http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/ Engadget Comments for Pioneer's VSX-819H, VSX-819AH and VSX-1019AH officially available http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 7:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 1:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 11:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 29th 2009 5:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 12:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
Steven (and everyone else), there's no need for concern regarding the HT specs on any of the new Pioneer-branded receivers. We redesigned the amp stages for all of them to provide higher power across all the channels and much lower noise levels than on previous gens, especially when compared to competitor models which generally have to drop their power output almost in half to reach the same THD as we offer. That's one reason they actually weigh less than they did last year: more efficient designs which are less bulky.

You can get all those specs at "http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/HomeEntertainment/AV-Receivers/Enhanced+Content/Receivers", and then click on any of the new models and hit the Documents tab for the downloadable brochures and operating instructions. I can go on and on here, but you'll see for yourselves how all the nice new benefits to these models offer significant improvements over the xx18-series. But here's one for you anyway: we give you the digital iPhone/iPod USB/video cable for free. Everyone else will charge you upwards of $100 for an analog docking station!

Thanks!

Rolf Hawkins
National Trainer
Home Entertainment and Business Solutions Group
Pioneer Electronics (USA), Inc.
Long Beach, CA]]>May 27th 2009 2:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 3:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 4:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 6:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
It's actually quite nice to hear from someone from a company backing it products and explaining the choices made. It seems you have some familiarity with design choices and product implementation in regards to your receivers which beats a lot of customer service people.

Now, if you can just train box store reps to know about the products they sell. That truely would be a momutental achievement :)

Thanks for your reply,
A Pioneer Customer(my 7.1 receiver)]]>May 28th 2009 1:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 3:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
Chris Walker hasn't been particularly responsive on the AVS Forum.

Chuck]]>May 27th 2009 8:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 27th 2009 9:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/1. it does indeed have ipod cables, but doesn't support my apparently, suddenly old ipod. so if your ipod is older than 3 years, you may be mad.
2. 4 HDMI inputs are nice, but there's only TWO component inputs. i now have two devices that i CAN'T hook up because they don't have HDMI, but BOTH component are taken. i'll be damned if i use the 400 worthless RCA jacks.
3. the different audio sound effects like sports, classical, etc. sound all pretty similar, and are just fake echo chamber pretty much. none are really worth using, so you become a slave to whatever the source is. most all my stuff is dolby digital, and they sound great.
4. no fault of pioneer, but my $200 logitech harmony one is really a pain in the ass to reprogram for the 1019, cause logitech is using outdated button layouts. even if they were correct, it would suck scrolling through 18 touch screen layers to change your sounds up. so after two years of whittling down all my remotes down to one. i'm back up to 2.
5. had to turn off the tv link control feature cause it kept shutting off my rear projection TV for no reason. (that's a bitch to wait for it to cool down, and then turn back on)
6. i hooked up my usb hard drive to the usb/ipod input. it took FOREVER to read it. timed out repeatedly. at least it's not outdated.
7. the included remote keeps making you hit several button to control different things. like if i do something on the TV, i then have to hit the receiver button again to input a receiver command. not a major effort but kinda like have to hit SHIFT all the time.
8. the sirius connect receiver i just got (complete with outdoor antenna) sounds worse than the old sports model i had plugged it with RCA plugs for some reason. the on screen display of the channels are worse than first gen sirius radio displays. it's just text, with a giant SIRIUS logo (which isn't even sirius anymore it's sirius XM) and that's it. bland bland bland. i wasn't expecting 3d graphics, but something a little more stylish, and not the latest in 1994 tech displays.
9. you can't use the CD or satellite for sound AND watch TV at the same time. no, you're gonna stare at text of what music is playing. plain old dull text. burning up that high end high expensive TV as a text monitor. the text isn't even high def. i called pioneer and the tech support guy said "yeah nobody really does that anymore" like nobody listens to the radio broadcast while watching the game on tv? or a CD with some TV show on? nobody?
10. when changing up the sounds on the menu screen, you have to exit the menu to see what changed. like if i change the equalizer settings, i can't hear the difference till i exited, and then navigate back through the menu screen again to get back to where i can change it again. this takes a while.
11. the manual is pretty lame. if you read it for several days, you should figure some things out. it's a chore to read it.
12. it's really hard to tell if the video or audio is upconverted as advertised. there's no split screen comparison to see a difference. i believe the video is nicer, but i can't be sure it's 1080p. there's an option to play the sound at least at no enhancements, and as is. that is quite a difference.
13. one hdmi port is for bluray, and has a corresponding BD input button. the other three you have to scroll through with hitting the HDMI button each rime. lame.
14. the advertised glowing remote buttons take a lot of light to charge up, and are only half the buttons. which you still need the lights on to read it anyway, so.....
15. i'm sure i'll figure out some more problems soon....still the sound is great, if the source material was created to utilize all channels. and mixed properly. as for mp3s they sound great as advertised, even crappy 128k files. so props to pioneer for a great sounding device. there's just plenty of other annoyances that keep this from being a 9.5 outta 10. more like a solid 8.
feel free to add more or ask questions. ]]>May 28th 2009 3:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
2. Everything uses HDMI now so component is obsolete, adding more would just drive up the cost and would benefit a minimal amount of customers.

