Yamaha RX-V465BL 525 Watt 5-Channel Home Theater Receiver

5 comments

1. 

   C. Anderson on December 26, 2009 at 9:19 pm

   DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! Yamaha has really screwed up by not making this unit compatible with all cable box providers!!!
   
   The receiver worked fine at the beginning (a few weeks). Then the video starting cutting out for about 2 seconds at a time (HDMI goes through the receiver and then to the TV). The audio also cuts out when this happens. There isn’t a pattern, sometimes everything works for a day, other times it will cut out 5 times in 10 minutes.
   
   I’ve updated the firmware for the unit using the yamaha website (august firmware update). This has not fixed the problem.
   
   My cable box is a Verizon HD FIOS box with DVR. I never had this problem before when I used the Verizon TV box with the TV. It’s been the interaction of the receiver with the DVR. I don’t blame Verizon. It’s the responsibility of Yamaha and those who build receivers to make them compatible with major cable providers.
   
   Please send Yamaha a message about taking responsibility for making sure their receivers WORK with other equipment! Please don’t buy this unit unless you want to gamble on whether it will work with your cable box!

2. 

   TedAJ on December 26, 2009 at 10:21 pm

   A great value in a home theater receiver. The sound and power is terrific at this price.

3. 

   Michael Z. Jody on December 26, 2009 at 11:14 pm

   I ordered this Yamaha receiver as it seemed both a good price and a well-made product. Also a salesman at BestBuy told me it was really easy to use and that was why he had gotten one for his grandmother. She must be one smart granny if she can use it!

   First complaint: although it purports to use HDMI to set up your television, actually the HDMI is ONLY for video. You must still use another cable to connect the audio. That seems kind of…odd? Pointless? Hmmmm. Setup was also extremely difficult. I am not particularly good at electronic setups (OK, I admit it, I really suck at it), but even by my lousy standards, this one took me a few hours, and calls to both Yamaha and Samsung (makers of my TV) before I got everything working. Samsung TV folks answered the phone right away (I got a human in one minute); Yamaha kept me on hold twice for over half an hour before I got a human. Whatever the classical music was that they played over and over and over and over will now forever be associated for me with frustration.

   Second complaint: You would think that when you want to make the sound from your TV come through your stereo speakers, you could press TV button on the front of the receiver and that would happen. You would be wrong. Pressing the TV button does nothing. You must use the remote control and press Audio 1. Same thing with the CD button and the DVD button. So far as I could see they are mere props and do nothing. To play DVDs you must press AV 5 on your remote. Find it hard to recall Audio 1 = TV or AV5 = DVD? So do I. I have them written down on a piece of paper on my coffee table. And it is irritating that I cannot control things at the receiver and am forced to use the remote all the time. I know readers are going to tell me that I must have connected it up incorrectly, and perhaps that is so, but I did what the Yamaha tech support people told me to do.

   End of story? I am returning this Yamaha and ordering a receiver from Onkyo. I’ll let you know if things are any better.
   

4. 

   G. Stanfill on December 26, 2009 at 11:45 pm

   The product is a decent low end AV receiver, with one significant flaw. This is that the turn on code is apparently different than the turn off code, so you can’t really use another remote (like FIOS, etc.) to fully control it. A significant annoyance. I was aware of this problem in older units, so I carefully made sure that the remote had only one on/off button, unlike older units. Surprise, this new unit still has the flaw.

   But that pales with the way Yamaha treats their customers. If you want ANY product information, you have to join their “club” and get spammed to death. If you want to register your new product, the same. In other works, their marketing department puts collecting sales leads far, far above taking care of their existing customers. #$^%@*(

   I really regret not buying another brand.

5. 

   W. Atkins on December 27, 2009 at 1:25 am

   Bought this unit refurbished because I’m cheap. Just like new. Set up quickly with very little fuss. Love the way it acts as a hub. I have a Samsung TV, satelite, blueray, and an xbox 360 hooked up with HDMI and they work flawlessly. The JBL surround system I have is probably not the best, but it is very adequate for a medium size room. In short, this won’t rattle your windows, but for what I paid, I’m more than satisfied.