JVC RX-1028V 5.1 Channels Receiver

I was skeptical b/c I had read several reviews that blasted this receiver...and just as many that applauded it. I was looking at it when the good price was $599. I eventually got it on ubid I think for about $300. I just wanted something that had a/b channels and could do the Dolby Digital and DTS. This one actually has multiroom which is great. I wanted to run some outdoor speakers by the hot tub...you can see the big screen thru the sliding glass door...so this works great. All the features I have tried have worked wonderfully...once I figured out how to set them up. One problem I have w/ the multiroom part might be common to all multiroom receivers. It is the fact you have to jump thru some hoops to get a digital signal to the subroom speakers. For example, if you have a DVD player and use digital inputs for the home theatre inside the house...then turn on the subroom speakers, you have to be aware that the source must be analog for the subroom...which means you have to go back to the receiver and switch the DVD channel to use the analog inputs...which means you have analog and digital cables hooked between the receiver and the DVD player. This goes for all digital sources. I think the receiver should know that all signals to the subroom should be analog, but this may be asking too much. Another shortcoming was that the remote would not work my JVC D-VHS satellite receiver tho it said it would. Other than the fact that some of the settings might be hard to figure out, the manual does a decent job of helping you get set up. I think the multiroom thing should be explained a little better w/ respect to digital sources, but oh well...everything works great. I do feel the power is a bit overrated...but it is plenty for what I want. I love the multiroom ability at this price...and it seems to work great. Overall, I can't complain about the performance...sounds great, the DTS stuff seems to work great...the features are just coming out of this thing everywhere. Gotta love the lighted remote, I wish my DVD player had that rather than just glow in the dark keys...which fade in about 5 minutes. It is a great deal if you don't wind up paying too much for it. I think the $300 is a good price for it.