Yamaha 665 vs 663

Finally I got the yamaha 465 replaced with a 665, to my surprise it looks exactly the same as the 465. First impression is that it does not have the smooth aluminum front panel with contemporary touch like the old 663. Appearance-wise it lacks the 'high-class' equipment feel if compared with the old 663. 

The 665 also comes with a smaller foot print and size, you don't have to read the manual to find out the differences - it is smaller and lighter, and... looks cheap! As expected, it supports HDMI video output which the 465 is lacking, and this is the only reason I upgraded it.

Yamaha Receiver Rxv-465 does not pass video through HDMI

I just bought a Yamaha Rxv-465 receiver and only after that I realised it does not support HDMI video output. The manual did not say a word about it and even the vendor could not figure it out until they called the local distributor. I need to have the video output through the HDMI to my LCD TV as I want to use it as a hub for my other stuff such as dvd player, htpc, etc.

Too sad as this is a decent 5.1 receiver that does HD audio via HDMI. My only solution is to upgrade it to a 565 or 665.

Slim Sound Bar And Sub-Integrated Receiver

This is not something you can find easily on the market, a Sound Bar And Sub-Integrated Receiver- the Yamaha YHT-S400! This is the newest two-piece home theater package offered by Yamaha which should fit perfectly in cramped areas where space is at a premium. The YHT-S400 combines a super-slim sound bar with a subwoofer-integrated receiver, the latter of which looks nothing like anything we've ever seen.

The package provides three 1080p-compatible HDMI inputs, AIR SURROUND XTREME, UniVolume and Extended Stereo technologies for immersive audio for all kinds of music experiences. The sound bar stands 2" high and can easily fit in front of most LCD TVs. It does support the iPod dock and Bluetooth to stream A2DP audio from cellphones or computers. The SRP is $599.95.

(source: http://hothardware.com/News/Yamaha-YHTS400-Includes-Slim-Sound-Bar-And-SubIntegrated-Receiver/)

DTS won't garble with HDMI

The best thing about having a receiver is you can get it does the decoding of the audio instead of the PC for you. As most of the popular audio codecs on the market are of Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS, it would be great if our receivers could take over the decoding job from the PC and do it for us. The reasons are: (a) reduce the CPU usage and it would help a lot if you have a slow PC, (b) since your expensive receiver is already there for you, why not?

There are 2 ways to do it, first you need either a SPDIF optical cable (or Coaxial cable, but most of the PC boards do not have it) or a HDMI cable.

Steps:

1. At the FFDShow Audio Decoder, disable the codecs for AC3 and DTS.

2. Install Spdifer (or you can call it AC3Filter or whatever), tick 'AC3' and 'DTS' to enable the 'passthrough'.

3. Do not touch any other thing.

4. When you play a file with sound encoded in AC3 or DTS, your receiver should show "Dolby Digital" or "DTS" on the display screen. BUT...

5. Sometimes, the settings would only work for "Dolby Digital", but not "DTS". Instead you would find the DTS sound is garbled, as if it mutes or distorts every half second or so. The problem may be due to the bandwidth of the SPDIF.

6. The solution is HDMI, it will solve the problem.

ATI has resolved the Yamaha non-compatible Issues

I have successfully connected my ATI-78oG-based HTPC to my Yamaha RX-V663 and Sony LCD TV. That means I could use the full video features of my Sony under the TV/Video modes for my HD contents now. Previously I connected my HTPC directly to my Sony under the PC mode as the Yamaha could not talk to my ATI-based HTPC, and thus end up I could only get it worked under the Sony's PC mode by direct connection with a HDMI or D-sub. The disadvantages were that Sony do not allow you to use most of the video features under the PC mode, you are only allowed to switch between Text Mode and Video Mode (minimum video features) under the PC mode.

You need the latest Catalyst driver from ATI (or AMD) to enable your ATI-based PC to talk to the Yamaha. I used the "9-5_vista32_win7_32_dd_ccc_wdm_enu" vesion and it works perfectly for me. Remember, it is the ATI driver issues, not the Yamaha. I didn't update any firmware to my Yamaha. Now, I summarize my findings and results below for those who are interested:-

1. No firmware update is needed for the Yamaha.

2. You need the latest Catalyst driver (e.g. as at 14 June 2009).

3. Yor need two HDMI cables, one from your HTPC to the receiver and another one from the receiver to your LCD TV.

4. No optical cable is needed.

5. Your LCD TV will treat the source from your receiver as ordinary HDMI source (e.g. DVD players etc.), so do not try to read texts under this setting, it's too bright for your eyes (similar to viewing texts under the 'Movie Mode' under a typical LCD monitor). The TV should give you a resolution of 1366x768 now (with some fine tuning), no more 1360x768!

6. If you do want to use your LCD TV as a monitor occasionary, then use a D-sub to connect your HTPC to your TV (provided your TV has got one D-sub input, if not, use another HDMI input. But your HTPC may not have 2 HDMI outputs, and you already use one for the receiver). If you set the resolution at 1360 x 768 (for non-HD LCD TV), you should be able to work uner the PC mode. You can shift to this Text mode with your TV remote. Under the PC mode, you still do not need an optical cable for the audio. What you need is switch on the receiver for the audio (your TV speakers won't work under the D-sub, but your 5.1 speakers which connected to the receiver will work).

That's all.

Yamaha RX-V663 + HTPC

After one year of searching I finally got my very first receiver hooked to my HTPC, it's a Yamaha RX-V663. I chose it over other similar models simply because it has a smaller foot print and (is said) generates less heat. There is quite a number of reviews on this receiver on the internet so I won't write much about it.

I use a Yamaha NS-P110 which is a 5.1 for my system. I hook the RX-V663 to my computer with a optical cable and it sounds great in a 10x20 room. But I could not get it run on a HDMI cable as it looks like having a handshake issue (Answer.Com: An exchange of signals between two devices when communications begin in order to ensure synchronization) with the on-board graphics card. In short, It sees the computer as a DVI device but not a HDMI Device. Just FYI, the manual is silent on anything related to the hooking of the receiver to computers.

Besides that, it works fine and I love it very much.