Entered CNET Catalog: 10/06/2006
SKU: 0046838026065
Manufacturer: JVC America
Manufacturer description
The JVC RX-D411S receiver is XM Satellite Radio-ready and so has the ability to access XM Satellite Radio through XM Connect and Play, an optional tuner that connects through a single cable - no power cord or audio cables are required. All XM Satellite Radio functions are operated through the receiver's remote and information is shown on the receiver's display. In addition, with the included receiver remote control, users of the RX-D411S receiver can power on and off a JVC Sirius Satellite Radio "plug and play" tuner, change program category, change channels, store or tune channels, change text size and select highlighted information on display.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 User Rating:
4.0 stars
out of 2 user reviews
Great value, HDMI swiching and upconverting
Pros: Value, HDMI upconversion
Cons: setup, remote
Review: I picked one up at J&R yesterday for $350. For the price this unit can't be beat. Since I live in a small apartment in NYC the sound is really great, and the midnight mode really helps at night. The automatic speaker adjustment is a real help, did a great job on the first try. I set it up for 5 speakers, but the unit can do 7, and it has a simulated Surround Back mode that really works. OK not as good as real speakers, but it does improve the sound. I had to reassign some of the inputs, which was a bit of a pain, and had to tweak the settings for Dolby pro logic a bit, but once that was done the system works great.
I set it up as follows:
Scientific Atlanta HD-DVR cable box using HDMI to the VCR input reassigned to DBS
Sony 5 disk HDMI DVD/CD using HDMI
Sony VCR (an old basic unit - but I don't use it that much) using L R and composite video (surprisingly the picture and sound got better)
An I-Pod dock set to TV input using L R and S-video
Everything works and sounds great, and it all comes out thru the HDMI to my Sharp Aquos HDTV. Much less cabling than before.
The down side: except for the speaker calibration it is not that easy to set up. The manual is a bit confusing and you have to use the remote and/or the receiver to set different things. The remote's buttons are a bit small and there is no light so it's a bit hard to use, especially in low light situations. But my cable remote can be programmed for it and performs the most common procedures, so I'll just be using it for special things, not a real problem.
Overall, once I got everything set up (a bit of trial and error and common sense helped) the system works great.
I set it up as follows:
Scientific Atlanta HD-DVR cable box using HDMI to the VCR input reassigned to DBS
Sony 5 disk HDMI DVD/CD using HDMI
Sony VCR (an old basic unit - but I don't use it that much) using L R and composite video (surprisingly the picture and sound got better)
An I-Pod dock set to TV input using L R and S-video
Everything works and sounds great, and it all comes out thru the HDMI to my Sharp Aquos HDTV. Much less cabling than before.
The down side: except for the speaker calibration it is not that easy to set up. The manual is a bit confusing and you have to use the remote and/or the receiver to set different things. The remote's buttons are a bit small and there is no light so it's a bit hard to use, especially in low light situations. But my cable remote can be programmed for it and performs the most common procedures, so I'll just be using it for special things, not a real problem.
Overall, once I got everything set up (a bit of trial and error and common sense helped) the system works great.
User Rating:
4.5 stars
out of 2 user reviews
Excellent value for the money with no major flaws
Pros: True HDMI processing (not just passthrough), composite, S-Video and component to HDMI conversion, good sound quality, low weight and height, and a very nice 'precise sound setup' for speakers
Cons: Somewhat limited input connections, non-HDMI sources not upconverted (just converted) to HDMI, and not-so-universal remote
Review: For a Web price of $360, this is one of the most cutting-edge feature sets for the money that you can currently get. With a rich set of sound processing options and DSP modes, HDMI audio processing (i.e., the ability to actually process the digital audio from HDMI-connected components rather than requiring an additional optical or coax digital connection), 'precise sound setup' for automatic speaker recognition and balancing, and the ability to convert and route or switch all incoming video sourcess to one HDMI output to your TV (unfortunately not upconverted - just conversion of non-HDMI sources with impressive Faroudja DCDi technology), the wiring needed to connect your home theater is vastly reduced.
The remote, if it works for your set of components (it didn't for mine), would probably be OK, though it is not backlit, has no learning mode for the components it doesn't have a code for, and has somewhat small buttons.
Connectivity is somewhat limited without playing games with switching of input video and audio source connections, although this can be done reasonably, if needed, with a remote having macro capabilities. For my simple needs (connecting a Dish satellite box via s-video, an HD external tuner via HDMI, and an HDMI-connected DVD player all routed to an HDMI-connected HDTV), I had what I needed without playing games and just used the default settings. It would be better, in my opinion, if there were just a few more native options built into the back panel and an on-screen menu for setting things up where the defaults are not adequate.
Overall, the faults are few and the value is excellent. I am very pleased with my purchase.
The remote, if it works for your set of components (it didn't for mine), would probably be OK, though it is not backlit, has no learning mode for the components it doesn't have a code for, and has somewhat small buttons.
Connectivity is somewhat limited without playing games with switching of input video and audio source connections, although this can be done reasonably, if needed, with a remote having macro capabilities. For my simple needs (connecting a Dish satellite box via s-video, an HD external tuner via HDMI, and an HDMI-connected DVD player all routed to an HDMI-connected HDTV), I had what I needed without playing games and just used the default settings. It would be better, in my opinion, if there were just a few more native options built into the back panel and an on-screen menu for setting things up where the defaults are not adequate.
Overall, the faults are few and the value is excellent. I am very pleased with my purchase.
