I find that using a receiver to switch between a DVD player@480P and a HD cable box (SA 8300 Cablevision) gives me sync problems.(480P and 1080I) I have gone back to wiring each source directly to the display. I would rather use the receiver swithing but at this point I can't. I use mostly Denon with a little Onkyo and Sherwood Newcastle for receivers. I notice a lot of youse (haha, I grew up in Brooklyn) use the receiver to switch. Any suggestions or opinions on this?

This message was edited by Shoe on 11/08/05 07:53 ET.

What's your video source? I use Denon for video switching all the time. I only run into sync issues when it comes to the video source.

Example: With the Sim2 HT250 I have to have a seperate vid input selection for the HD (1080i) and the standard digital (420i).

With the Pioneer PDP-CX plasma line. Input 5 will sync either signal.

We use Denon from the 485 and up to switch to either plasmas or, mostly, Infocus projectors. It might take a few seconds for the projector to grab the new signal, but it always works. It take sthe same amount of time switching from a 480p/i dvd to an HD box as it does changong channels that are different scan rates in the same box. What displays are you having this problem with?

Let me be a bit more clear. This is a general question. My customers do not like to see the display have to resync. It gets done but not in a smooth way. Thanks for the input five tip on the Pioneer. I am using that at a customer and I agree. The most noticable is the JVC HDila displays. They sync but not quickly.

never had a sync problem. Use mostly CMX pioneer and Pany Commercial

Sounds like you are talking about the delay to sync to a different resolution.
Only thing that will solve that problem is a video processor/scaler that will scale everything to the same rate so the display doesn't know anything happened.
I'm don't know of any AV receivers that have scaling built in.
Worst I have seen is an Optima projector. It has to start searching inputs and takes what seems like forever.

I've got to ask, why not use the switching inside the Denon?

Lip sync is always a problem. Marantz and Deneon are a great help, but it's not a complete cure.

What display device are you using?

Mike

It happens I first got annoyed by this on my Optoma H56 which is gone now. The scaler is a good call.
avbydesign, I am trying to get away from having the Denon do the switching and this is about video sync not lip sync. Thanks for the comments anyway.

Buy a device that will convert everything to 1080i, and be sure it has a 1080p option for the next generation (as this will cost THOUSANDS and you won't want to hear what the customer has to say in a year when 1080p starts to become real), then get professional source equipment that you can genlock. And genlock it.

That'll do 'er.

Budget? What's that?

The input 5 on the pioneers will still have a lag when resyncing to a new resolution. Other than a scaler, I don't think there is another solution (even though I don't think it is an issue in need of a solution :) anyway)

To add to Ernie's comment as well as Lite Night Bill's about video processors. One minor point, which may or may not be obvious, is when a display device is connected to a video processor/scaler the display does not have to re-sync when changing input sources because it's the video processor that maintains the sync clock signal between the display device and the video processor regardless of the lack of a sync clock signal from the input source.

Most mid to high end receivers (pick your favourite brand) currently only switch as well as some level of up or down conversion. Everytime you switch input sources the display device recognizes a loss in input sync and will do whatever it has been designed to do to find a sync signal (anyone who has worked with Optoma projectors has seen the painful way of doing this).

The reason why I mention this is that I recently had a discussion with a manager of a high end A/V shop, in my town, about his new home system. During the discussion the topic of sync loss and the annoying re-sync came up. This guy is a knowledgeable A/V person with many years in the industry, but the missed the obvious.

It also told me that they don't sell many, if any, video processors/scalers even though they had one in the display case. I guess that's good for me.

I have only had the switching issue be a problem in corporate installations. I agree with rlustig that most of the time it doesn't necessarily need a solution. If it is an unusually long sync time (ex: exceeds the time it takes to change channels on an HD tuner/receiver or the Optoma problem) using a scaler won't completely resolve the issue unless it is a SEAMLESS unit which will still have a transition lag. Most computer users are used to having to wait for programs to open which is usually as long or longer than a display sync switch. As we never want to minimize a customer's concern, sometimes relating it to other everyday activities (changing channels, etc.) has helped us in the past. With the right customer (one with a sense of humor) we have added a "PATIENCE" button or given them a can of "PATIENCE" to put things in perspective for them. Good Luck!!

I have run into this problem before.... with a few Pioneer Elite RPTVs (CRT). They would lose sync when switching from HD to DVD or back. Some of them would sync after 10-15 seconds, some would not sync at all.

I found that if I switched inputs on the TV (say component to video1 and back) the display would sync.

Started writing this into the DVD and Cable macros, worked every time, usually faster then waiting for the tv to sync by itself.