Receiver shut down on Dark Knight Rises

[lghaze42]

I was watching The Dark Knight Rises with my volume at the usual -20.When it came to the scene where Batman flies out of the alley in the Bat my receiver shut down.The scene is very loud so I turned the receiver down a couple of db's and it was ok.Anybody know what could have caused this?My receiver is a Panasonic SA-Bx500.130 watts x 7.

[Cevolution]

I'd say it's turning itself off to protect itself, as it can't handle what you were throwing at it. Cnet gave the receiver 2 and a half stars out of 5, and Whathifi only gave it 1 out of 5, so there's no surprise there.

[blu-ray-neil]

Originally Posted by lghaze42

I was watching The Dark Knight Rises with my volume at the usual -20.When it came to the scene where Batman flies out of the alley in the Bat my receiver shut down.The scene is very loud so I turned the receiver down a couple of db's and it was ok.Anybody know what could have caused this?My receiver is a Panasonic SA-Bx500.130 watts x 7.

I had a similar experience with a Yamaha receiver in my basement theater. It first shut down at the gun shot scene in the cellar of Inglourious Basterds, then when the vehicle hits the net in Running Man. I turned the receiver sound down a few dbs and no problem. The receiver was under warranty so I sent it in. Yamaha couldn't find anything wrong with it. But the receiver shuts down automatically to protect itself according to Yamaha. Their suggestion was check the speakers. I was using Klipsch speakers and subwoofer for my 7.1 system. So I contacted Klipsch and their technician looked at my speaker specifications. It turns out the center speaker needs at least 100 watts while all the others need only 90 watts to perform at maximum efficiency. I replaced the Klipsch with the JBL Studio center speaker I was using in my family room set up. Never a problem since, no matter how loud I turn up the sound. There's a possibility that either your receiver isn't putting out 130 watts per channel or there's a speaker problem. May want to pursue that avenue.

[Neild]

Originally Posted by lghaze42

I was watching The Dark Knight Rises with my volume at the usual -20.When it came to the scene where Batman flies out of the alley in the Bat my receiver shut down.The scene is very loud so I turned the receiver down a couple of db's and it was ok.Anybody know what could have caused this?My receiver is a Panasonic SA-Bx500.130 watts x 7.

I have this receiver also but only in a 5.1 configuration. When I get The Dark Knight Rises I'll definitely test it out and see.

Might also hazard a guess that perhaps a subwoofer on the same circuit is demanding quick power simultaneously? Can you test with power to your actual subwoofer turned off? The subwoofer line is not amplified, so it would be interesting to see if the problem stays or goes away when the subwoofer isn't taking power.

[Neild]

Originally Posted by Cevolution

I'd say it's turning itself off to protect itself, as it can't handle what you were throwing at it. Cnet gave the receiver 2 and a half stars out of 5, and Whathifi only gave it 1 out of 5, so there's no surprise there.

Those reviews didn't know what they were evaluating: one of the best digital amplifiers in existence. They downrated it due to poor video handling, which is like giving Dave Brubeck a low rating because you only know rap, and you've never seen him on MTV.

Anyway, that receiver uses a novel amplification method that delivers distortion-free audio at almost any volume with ease, and without heat, so a shutdown might not necessarily be the usual shutdown observed on a conventional amp that's overdriven.

I'd make a guess it could be an aberration in the HDMI signal that, when peaked, triggers a failure in the processing.

I'd be curious what happens if you use the headphone jack and turn off the A & B speaker outputs, seeing how it reacts at various volumes during that sequence.

[lghaze42]

These are all great suggestions and I will try them all out over the weekend.I did have this happen before and found that the center was set a little to high.In face one review said this was so.I have the Technics THX speaker system with dual subs so I don't think it is my speakers.There did seem to be a weird flutting sound coming from the surrounds or sub just before shut down.I am going to check all my wiring over the weekend the restest the scene.

[lghaze42]

Originally Posted by Neild

I have this receiver also but only in a 5.1 configuration. When I get The Dark Knight Rises I'll definitely test it out and see.

Might also hazard a guess that perhaps a subwoofer on the same circuit is demanding quick power simultaneously? Can you test with power to your actual subwoofer turned off? The subwoofer line is not amplified, so it would be interesting to see if the problem stays or goes away when the subwoofer isn't taking power.

Nice to find someone who has the same receiver.Did you use the auto speaker calibrate or manual adjust when setting it up?

[solarrdadd]

another thing to consider is what your front 3 speakers are crossed over at. if you have them at a low crossover or large/full then it will take more power from the receiver to power them because they are trying to produce the demanded low frequency and that can suck the life out of some receivers. check on those settings too.

also, how efficient are your speakers, if they are below 89 then it will take more power to drive them to a good volume. the other thing is the actual volume you are trying to drive the system to and how large the room is.

also, is the receiver inside a cabinet, does it have other components sitting on top of it or is it completely open to the free air? the more the demand and the less the cool air supply, the more likely it is that what happened will happen again.

please keep us posted.

[Tech-UK]

Originally Posted by Neild

Those reviews didn't know what they were evaluating: one of the best digital amplifiers in existence. They downrated it due to poor video handling, which is like giving Dave Brubeck a low rating because you only know rap, and you've never seen him on MTV.

