TCL 55R617 Receiver Recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[Demonyx]

(1) I have a TCL 65R617 55" 4K Smart LED TV (2018) and an 10+ year old Pioneer 7.1 Elite Receiver and speakers. The receiver is completely dead. What I would like to do is keep the speakers (which are still in great shape and sound good to me) and swap out a new receiver that would work with my setup. Didn't want to spend too much was thinking $250-$450 price range. Would a Denon AVRS730H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver work for this situation? Any suggestions?

(2) The TCL TV wants ARC HDMI audio connection for audio but does that handle 7.1 surround? Or is there a better way to connect audio for what I have?

Thanks,
Demonyx

Speakers
2 Floor Standing Mirage Speakers
1 Center Speaker Mirage
2 Surround Speakers Mirage
2 Surround Back Klipsch Speakers
1 Sub Woofer Mirage (22000hz~10hz)

Components
Cheap Sony Blu-ray (looking to upgrade and open to suggestions)
Windows PC
(Don't play video games so no need to worry about anything like that)

 

[JohnRice]

That Denon should be fine in the price range you're looking for.

What speakers do you have? The TV really has very little to do with what receiver you choose, but the speakers do.

Also, what other components are you using in the system, and how are they connected? A lot of the time you don't even need to use ARC, and often you are much better off NOT using it. ARC is ONLY needed for streaming apps in the TV.

 

[Todd Erwin]

ARC has been nothing but a headache everytime I've enabled it. Your TV is by TCL, so chances are it has Roku built-in, Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money on a 4K Roku stick and use that instead of the built-in Roku on the TV. Fewer handshake headaches, trust me.

 

[JohnRice]

I think using the digital optical output from the TV to the receiver, if it's needed, is a much more reliable solution.

 

[Demonyx]

That Denon should be fine in the price range you're looking for.

What speakers do you have? The TV really has very little to do with what receiver you choose, but the speakers do.

Also, what other components are you using in the system, and how are they connected? A lot of the time you don't even need to use ARC, and often you are much better off NOT using it. ARC is ONLY needed for streaming apps in the TV.

Speakers
2 Floor Standing Mirage Speakers
1 Center Speaker Mirage
2 Surround Speakers Mirage
2 Surround Back Klipsch Speakers
1 Sub Woofer Mirage (22000hz~10hz)

Components
1 Cheap Sony Blu-ray (but looking to upgrade, crazy lipsync issues when I could send it through the old pioneer elite receiver before it died, used an HDMI for video and an Optical Audio cable for the audio and the lipsync delay was so bad it was almost comical)
1 Windows PC

 

[Demonyx]

ARC has been nothing but a headache everytime I've enabled it. Your TV is by TCL, so chances are it has Roku built-in, Do yourself a favor and spend the extra money on a 4K Roku stick and use that instead of the built-in Roku on the TV. Fewer handshake headaches, trust me.

Yes, it has Roku built in. But can you override the built in Roku OS? Also, can an Optical Audio send 7.1 surround sound?

PS - What is the deal with this ARC stuff? Before this TV I was under the impression that one HDMI cable could send video and audio just fine. Why did they need to separate things?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yes, it has Roku built in. But can you override the built in Roku OS? Also, can an Optical Audio send 7.1 surround sound?

PS - What is the deal with this ARC stuff? Before this TV I was under the impression that one HDMI cable could send video and audio just fine. Why did they need to separate things?

ARC stands for Audio Return Channel. It's intent is to use the same HDMI cable used for video output from the receiver to the display as a return channel for the audio that you may want to send from the display to the receiver -- either from the TV's built-in streaming apps or an over the air antenna. In theory, it sounds like a great idea. In practice, you can encounter a lot of issues trying to get ARC to work properly. As John Rice mentioned, it's a lot simpler to run a separate optical digital cable from the TV to the receiver if you need to play audio from the display. That's how I have my Vizio 4K display connected to my Denon X3300W receiver, as ARC acted flaky with the Vizio's built-in Vudu streaming app and I didn't want to spend a lot of time troubleshooting the issue (if it could have even been corrected).

The Roko OS built into your TCL display is only used if you want to stream apps using that feature. Generally, an external streaming device such as a standalone Roku 4K device or Apple TV 4K will work much better. While my Vizio display has built-in streaming apps, I no longer use them, and instead have both an ATV4K and Roku Ultra connected to my system (I prefer the Apple box).

 

[JohnRice]

Yes, it has Roku built in. But can you override the built in Roku OS? Also, can an Optical Audio send 7.1 surround sound?

PS - What is the deal with this ARC stuff? Before this TV I was under the impression that one HDMI cable could send video and audio just fine. Why did they need to separate things?

I'm going to take a wild guess before explaining the correct way to connect everything. I suspect you're using the TV to switch between sources, rather than the receiver. The correct way, and please don't argue this, your sources (disc player, computer, streaming devices, etc.) should be connected directly to the receiver, with a single hdmi, and usually nothing else, then a single hdmi cable to pass the video on to the TV. Then you will always get the best possible audio. If you connect everything to the TV, then out to the receiver, basically everything you play will have the audio compromised.

To back up what Scott said, the streaming features in "smart" TVs don't work very well. You can usually get much better performance from an external device, which usually also costs 1/2 the price or less the extra cost of that smart TV. You're much better off saving money on the TV and spending it on the streaming device(s) that best serves your purpose. That's usually Roku, Fire TV or Apple TV.

