Have your say & ask the experts

Hi all,

Finally I’ve got my system ready and in place. The only one thing left to do is to set it up properly. So in short:
System: Pioneer KRP-500A, SC-LX82, BDP-51FD and (Tannoy Speakers).

Connection (“TV HDMI 1 in” from “amp’s Kuro Link HDMI out 1” + optical cable from TV media box (optical out) to optical TV/SAT in on the receiver, BD Player “HDMI out” to receiver “BD in”)

1. Do I still have to use all remote controls – Should amp automatically switch itself on when I am starting the TV?
2. Will it switch between the inputs automatically? For example I will power up my popcorn hour but it won’t switch itself to the correct input, I have to do it manually (everything is HDMI)
3. Is it normal that I have to put to volume really high to hear the sound from my TV. I starts something like 70db I think and I have to change it to around 20db to hear normally (it was fine with the old DVD system (Denon 500SD). From 70 down to 20 it’s really far down the scale – I would think it would be like for a party!
4. Can I listen to my CD on my Bluray without TV being on? At the moment it stops every time I switch TV off.
   

Please help me with some of the answers.

Thank you in advance.

I have the same problem with my blu ray player it turns the tv on when all i want to do is play music, sorry i don't have any answers.

stone28:

Hi all,

 

1. Can I listen to my CD on my Bluray without TV being on? At the moment it stops every time I switch TV off.
   

Please help me with some of the answers.

Thank you in advance.

On my 5090 I go to home Menu> power Control > Power off > Picture off

I have all Pioneer, too, and My TV (6090) is also.connected to the amp via optical. Like you, I have to wind the volume right up for TV sound. I was thinking of using an alternative connection (coax) to see if that makes any difference.

Maybe one of our forum experts can help?

Re: Kuro Link, I thought I'd use that but as I use a Harmony remote it became just too much of a mess and I abandoned it. The Harmony does switch the TV to the correct Input every time, by the way.

Hi Stone.  As you know our systems are quite similar.  I have a sky box and you don't and you have some kind of popcorn maker (which i don't)

Let me try & answer as best as I can.

1) The way I had mine set-up I can use only the amps remote.  When I pressed TV/Sat it switched audio & video to the sky box, and when i pressed BD it switched audio and video to the blu-ray player.  I do have HDMI control turned off though.  However in order to turn the TV on or off I would have to press a different button, but still on the amp remote (Not the TV remote) The Receiver button turns the amp on or off and the source button (top left on the remote) turns off either the TV (if Tv/Sat has been selected) or the blu-ray (if BD has been selected).  Your set-up is a little different in that you don't have a set top box and are using the pioneers internal tuner which i have never done, so i'm a bit lost on that side of things.  Hope you followed that?

2) HDMI Control (aka kuro link) will allegedly let you control other pioneer devices from one remote. And I am sure it does.  However I have mine turned off as its possible to achieve it without it and for me it caused more problems than it solved.  It wont let you control non-pioneer equipment.  Something that does this better than anything else is the harmony one remote control (I'd try ebay if that interests you)

3)  A good point.  My last amp was a yamaha 85wpc amp and my current pioneer is something like 190 wpc so I was expecting something over twice as loud.  Now when watching normal TV I used to have my Yam amp on about -40.  Using this setting on the pioneer is much quieter. This confused me for a while.  But then I discoverd two things.  Firstly the yammy amp went to Zero as its highest setting, and the pioneer amp goes to +12, so the scale is different.  Secondly I had accepted my automated MCACC calibrartion settings as gospel and once I changed those it became much louder (but also clearer).  I'll drop you a mail and explain how I did this in more detail.  Suffice to say its much louder now than my old amp.

4) Errr...Not sure.  I don't think you can.  I think it depends on how you wire it up.  You can obviously attach a CD player to the amp and have that on without the TV.  I'll have to check on that one.  I think running everything through the amp may mean you need the TV on.  However there is a setting on the TV which you can alter which turns off the plasma unit if it hasn't been used for a period of time (from memory think the default is 3 hours)

Not easy this home cinema lark is it?

stone28:

Can I listen to my CD on my Bluray without TV being on? At the moment it stops every time I switch TV off.

Well I have found a solution to this Stone.  Its not very elegant but it works.  Play your CD as normal.  You'll notice your screen will display its playing track 1, then simply turn off your TV using the master on/off switch at the back (bottom left).  Your sound will stop for a few seconds, and then re-start.

I think the problem is because quite correctly you are using an hdmi cable to connect your blu-ray player to your amp and both video and audio are transmitted along this signal, the "system" thinks you want both on (and when watching a film you do) so it turns both on as default. 

As I said, not elegant, but it works!

I just don't understand one thing.....

What HIFI team while testing the receivers (inc. Pioneers) say so many good things about these auto-calibration systems with microphones etc... that it works really really good giving you great results… However, I thing there is no single person who is using them! Everybody is saying that they achieve much better results by doing everything manually. What is the point of them then if they don’t work as they should, and why what HiFi is telling us that it works really really good?

stone28:

I just don't understand one thing.....

What HIFI team while testing the receivers (inc. Pioneers) say so many good things about these auto-calibration systems with microphones etc... that it works really really good giving you great results… However, I thing there is no single person who is using them! Everybody is saying that they achieve much better results by doing everything manually. What is the point of them then if they don’t work as they should, and why what HiFi is telling us that it works really really good?

The professionals who have set up all my 3 systems used it, I would say you definetely need to use the set up. I would definetely go that way. Who is going to be doing your set up?

Gel:
I am doing it myself (and barnsleydave is helping me big time - thanks again for that ;-)). Thought the auto set up would be enough but it looks like I will have to adjust it manually. No problem with doing that but just thought it will be ready to go after auto set-up with no involvement. I understand I had to do it on my £400 Denon DVD system, but with the £2000 amp I thought it will do better job then me.