Hi, I'm thinking about trapping a 975 for my bedroom system. I was wondering if the 975 will pass 4K (w/ HDR) video thru its HDMI. If I had to I guess I could run the 4K source to the TV and use ARC to get the sound back to the 975. But cables and remote programing would be simplified if it would pass 4K.

Thanks,
Mark

I would guess that it won't. The 975 has been out for about 5 years and 4K hasn't been available that long. There is an interesting statement though in the original release announcement about a "bypass" mode which passes through video unaltered.

"More importantly, the Model 975 includes video scaling so that 480i analog sources will be converted up to 1080p for use with the vast majority of video displays that cannot accept 480i via HDMI. Flipped around the other way, for games or sources where you want to take the processing out of the signal path, the Model 975 also has a "bypass" mode that sends the video straight through without any alteration. This provides you the best of both video worlds in a way that even some higher priced products no longer accommodate."

The 975 won't pass through 4k. I tried a new FireTV 4k box connected to the 975 and out to my Vizio into the HDMI2.2 input and
the picture displayed only in the upper left quadrant of the screen.
Thankfully this Vizio has one HDMI input that utilizes an internal upscaling engine(which is why I chose this one). I switched to that input and now I get an upscaled picture that fills the screen. Works very well.
In lieu of that, you would need to connect directly to the TV and return the audio back to the 975 either through an HDMI cable connected to the HDMI-ARC of the TV, or from an optical output, if your TV has one.
Some 4k Blu-Ray players have separate HDMI jacks, one main HDMI and the other for audio only. But, that is only a single source.

Thank You, Helson and XenonMan for your replies. I was hopping as XenonMan had said that it would operate in pas thru mode, but I think the problem is related to the version of HDMI that is being supported.

I'm not sure which way to go now. I was considering the 975, but I'll want 4K support. I was looking at the Emotiva MC-700, but damn there has been a ton of issues with that system. And there just aren't that many options out there. I have been half way looking at an Anthem MRX 520, but I prefer separate amp and processor over a traditional receiver. Plus it would be about $400 more for less power out of the amps, but it is an Anthem!

Any thoughts?

Thanks

I had been using an Anthem MRX-500 with my Outlaw 7500 amp for the last three years (since upgrading from a 990)l I recently upgraded to an Anthem MRX-720 to go along with the Outlaw 7500...perfect melding of equipment. I use a couple of the MRX's speaker outputs for an Atmos 5.2.2 setup. I also have a Sony 4K television plus assorted 4k, DAC, Bluray inputs....Anthem is absolutely great sounding equipment, i.e., especially for my 2 channel music listening.

Hopefully the 976 will be out soon and it should meet your needs if you can wait.

I'm waiting for the 976. I was waiting to upgrade my TV to a 4k, but my plasma failed. So I chose the one I did to be compatible with the 975 for now. At least that gives me some more time. I really wanted an HDR version, or even one with Dolby Vision, but that wasn't in the budget right now. The Vizio I got does have very good picture quality and that's what really matters to me.

Bear in mind that depending on your viewing distance you may not see much of an improvement between 1080P and 4K especially in a dark room. The new OLED sets I have seen are awesome for black level but way out there as far as price right now.

Well, my 50" DLP projection TV set me back $2,500 >10 years ago so $3,000 for a 65" OLED doesn't seem that bad. Granted that still 3-5X compared to todays standard LED.

What's got me dragging my feet is that it's a total system upgrade (minus the turntable and XBOX) to get to 4K including a fairly major theater (basement) remodel.

Now if Outlaw could bundle a 65" LG OLED TV, 976 Pre-Pro, Oppo 203, a 7-channel amp and a Lotus Evora (in black) for less than $10K I'd be all over that.

Throw out the car and I am sure they will do it. If you really want the car you left a zero off.

OLED - $4000
976 prepro - $900
OPPO 203 - $549
Outlaw 7900 - $3500
Lotus Evora -$Deal Breaker

If you just upgrade your OPPO to the 203 you should be able to feed your TV the video and the 975 the Audio and voila bandaid for now.

I like the way EEman thinks!

I have been watching this thread with quite a bit of interest.

Our colleagues at Transformative Engineering (TE) have recognized that there are literally hundreds of thousands of otherwise great processors and AVRs that cannot offer 4-K because they were developed before the flood of new 4K TVs hit the market.

As a result, over the last year TE has labored to develop a compact and highly sophisticated accessory box that addresses this issue by delivering full 4K (with HDR) to the TV while at the same time sending high performance audio to the receiver or processor. The box can take up to four 4K devices.

In their design process TE created an Outlaw version of this box complete with built-in remote codes for the 975.

TE will introduce the box at the upcoming CEDIA and will deliver it this fall.The Outlaw version will be the first to be available.

By the way for those curious our plans for introducing the 976 have not changed.

Peter

Pretty cool. Good way to avoid having to swap out processors just for the video upgrade.

Peter,

Is there anywhere that we can get more info on this unit? If not, perhaps you could answer some generic questions.

If I understand you, this unit would take as input all of my 4K (4K implies HDR as well) sources and then as output send the 4K stream to my TV and also send the multi-channel audio to the processor, (in this case a 975), correct?

If so, I am confused on how the source select would work? As far as the 975 it would simply be seeing a single audio source. Would the 975 actually be sending the commands to this unit to select the source input or will this unit have its own remote codes to be programmed?

Also, once this unit is added to the system will the other native source inputs on the 975 still be available?

What about ARC? Will it come back through this box or will the ARC audio source need to be routed separately to the 975?

And of course, will Outlaw be bundling this up with a 975 as a special offer, please!

Thank You for the heads up. You may have made up my mind for for the upcoming Secret Sale, which hopefully will include the 975/5000 combo (hint hint).

Regards,
Mark

mdrconsult,

Thanks for you interest in the 4K "box".

Even though we were involved in its development, since this is a TE product, we will have to wait until CEDIA for them to officially introduce it and discuss the details of the why's and hows of its operation. (I will also be at their booth.)

What I can say is that while the box comes with it's own dedicated remote if you have a Model 975, our remote codes are already pre-programmed in the box so you would just use our own existing 975 remote.

On its face, the concept of this product is very simple. In execution, it has been incredibly complicated with EDIDs and other firmware.

To the best of our knowledge with the exception of a few 4K Blu-Ray players with two HDMI outputs, we are not aware of any other stand-alone product in the market that can do what this new TE box accomplishes: to address multiple Ultra 4K video sources but simultaneously deliver high performance audio to non-4k legacy processors and AVR's.

Peter

EEman, I found this post from Peter Tribeman, dated 8/24/17.

Yeah, that's it. Thanks. I guess it's not out yet though...

I haven't had any equipment needs or issues for a while, so I have been away from this forum. I recently had a issue (not 4K related), which caused me to purchase the TE HDS-42AVR from Outlaw as an HDMI conditioner. I installed it yesterday.

To answer some questions, the Outlaw version of the device has 4 HDMI inputs that can be selected manually or via the 975's remotes. Input 1 is tied to the 975's TV device code, 2 to the Disc device, 3 to the Game device and 4 to the Video device. On the 975, each of these devices should be set to the same HDMI input (typically HDMI-1) for both video and audio. The Aux device can be set to another HDMI input or analog input . The Aux device and the 975's console output their video on the 975's HDMI Output/ARC input port.

My initial impression has been positive. If anything the Cable TV picture seems sharper but this may be some sort of bias on my part.

edit - A minor nit, but you will need an additional HDMI cable for the HDS-42AVR to 975 link.