is there any AV receiver with true HDMI switching IN STANDBY MODE?

[msy88]

Hello all,

I have an Onkyo SR606 receiver which I bought (among other reasons) because of its capability to pass audio and video signals from up to 4 sources to 1 HDMI output. Currently I have a BluRay player, an HD sat receiver, and an HP MediaSmart (streaming videos, music, or photos from PCs anywhere in the house). That's all nice and dandy - as long as the receiver is ON. But there are many situations when I actually don't need/want surround sound. For instance my significant other is watching nearly every reality TV show known to mankind about cooking, weightloss, fashion, etc and other "important" broadcasting. So the TV is running nearly 24x7. Or sometimes we're just watching photos. I really don't want to run the receiver unless we're actually watching a movie or listening to music.

Short of changing the HDMI connections every time we do something different (bad for cables/connectors; and bad for me because I'm the one who has to do it every time), the only solution I can think of is to work with multiple external HDMI splitters (one source, 2 outputs) before going into the receiver and consolidate everythig with an HDMI switch (multiple sources, 1 output) after the reciever. But that creates an insane amount of cable clutter and adds way too many potential problem sources.

So my question is - are there any more current receivers that double as an HDMI switch even when they're switched off?

Another issue that drives me mad has to do with the opposite situation:
If I only want sound, but no picture. Every time I listen to Internet radio via my BluRay player or to MP3 music on my PC via the MediaSmart, my 42" TV is essentially turning into a glorified music player display. The lifespan of these modern flat screen TVs is short enough as is, so I really don't want to run it when only listening to music. But if I switch off the TV, it seems like it's "telling" the other HDMI devices that it's time to go to sleep and my music source shuts down too (regardless which device).
I've considered running an additional optical connection - but that seems redundant if I already have HDMI everywhere and it certainly wouldn't improve the usability factor.

Again, is there any simple solution to this?

Thanks,
Martin

[MrBoylan]

Hi, Martin,

A few receivers do still pass through HDMI sources when in standby mode, and Onkyo is actually one of them. I'm not sure which model year this was introduced but it was after the x05 receivers and before the x08 receivers. The TX-SR608, for example, definitely has HDMI passthrough in standby mode, but the TX-SR605 does not. If it is present, then the receiver will pass through whatever HDMI source was active when the receiver was last powered on. Did you do any testing of this, making sure to set the receiver to the desired input before powering it down? I don't have a 606 on hand to test, but it's worth testing. If the 606 doesn't have it, then I believe there are several of the current model Onkyos, Denons and others that support passive HDMI passthrough in standby mode.

As for powering off the TV causing the source components to shut down, this is a feature of HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Controls). If you have all of your HDMI sources and displays enabled to use HDMI-CEC, then turning one on turns the other on and vice versa. You can change this behavior either in the source component, in the display or both. Probably for you it's best to turn it off in the display. Look in your TV's set up menu for the HDMI CEC feature and adjust as necessary. Note that everyone calls this something different. On Panasonic, it's called VIERALink, on Sony, Bravia Sync, on Samsung, it's Anynet+, on Toshiba CE-Link and LG calls it Simple Link, etc. In some cases, you can only turn HDMI-CEC on or off, but some manufacturers allow you to selectively enable or disable the power on/off feature while the control feature (which allows you to operate a Blu-ray player from a TV remote, for example) is enabled or disabled separately.

Anyway, check it out and see if you can find and adjust that HDMI-CEC setting on your TV. That should allow you to turn off the TV without shutting down your connected receiver or source component.

-CB

[msy88]

Hi CB,
thanks for your prompt reply and the excellent advice!
I am almost certain that I had tried setting the 606 to the desired source before powering it off and that it didn't continue to pass the signal through. But I will give it another shot to be sure. As for the HDMI-CEC settings on the TV (an HP MediaSmart), I just scanned all its menu options with no avail so far. I'll have to spend some quality time with the manuals of my components... I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks,
Martin

[MrBoylan]

Yeah the standby thing was definitely introduced after the 605, so I wouldn't be surprised if the 606 did not have it. Definitely there on the 608 though so give it a try. The 608 adds a few other niceties like 3D passthrough support and audio return channel support but both of these are useless unless you upgrade to a new TV some day (one with 3D and audio return channel support).

From what I can tell the MediaSmart TVs were really basic with their support of HDMI CEC. It might be limited just to power on/power off, and from a quick read of one of the manuals I don't see a way of turning the feature on and off on the Media Smart TVs. If that's the case, then you may need to disable it on the receiver or on the source. But disabling it on the receiver may or may not block the CEC code from passing through its HDMI outputs from source to TV so you really might need to turn it off on the source. On the Blu-ray player that should be easy enough in the set-up menu. But I have no idea how to turn off HDMI-CEC on a PC. I'm sure there's a setting for it somewhere but I'm not sure where.

Anyway, dig around in the TV menus first as that would be the best place to start. If there is no HDMI or "auto power off" type of setting anywhere in the menus, then you might need to turn it off in the Blu-ray player and PC.

Anyway, check it out and let us know how it goes.

And if you really want to upgrade to the Onkyo TX-SR608 for the HDMI switching in standby mode, then here's our Amazon affiliate link to buy one:

Onkyo TX-SR608 on Amazon.com

Only $389 currently which is a pretty good price.

-CB

[MrBoylan]

Hey, Martin,

I knew this question tickled my brain... check out this post from 2008 where a 606 owner describes how to enable the HDMI passthrough feature (last post in the thread):

Enabling HDMI switching in Standby mode on TX-SR606

So it looks like you probably won't need a receiver upgrade after all.

-CB

[msy88]

Wow! I can't believe it! So the solution was sitting in my living room all along?!
I just tried it out and it works like a charm!

This definitely solved my issue with the HDMI switching (which quite frankly was the most urgent one).

Thank you so much, CB!

[msy88]

Quick update:
I found the CEC setting in my Samsung BluRay player!
Even with the BluRay player staying on, I was a bit worried if the receiver would still shut down when the TV is turned off, since the instructions for the HDMI pass-through feature required to set (CEC) "control" ON on the receiver. But the sound is only briefly interrupted when I switch off the TV and then it comes back. Apparently the receiver notices that the source is still on and then "decides to play along..."

Now I can listen to Music via the player (Pandora or CDs) without having to keep the TV on. :-)
Thanks again for your help!!

[MrBoylan]

No problem and glad we were able to get you up and running without an expensive upgrade. Now you can afford to buy some Blu-ray Discs on Amazon.com

Amazon.com's Blu-ray Disc store

"Alien Anthology" and "Back to the Future" trilogy are both going on sale this week and they're both excellent sets. You can read more about them in our Blu-ray Reviews section. Note: BPBS makes a small commission if you use our link above for your purchase.

Regards,

-Chris