Sound and Vision
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Sound and Video technology are part of everyday life.
As we demand better audio and picture quality the technical creativity continues and we are are enjoying the new products that are the product of the new technology.
Video has moved forward with a great pace. HD television was the required viewing standard a few years ago. Now 4K is being demanded by many and why not.
4K TVs and monitors are now being sold by most outlets and prices are tumbling. Quality however keeps improving. Be sure to check out basic requirements for 4K TV as not all 4K TVs are equal. Some of TV which boasted 4K images cannot be used to connect to NETFLIX or Amazon Prime.
Huge strides have been made since the invention of the gramaphone in 1877 by Thomas Edison. We now enjoy hi-res sound. Many devices are capable of playing sound in hi-res 24 bit audio. HiRes Sound is slowly becoming the standard for many audiophiles. No longer are mp3 files good enough for the audio connoisseur.24-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz files provide us with the studio sound quality as that the musicians intended.
Sound systems are complex devices these days. You would need to do proper research before you buy any system. AV receivers can be very expensive commodities so be careful what you buy and make sure you do a test before you buy. Many HiFi outlets provide advice and test facility. I live close to London so I have a few choices but my nearest pitstop is Richer Sounds in Kingston-upon-Thames.
The AV has become a very powerful and capable device. There are so many choices at different prices to tempt the audio enthusiast. The Denon AVR-X7200WA is one of the top end AV receivers which has received many good reviews. There are many choices so visit your local HiFi store and also read a few reviews.
4K streaming is very popular now, many TVs are now capable of 4K resolution. Make sure your receiver has HDMI 2.0a and HDCP 2.2 capabilities. You will need those specifications to watch 4K content and HDR (high dynamic range).
The Radeon RX480 GPU provides many functions in a PC to connect to a screen using Display port (1.3 HBR and 1.4 HDR) and HDMI2.0b.
HEVC decoding is provided on this unit. The video below shows the AMD RX480 in my PC playing a 4K UHD @ 50fps Freesat transmission using DVBviewer.
I choose a more modest AV receiver, the SONY STR-DN860. It has HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 capabilities so it ticks all the boxes for me. This receiver is not in the same class as the DENON but it is more than enough for what I need.
Another important factor is the support of ARC which my receiver has. This allows sound to be sent from a compatible TV or monitor to be played back by the sound system. Not all TVs support ARC and some only support ARC via PCM only.
If ever you want advice on Audio/video equipment you would be well advised to visit AVForums.
The forum is well populated by very knowledgeable friendly folks who will provide advice.
My AVForums ID = FXV300