3. I agree on the sound modes. The are a waste and are probably there just to brag to the uninformed that they have lots more sound modes. Honestly you need 2 (other than the HD audio modes of course), PLII (movie or music), and Expanded stereo (7 channel stereo).

4. Ideally you should only have to set up the receiver once and should not need to access the sound and video setups ever again. If for some reason you do, just bust out the receivers remote. But 99.9% of the time, you shouldn't need the extra buttons on a universal remote.

7. I agree it's annoying to have to hit receiver again to control it specifically, but there's no other way to do it without having more buttons on the remote.

12. Your TV should be able to tell you what the input signal is if you really wanted to be sure it's doing what it says it is. My stuff is all run though the receiver at 1080p so no converting is done, but on my Samsung TV, when I hit info, it says 1920x1080 60hz.

13. I found the same issue with having to use the HDMI button to access those inputs connected to HDMI 2 and 3. The solution is to turn off KURO Link (I think that what is was) which is on by default. Then go into the input assignment screen and you can change what the HDMIs are linked to. I have one set to TV and one to DVD. But you are correct in that the BD HDMI is stuck and cannot be assigned to something else.

I too love the receiver. The new remote does not have a learning capability which sucks, so I did invest in a Harmony remote. And I too would have liked to have 7.1 analog inputs and pre-outs (which the old one had), but I wouldn't really use them since this has HD audio so I can't complain. I've always been a fan of Pioneer's receiver quality and value. I can get a new one every few years with the latest audio codecs and still spend less than I would for a Denon which since I'm not in a sound proof room, I probably couldn't tell the difference anyway. ]]>May 28th 2009 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 28th 2009 2:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
Per Evilvet: "i wasn't expecting 3d graphics, but something a little more stylish, and not the latest in 1994 tech displays."

You have to be kidding me, RIGHT? This Pioneer has the best looking and most updated graphics available! All of the other receivers still look like DOS.

Anyways, this receiver got great reviews on AVS forums and most of all they say its sounds great. Good job Pioneer. ]]>May 28th 2009 2:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
I was looking for the cheapest receiver that had HDMI switching and 7.1 pre-outs so it could be used as a pre/pro as right now I do not need to pay extra for amplification. The Yamaha 665 fits that bill exactly and for the money (you can easily snag it for $400), there is nothing that can compete with it for that use. Including pre-outs have to cost next to nothing, though I get why companies do it, to get you to spend more money of a "higher end" receiver.

I respect what Pioneer has done with their receiver line and that they have turned it around. I bought a high end receiver almost 9 years ago and back then, Pioneer wasn't even worth looking at, they were just cheap entry level units. I would have loved to pick up a Pioneer though and the 1019 would have fit that bill perfectly if it had pre-outs. Sadly it didn't and I think they are missing out on a market that would also like a low end pre/pro. Especially since companies like Emotiva or Outlaw are releasing affordable amps, which could extend the life of the receiver or also help drive hard to drive speakers, like ones that need a stable 4 ohms, something that most receivers in this price range simply cannot do.]]>May 28th 2009 4:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/May 28th 2009 10:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
One: I really appreciate the input here from Mr. Hawkins. Excellent to see that Pioneer cares about its customers.

Two: The 1019 is as close to high end at a low price as we have seen. It is an excellent choice and a great starting point for an enthusiast, and a great place to look for someone who wants the full benefits of HD but doesn't want to spend a ton. Those hoping for a superb pre-pro solution or something to handle 4 ohms need to remember what the feature set of this receiver used to cost.

