HDMI passthru

[nelmr]

So exactly what is HDMI passthru for? Is it just so that I can have active HDMI ports when in standby mode so that I can use a source without having to turn the receiver on?

FYI: some claim that the DENON 3310CI can still send 3D info if passthru is enabled, despite the receiver being HDMI 1.3a. I currently do not have a 3D tv, nor do I plan to get one in the foreseeable future. But I am curious what passthru is useful for. I looked at a 3D tv at the store recently, and while neat, the 3D looked exaggerated, not anything like one sees in real life. I really don't see the need to spend all the money that 3D would require. Maybe five years from now I might be interested as the tech matures, but by then, I'll probably be looking for a new receiver anyway, not to mention HDMI 1.5 or some other connection format likely will be out by then.

 

[Towen7]

HDMI passthrough usually refers to the signal going through the receiver unmolested. 3D is a good example. Since the receiver is not capable of 3D processing it simply passes the entire signal through to the TV with no processing.

Another use of passthrough is if your TV does a better job of converting a signal that is in a resolution other than the native resolution of the set. For example you have a 1080p TV and a cable box that set to output HDTV in whichever format it was broadcast in. The local Fox broadcast is in 720p. You could let your receiver convert the 720p image to 1080p or you can let the 720p signal pass through and have the TV convert it to 1080p itself.

 

[Rope]

So exactly what is HDMI passthru for? Is it just so that I can have active HDMI ports when in standby mode so that I can use a source without having to turn the receiver on?

FYI: some claim that the DENON 3310CI can still send 3D info if passthru is enabled, despite the receiver being HDMI 1.3a. I currently do not have a 3D tv, nor do I plan to get one in the foreseeable future. But I am curious what passthru is useful for. I looked at a 3D tv at the store recently, and while neat, the 3D looked exaggerated, not anything like one sees in real life. I really don't see the need to spend all the money that 3D would require. Maybe five years from now I might be interested as the tech matures, but by then, I'll probably be looking for a new receiver anyway, not to mention HDMI 1.5 or some other connection format likely will be out by then.

"Passthru" as it relates to processors, would be a video signal, or audio for that matter, from a source component to the Denon, which would not scale (video) or decode (audio) and send the raw signal from the component direct to the display or speakers, depending if it's video or audio. So, the short answer would be the Denon would act as nothing but a switch to change between sources.

Example: Speaking of video first. When I view Blu-ray with my system, I employ the Oppo 83 (Anchor Bay) to scale the Blu-ray signal to 720p, (native resolution of my display) that signal is then sent to the Onkyo SC885, which has a REON video chip. I bypass (passthru) the REON chip set and the video signal is sent to the display.

On the audio side, I let the Onkyo decode the process the lossless audio formates.

Rope