Do recievers degrade picture quality?

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Fres9056

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Currently I have an 65 inch LG UHDTV and a Onkyo R391 reciever/surround sound. I know the reciever is not 4k like the tv, but I am wondering if the video is being degraded at all? The picture isn't bad at all but I'm wondering if it would be better taking an hdmi straight from ps4/ Xbox one straight to the TV and use the reciever for audio only?
 
given that the xbo or ps4 are not capable of anything better than 1080p (and may be limited to 720p on some titles) no, you're not going to have any issues. for true 4k content however, you'll need to use the receiver in audio only mode instead of passing through the video signal as the chips inside likely wont be able to switch between two 4k signals.
 

Fres9056

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Thank you for your answer. I guess my question isn't "is it 4k or not?" Because I know it won't be that. But a more general question as in, do recievers degrade the picture at all versus just plugging in the gaming consoles straight into the tv? From your post I'm assuming no the picture is just as good through the reciever or not?
 
unless you're running post processing effects then no, it should be straight video passthrough. i've ran pc->tv and ps3->tv direct for a long time and now run pc->receiver->tv and same for ps3 and there is no difference.

the only possible issue is that a non 4k receiver doesnt handle 4k signals but since you're not running 4k signals (yet) that doesnt apply to you. if you ever do get 4k sources of video content you will need to run the receiver in audio only mode for those devices.
 

janickk

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My recent experience with a Yamaha receiver (mid priced), is that there is (at least with that receiver) significant picture quality degradation when I passed the HDMI signals from through it.
The signals I tested were 1080i from a dish receiver and 1080p from an Oppo CD player.
In both cases the picture quality changed for the worse. In particular, the skin tone and overall sharpness changed. Note: HDMI cables were the same in both tests, 3-6 ft long.
Yamaha did not answer my email, so I returned the receiver.

My advise, check the picture quality both ways (straight and passthrough) and make your own judgement.
 
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