AVR (AV receiver) – HDfury Vertex glossary
An AVR is the box that decodes surround sound and drives your speakers. How to connect one to the Vertex.
An AVR (audio/video receiver) is the box in a home cinema that turns the sound signal into sound for all your speakers.
It is like the conductor of an orchestra: it tells each speaker what to play and when. Many AVRs also switch between players and pass the picture on to the TV.
Can I use an older AV receiver with the HDfury Vertex?
YESYes. Connect the AVR to the TOP output; HDMI/HDCP 1.x devices must go there. The Vertex passes every sound format, including Atmos, over HDMI while it can scale the video down for an older AVR.
How to use it with the Vertex:
- Connect the AVR to the TOP (downscale) output and the TV to BOT (p.5).
- Set the SCALE slide to Auto Scaling so the TOP output adapts to the AVR (p.12, p.14).
- In Automix, tick 7.1 Full or TOP MAX so the source uses the AVR's full audio (p.28); RS232 #set edidaudio top (p.50).
- Mute the TV with MUTE BOT TX AUDIO on the CONFIG page or #set mutebotaudio (p.42, p.52).
What it is
An AVR receives HDMI (and often optical) from your devices, decodes the sound formats such as Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and powers the speakers with built-in amplifiers. A similar box without amplifiers is often called an AV processor.
Because the AVR sits in the HDMI chain, it also takes part in the EDID and HDCP handshakes. An older AVR can cause problems with newer video: for example it may not support HDCP 2.2 or 4K HDR, so the picture fails even though you only want the AVR for sound. A splitter like the Vertex can solve this by giving the AVR its own output.
On the Vertex
Connect the AVR to an HDMI output. HDMI/HDCP 1.x devices must go on the TOP (downscale) output (p.5). The Vertex can pass any sound format, including Atmos and DD+, over HDMI while it scales the video down for older AVRs (p.108). Use Auto Scaling so the TOP output adapts to what the AVR supports (p.14, p.30).
The source builds its audio choice from the EDID. With Automix, the Vertex mixes the EDIDs of both outputs. If your TV is stereo and your AVR has full sound, Automix may report stereo; tick the Full Audio flag or TOP MAX so the full audio of the AVR is used (p.28). If the AVR plays the sound, you can mute the TV's sound with MUTE BOT TX AUDIO (p.42).
For an AVR without HDMI audio input, use the optical output (up to 5.1) or ARC from the TV (p.39, p.104). For a Dolby Vision TV behind an AVR, first connect the TV directly to the BOT output so the Vertex can store its DV information, then put the AVR in between (p.113).
Common questions
My old AVR does not support 4K HDR or HDCP 2.2. Can I still use it for sound?
Yes. Put it on the TOP output. The Vertex can downscale the video for it while passing the sound, including Atmos, over HDMI (p.5, p.108).
Why does my player only send stereo when the AVR is connected?
Automix may be using the TV's stereo audio. Set the Automix audio flag to 7.1 Full or TOP MAX (p.28).
The TV speakers play along with the AVR. How do I stop that?
Use MUTE BOT TX AUDIO in the Config tab, if the AVR is on TOP and the TV on BOT (p.42).
- https://www.hdfury.com/docs/HDfuryVertex.pdf
- manual p.5
- manual p.28
- manual p.42
- manual p.108
- https://www.avforums.com/reviews/hdfury-vertex-review.15094/