2) Hacked UK Wii - outputs to PAL
(3) Hacked UK DVD Player - multi output but I guess default is PAL
(4) I Pod.
(5) Laptop with Blu ray from US - NTSC

Got step down transformer 1 KVA from Vishal electronics for 2400. Asked couple of dealers and they said isolation transformer is a bit too much for home use as it costs almost 70% more...so stuck to traditional one with MCB. HOpefully it will trip if something goes wrong

Although Pioneer in their official clarification mail said its NTSC only, it seems to accept any thing.

Hooked it up to my existing Yamaha Home theater Sats...realised Left and Right speakers were too tiny...so replaced them with a 15 year old Sony CD Mini system Speakers!!! which proves bigger is better when it comes to speakers.

Again dont notice any appreciable gain from Yamaha receiver...partly because I dont use any of the new features - 3D, internet radio, same old speakers...etc

folks at my house do feel that picture quality has improved a bit...partly becoz I also bought component cables for my Wii in the same trip and Tata Sky HD anyways makes all channels look good.

Will try and get Energy Take Classic in my next visit and hopefully it will make it sound better.

 

[ukjeyaraj]

Did u try using IPOD as remote for this AVR. There are quiet good reviews on this feature of pioneer 1020-K.

 

[NetFreak]

isolation transformer is a bit too much for home use as it costs almost 70% more...so stuck to traditional one with MCB. HOpefully it will trip if something goes wrong

This is a risk since the same coil is shared by input and output circuits. If there is a short in coil, FULL 240 would be sent to Receiver. Got my cordless phone burnt this way.

Another member on this forum got issues with AVR because of improper step down.

IMHO, this usually not an issue since power supply of most appliances are cheap and can be replaces easily. But in case of AVR, it is not easy to source power supply in India. So its better to invest in isolation transformer from get go.

 

[arnprasad]

I think only Iphone works as a remote and I dont have one. I guess it helps Ipod in the sense it displays album art and other info.. but dont think you can control by Ipod though. thx

 

[techcheat]

Hi,

The choice is so good ... but my suggestion will be to go for Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha in the order mentioned ... More so because you are getting it from US. For Pioneer the service available in bangalore is not so good .... atleast I am not sure about the rest ...

I did the same mistake when I got my Pioneer 920K 2 months back from US. I read a lot of reviews and was not that concerned about the service in bangalore. Now, after a power failure the local technicians are still trying to figure out where the problem is .... for over a month now

CHEERS,
Binaya

Pioneer are notorious in fluctuations. I got mine going kaput its from US during a power fluctuation. Local electrician fixed the fuse in 50 Rs. I have it trouble free now for 2 years, I would say they make the most value for money, so go for it and add a ups.

 

[ukjeyaraj]

I think only Iphone works as a remote and I dont have one. I guess it helps Ipod in the sense it displays album art and other info.. but dont think you can control by Ipod though. thx

Ipod touch can work as remote like iphone

 

[binaya.kumar]

Pioneer are notorious in fluctuations. I got mine going kaput its from US during a power fluctuation. Local electrician fixed the fuse in 50 Rs. I have it trouble free now for 2 years, I would say they make the most value for money, so go for it and add a ups.

@ Netfreak : I was the fool who is still stuck bcoz of using a bad transformer.

@ TechCheat,

I can not agree with you more regarding the Pioneer ones.

When I finally got my receiver working oh yes for 3 hours, it suddenly stopped and it seems not even powering on. I think it has something to do with that fuse might be. Bcoz this time it didn't burst, smell or gave a good volume of smoke

You think we can replace the fuse ourselves. It will be a great info for Pioneer owners if you can share some idea on that fuse thing ... like where is it and what sort of and all dat

CHEERS

 

[NetFreak]

I finally got my receiver working oh yes for 3 hours, it suddenly stopped and it seems not even powering on. I think it has something to do with that fuse might be. Bcoz this time it didn't burst, smell or gave a good volume of smoke

You think we can replace the fuse ourselves. It will be a great info for Pioneer owners if you can share some idea on that fuse thing ..

If fuse is repeatedly burning out, problem might be elsewhere. Better not replace fuse without fixing that.

You can try powering it up without speakers (With headphones). If that works fine, problem might be with speaker connections.

 

[binaya.kumar]

Yup you are right ... but this is the first time and I am not yet sure if the problem is with the fuse or what

But, I am opening it now ... lemme check if the fuse is gone ... Wish it is the fuse only

 

[binaya.kumar]

Okay now ... opened the box up and the fuse is right there ... the regular tubular fuse but the fuse was just fine ...

Anyway just thought would post a few things which might help others .... Pioneer owners ..

1 - If there is no Video, no Sound and Display try to Reset it to factory defaults. The procedure is different for different receivers. So better to read it from the owner's manual.

2 - If Step 1 fails try to hold down the AV Surround button and press the STANDBY/ON button for 2 seconds. This might bring back life to the receiver.

3 - The 3rd thing is the fuse. The fuse is deep on board and there are a lot of capacitors around. Even a grounded touch can damage the capacitors. So, first check with a tester if the Fuse is fine or not in case you can't make out from its texture . If the fuse is fine well time to deliver it to the service center. In case the fuse is gone then you should be happy. Just remove it, get a new one and place it. But, if the fuse is going too often then the there is a problem with the Receiver-transformer. High time you repair it before the circuit goes flat.

CHEERS