Anyway, that receiver uses a novel amplification method that delivers distortion-free audio at almost any volume with ease, and without heat, so a shutdown might not necessarily be the usual shutdown observed on a conventional amp that's overdriven.[/B]

I'd make a guess it could be an aberration in the HDMI signal that, when peaked, triggers a failure in the processing.

I'd be curious what happens if you use the headphone jack and turn off the A & B speaker outputs, seeing how it reacts at various volumes during that sequence.

Do you work for Panasonic?

As many have said, sounds like your speakers are demanding more than what the receiver can give. Try turning the volume down. Let us know if that's helped.

[bhampton]

Settle for less volume or upgrade the avr.

Protecting itself if correct functionality.

[lghaze42]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

another thing to consider is what your front 3 speakers are crossed over at. if you have them at a low crossover or large/full then it will take more power from the receiver to power them because they are trying to produce the demanded low frequency and that can suck the life out of some receivers. check on those settings too.

also, how efficient are your speakers, if they are below 89 then it will take more power to drive them to a good volume. the other thing is the actual volume you are trying to drive the system to and how large the room is.

also, is the receiver inside a cabinet, does it have other components sitting on top of it or is it completely open to the free air? the more the demand and the less the cool air supply, the more likely it is that what happened will happen again.

please keep us posted.

I have the speakers set for small.

[lghaze42]

I may do a manual speaker set up. The thing is you can't adjust the level of the front left and right speakers. Should I set the rest so they are the same as them?.They only go to the 69's in db's which is lower than reference.

[crackinhedz]

99% sure you have a speaker wire touching something it should not.

Re-wire your speakers at both ends to be sure.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

99% sure you have a speaker wire touching something it should not.

Re-wire your speakers at both ends to be sure.

damn son, what's up hedz, long time no see! hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. How's tricks?!?

[Neild]

Originally Posted by lghaze42

Nice to find someone who has the same receiver.Did you use the auto speaker calibrate or manual adjust when setting it up?

Manual, I'm frequently changing and trying different gear so I prefer to just set it myself.

[Neild]

Originally Posted by Tech-UK

Do you work for Panasonic?

As many have said, sounds like your speakers are demanding more than what the receiver can give. Try turning the volume down. Let us know if that's helped.

He already said it played through by turning it down a bit. Certainly that could indicate too much load but might be something else.

[Neild]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

also, is the receiver inside a cabinet, does it have other components sitting on top of it or is it completely open to the free air? the more the demand and the less the cool air supply, the more likely it is that what happened will happen again.

This would be spot on advice for conventional receivers, which can get pretty hot. However this one is hard to get above room temperature. The design avoids heat spewing components for much of the amplifications, and it has a dynamic on-board fan for cooling other components. If you really, really, crank it up, the fan kicks in to compensate. That's why I'm not as quick to say it's heat or air circulation issue.

The receiver is older though, so components could be fatiguing. It had a somewhat early implementation of HD audio codecs, and since it was Panasonic's last real receiver, I don't think it received any updates. That's part of why I wonder if it isn't something in the signal processing, perhaps brought on by something in the audio track.

OP mentioned he uses the speakers in 'small' mode which is typical with this receiver. Since low range amplication is bluntly cut off, the power load would be less.

[Neild]

Originally Posted by lghaze42

I may do a manual speaker set up. The thing is you can't adjust the level of the front left and right speakers. Should I set the rest so they are the same as them?.They only go to the 69's in db's which is lower than reference.

Yes, the center and surround speakers are all set relative to the front L & R.

If you can, try to watch the display when it shuts off. This is an F code that would display momentarily for heat/load/shorting (F61)

Might also try to fiddle with some of the signal settings, like toggling the HDMI control on/off, bitstream vs PCM, PCM FIX mode, etc.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by Neild

This would be spot on advice for conventional receivers, which can get pretty hot. However this one is hard to get above room temperature. The design avoids heat spewing components for much of the amplifications, and it has a dynamic on-board fan for cooling other components. If you really, really, crank it up, the fan kicks in to compensate. That's why I'm not as quick to say it's heat or air circulation issue.

The receiver is older though, so components could be fatiguing. It had a somewhat early implementation of HD audio codecs, and since it was Panasonic's last real receiver, I don't think it received any updates. That's part of why I wonder if it isn't something in the signal processing, perhaps brought on by something in the audio track.

OP mentioned he uses the speakers in 'small' mode which is typical with this receiver. Since low range amplication is bluntly cut off, the power load is further shaved.

agreed. it sounds like he's just asking the ol' boy to do too much at the volume level for this particular soundtrack. there are some dynamic moments in the soundtrack and it's busy all the time during those moments, even for speakers set to small. it may just be time for a newer receiver if the OP prefers to listen at the volume levels he is listening to.

what the op should do is try other movies and drive them at the same volume level that tripped the receiver off to determine if it was something brought on by the demanding audio of the original movie in question or any movie played at that volume level.

[Neild]

Didn't know these speakers and when I looked them up, I think I saw your setup! Kind of an interesting Technics/Panasonic collection there.