For my customers, this will be my top recommendation.]]>May 28th 2009 6:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
dave H says that everything else besides HDMI is obsolete, and i think that's false. lots of people like the picture from component more than HDMI. there should be like 4 HDMI, 4 component, two s-video, and two RCA jacks. this would cover just about everybody's set up. instead i have 4 HDMI's that are full ( i had to by a brand new XBOX 360 WITH hdmi because both my components were full with my Wii, and my region free code free upscaling DVD player.)

not everything has HDMI yet. hell there's still things with DVI. so i have like 6 RCA jacks that are worthless. i don't think people looking for a great setup would be using RCA for anything. i haven't hooked up anything with RCA cables since like 1998. it's been mostly S-video, component, and DVI until recently. i love the sound, and the product, there's just things that this won't do, which seem like basic things any receiver should do.]]>May 28th 2009 10:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
Just because things like component audio arent obsolete, doesnt mean that they are going to throw tons of features into a small bottom of the line receiver. You will probably need to buy an Elite receiver if you want the whole sha-bang. Again, its not going to happen for $500 or less. And there is no way in hell that your cheap $75 best buy insignia pos receiver has all of those features mentioned above. Sony does have a better GUI, the Xross Media Bar, but that model cost $899. With your lousy expectations, I think you should either save up your money for a more expensive reciever to meet your high expectations, get a better paying job, or go work on Wall street with the rest of the greedy bastards.

Also, please don't buy an iPhone because I know you will bioth and cry about that one as well. ]]>May 30th 2009 3:52PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
i'm pointing out what's wrong with it. the stuff i don't like is cheap and easy to fix, and is prevelant in many mid-range and low end systems. it should absolutely be included for $500.a lot of the other systems under $500 do. $500 does NOT denote pioneer's bottom end line of receivers. but the argument here is ridiculous. people are pointing out that it's too much to ask for more component inputs. i don't have a problem with newer receivers axing s-video completely. i'm fine with that. but RCA jacks? really? they couldn't have traded FIVE of them (which should be even MORE obsolete than s-video) for TWO more component connections?

at this point, though changing, component are more prevelent for HD because of the failure of DVI not being as successfully implemented as HDMI has been the last three years. i can find plenty of things using component cables, and many people believe the picture is slightly better with HD because the analog of it hides some flaws that HDMI glaringly exposes. like blocking and mosquito noise. i like that it has four HDMI connections. four components wouldn't be hard or expensive to throw in instead of all the empty RCA jacks that nobody should've really been using for like the last ten years. making a stereo that let's you listen to the RADIO, while watching TV is not difficult at all. again the pioneer rep said "nobody really does that" as being the reason why it's not included, not the price. it's merely changing the sound input. the beauty of having less clutter and cables all over is now lost because i have to run component cables now, from my tuner to my tv so i can bypass the receiver and listen to sirius NFL games, and watch the games on directv. without the HDMI for HD. i think people believe only HDMI does HD.

component does HD. doing it for a whole three feet doesn't cause distortion that is visible. on my 72" inch tv even. you'd be hard pressed at that size to see any difference at all. i like HDMI, but hollywood does too. they want you to willingly make it easy for them to DRM the frig out of everything, so you can't use component cables to copy things.

you must also work for apple, and love your iphone. good for you. iphones are for people who trick themselves into thinking they are trendy. i'm sure they have a non-free app for that.]]>Jun 1st 2009 10:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
But how many component video items could one have? I know I speak in minimalist terms here as I like to reduce clutter. Only things I can really think of with component are an older 360, dvd player, or Wii (and come on, you know you don't play the Wii after like a week anyways!). Nix the dvd player if you have a 360 or ps3 cause they work as decent up-converters so then you have 2. That's all I'm sayin.]]>May 29th 2009 10:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10112&cs_id=1011201&p_id=3027&seq=1&format=2

That said, really wish we would've bought the 1018 during the Christmas sales. Would've had it shipped to our door for ~$400; and that was brand new too. This Denon 888 is alright, but will likely replace it with either a 1018 or 1019 in the near future... the Denon's lack of TrueHD decoding is a little annoying. :-p]]>May 31st 2009 10:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/Does anyone have recommended settings to maximize the viewing/listening experience for me.
Thanks for helping a newbie.]]>Jun 2nd 2009 8:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/
Wish I could help you there; but the best advice I can give you is to head over to the AVS forums and go from there. Be sure to search before asking... especially if it turns out to be a fairly common problem!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=90

The only suggestion I do have would be to try a different cable in there... could be you have a flaky one. As for your PVR, did around in the audio settings and find Dolby Digital. IIRC that's what makes things happy on my DTV HDTV PVR.

Hope this helps,
Jason]]>Jun 3rd 2009 12:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/27/pioneers-vsx-819h-vsx-819ah-and-vsx-1019ah-officially-availabl/Jul 22nd 2009 3:46PM