 

[Demonyx]

When the receiver was working I had everything going thought it. I do know enough to know that that is the correct way. The only connections to/from the TV to the receiver was a HDMI and a Audio Optical cable. I had my Blu-ray player and PC connected directly to the receiver. But I did use both the Roku TV menu to change inputs and then change inputs on the receiver. I couldn't find a way to change things by just using the receiver menu alone, it seemed that I needed the Roku TV menu. When I would just change the inputs on the receiver without first changing the Roku menu the audio would change but the video would remain where it was last unless I also changed the Roku menu. But maybe if I use an external Roku stick?

PS - When I had my blu-ray going through the receiver the lipsync delay on blu-ray movies was horrendous. As a trouble shooting method I temporarily hooked the Blu-ray player directly to the TV and the lipsync delay disappeared. Was that because of the receiver being old? I had thought maybe it was because I wasn't using the ARC connection.

PPS - Should I order the Denon AVRS730H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver will that work well with my TV and speakers?
Speakers
2 Floor Standing Mirage Speakers
1 Center Speaker Mirage
2 Surround Speakers Mirage
2 Surround Back Klipsch Speakers
1 Sub Woofer Mirage (22000hz~10hz)

 

[Scott Merryfield]

When the receiver was working I had everything going thought it. I do know enough to know that that is the correct way. The only connections to/from the TV to the receiver was a HDMI and a Audio Optical cable. I had my Blu-ray player and PC connected directly to the receiver. But I did use both the Roku TV menu to change inputs and then change inputs on the receiver. I couldn't find a way to change things by just using the receiver menu alone, it seemed that I needed the Roku TV menu. When I would just change the inputs on the receiver without first changing the Roku menu the audio would change but the video would remain where it was last unless I also changed the Roku menu. But maybe if I use an external Roku stick?

PS - When I had my blu-ray going through the receiver the lipsync delay on blu-ray movies was horrendous. As a trouble shooting method I temporarily hooked the Blu-ray player directly to the TV and the lipsync delay disappeared. Was that because of the receiver being old? I had thought maybe it was because I wasn't using the ARC connection.

PPS - Should I order the Denon AVRS730H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver will that work well with my TV and speakers?
Speakers
2 Floor Standing Mirage Speakers
1 Center Speaker Mirage
2 Surround Speakers Mirage
2 Surround Back Klipsch Speakers
1 Sub Woofer Mirage (22000hz~10hz)

It sounds like you are a candidate for a universal remote control. It will solve all your issues regarding changing inputs on the display and receiver. If you do not want to spend much money on such a device, the Logitech Harmony 655 can be purchased for $50. I own the older Harmony 650 model, and it's the only remote I use to control my entire home theater with 8 components -- all my OEM remotes are packed away with the batteries removed. Once configured properly, all I need to do to watch something is press a single button for that particular "activity", and the remote handles turning the proper components on and switching everything to the correct input.

If you go with a new Denon receiver, you should be able to adjust the audio delay for each source component to correct the lip synch issues you are experiencing. I had to add an audio delay for each of my components, except for my old Oppo 980H DVD player, to correct this issue -- anywhere from 23ms to 110ms, depending on the device.

 

[Dave Upton]

I've had decent success with ARC on my LG OLED65E7, but it's definitely hit or miss on some devices. I would just get an AppleTV or Roku box and connect it to your new receiver via HDMI

 

[Demonyx]

Is this the basic idea or do you guys have a better guide? Thanks.

Home theater receiver setup guide
https://www.crutchfield.com/learn/home-theater-receiver-setup.html

 

[JohnRice]

That’s a good, basic guide, but don’t spend a bunch on cables. Monoprice.com is your friend.

 

[Demonyx]

That’s a good, basic guide, but don’t spend a bunch on cables. Monoprice.com is your friend.

What about AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI cables?

 

[JohnRice]

Those should be fine. They also have good speaker cable, but only up to 14ga, I think.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

What about AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI cables?

Be careful with the Amazon Basics HDMI cables. Not all of them are truly 4K certified. They need to be an actual premium certified high speed cable with the appropriate certification label to ensure it will properly pass 4K video with HDR10 or Dolby Vision content. I can verify that the Monoprice cables meet this certification, are about the same price, and are available either via Monoprice's website or on Amazon.

 

[Demonyx]

(1) Thanks all for the great advice.

(2) I think what I am going to do here is upgrade. My plan unless you guys suggestion otherwise is:

(a) Get a new Denon AVRS730H 7.2 Channel AV Receiver
(b) Get a 4K Roku stick
(c) Get new 4K HDMI cables
(d) Run everything through the receiver
(e) Get harmony remote for the whole thing​

(3) I will report back and possibly tap you fine folk for input/help if I have any issues with that.

Q: Any suggestions on guides/books/primers/video youtube series/whatever for learning more about home theater and AV setup? I want to learn more.

Cheers,
D

 

[Demonyx]

One last question, can anyone suggest a good table stop stand replacement for the TCL 65R617 55" 4K Smart LED TV (2018)?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

One last question, can anyone suggest a good table stop stand replacement for the TCL 65R617 55" 4K Smart LED TV (2018)?

I bought something similar to this stand for the 49-inch Samsung 4K display in our master bedroom. It's well built, and you can mount the TV on a bracket, which makes the display more stable than with those feet on the edges which may be too wide for some stands. In our case, we wanted something to get the TV higher so we could see it in bed, and the bracket mount worked well -- our previous TV was on a high microwave stand, but it wasn't wide enough to accommodate those cheap angle bracket feet that many of the TV manufacturers are now using.

 

[Demonyx]

Thanks but I already have a place for it I just need to raise it up higher so my center speaker can be in front of the TV. The supplied stands are too low and the center speaker obscures the screen.

Does this look like a good idea?
VIVO Universal LCD Flat Screen TV Table Top Stand / Base Mount fits 27" to 55" T.V.
by VIVO Link: http://a.co/6kvlo2y