Alright GAF, need some Home Theater Set-Up help, I have a couple of different issues but I'll try to make them as clear as possible. Apologies for length.
1st Issue: My mom had an old dvd/vcr combo hooked up via composite to her Yamaha RX-V463 Receiver, that in turn was hooked up to her Sony KDL-52XBR4 TV via HDMI. She never had any issues with this dvd player until the other day when all of a sudden it no longer worked. I tried a few different things, unplugging/plugging back in, plugging directly into TV, a different set of composite cables, etc., nothing worked. I just assumed the DVD player shit the bed and it was finally time to upgrade. So I convinced her to get a Blu Ray player (she never really used the VCR anymore) and she also wanted to use Netflix streaming and also Amazon Video and Pandora among other things. So anyway, she wanted something relatively cheap so we ordered her an LG BD670.
I attempted to set it up yesterday to the receiver via HDMI, but nothing was working. I tried a few different HDMI cables, cleaned the port on the receiver with compressed air, etc. Didn't work. I tried plugging directly to the TV, worked great. Went back down through the receiver and fiddled with it a bit and eventually got a picture and sound, but only when I'm holding the HDMI cable firmly in place. So again, I'm assuming the HDMI port is either dirty or damaged. Anyway, I go and grab some Component cables that I have at my place and go back to my mom's. I plug the Component cables into the receiver and the Blu Ray player, and receiver is still connected to the TV via HDMI. Set it to the correct setting, still no picture. So I pull the cords back out, plug directly into the TV again this time with component. Now I have picture, but no sound when I put in a movie. I turned off the receiver, turned up the tv, set it to output via TV speakers, nothing.
I can't figure out what the hell is going on with all of this, the only way I can get it to work correctly with sound and picture is via HDMI directly to TV. But that doesn't allow my mom to watch with surround sound through her 5.1 setup. Plus she'll use the Blu Ray Player for Pandora and likely CD's as well so it'd be nice to have it set up through the speakers.
I can take pictures of the receiver and how everything is hooked up if necessary, just let me know. I'm hoping it is just some sort of setting or cable I overlooked somewhere.
2nd Issue: Like I said, she didn't want to spend too much on the Blu Ray Player, so we ordered the LG BD670. Even though I didn't have sound coming through, I figured I'd set up the network settings and get Netflix, Pandora and Amazon going for her. I tried adding Netflix first, however the Blu Ray Player said that it needed to do a system update first. OK, do that, after a few minutes it says the update failed. Try again, failed, again failed. Powered it off and on, tried a few times, keeps failing even though it claims to be connected to the network and the signal strength is good at that part of the house. (At this point it may be necessary to mention that the signal strength is good because she has a Netgear Wifi Extender hooked up nearby and that is what she connecting through, her wireless router does not reach that side of the house with the TV). So at this point I stop attempting to update the system and instead go back to the LG apps and try to set up Amazon Video. No problems there, set up was very quick and when I selected a movie to test it, it loaded relatively quickly and I watched for about 5 minutes without any buffering or loading before I turned it off and tried to set up Pandora. This failed twice, both times saying that I was not connected to the internet. When I went into system settings my internet connection was still there.
So, is this just a shitty BR Player that has issues with it's network connections? If I manage to update the firmware via USB instead will that alleviate these network problems? Should I send it back and if so what is a good, network enabled BR Player that supports Netflix, Amazon and Pandora? Is there any chance that the problem is due to the Wifi Range Extender that she is using. All other devices including her Windows laptop, my Macbook Pro, her Iphone, etc., have no issues connecting and remaining connected to the Wifi Extender.
Thanks GAF for reading it and any help provided. I'll be around today for the next few hours in case anyone needs clarification on anything. Cheers
I was looking for a comparison to the Apple - AirPort Extreme Wireless Base Station. My current wireless traffic at most will be 2 iPhones, 1 laptop, 1 PC, an Xbox 360, Ps3, and possibly a 3ds. On average it is 1 iPhone, 1 PC, Xbox 360 and Ps3
