AV receivers which split audio and video output

- send out video (only) to HDMI Dunno about this, but all you need to get this effect is to mute the tv. - send out audio to RCA L/R (and/or coaxial digital) Lots of receivers will send l/r audio -- or 5.1/6.1/7.1 audio for that matter -- from whatever inputs through RCA outputs. The marketing term to look for is "pre-out." You can get receivers with preouts for under \$500. The receiver will do whatever conversion is necessary to convert video signal from 480i, 480p or pass-through 720p to a 720p display. Pretty much any current a/v receiver does this, with the exception that some will convert to hdmi but leave the resolution unchanged, expecting your tv to do the scaling. Will your tv/monitor really not accept anything but 720p input? Said receiver will also route/convert audio from whatever input source to a specified output type, even if the video output is HDMI. Not sure what you mean here. Do you mean downmix from multichannel to 2-channel? Alternatively, a preamp processor will do most of that, but you'll need external amplification.

I have a Harman Kardon AVR 3600 and I'm pretty sure it will do everything you're asking about with the exception of 1. s-video input (are you sure you mean s-video? It DOES have composite inputs if that's an option from your older device) and 2. outputting ONLY the video connection via HDMI. But like ROU_Xenophobe said, you generally just mute the TV in that case. I have my AppleTV connected via HDMI, my MacBook Pro connected via HDMI & RCA, my dusty Wii connected via component, and my even dustier old Roku (that I haven't bothered to chuck yet) connected via composite. There are several extra inputs that aren't being used. It's $589 and a few years old, but I'm pretty sure there are slightly less expensive models (perhaps with fewer inputs; I wanted a little future-proofing) that will handle this without difficulty. It doesn't have AirPlay but I think an AppleTV would be a better investment than limiting your receiver selection to one that has it baked in, especially since receiver manufacturers are not great about providing firmware updates. I picked the Harman Kardon because I was able to find conclusive proof online that I would be able to mix-and-match any inputs and outputs* I wanted (and switch them with a single button) while other brands implied it but maybe weren't 100% clear about any possible limitations. * With the exception that you can't do HDMI video in to analog video out—that analog hole is closed on this device, but you didn't mention wanting to do that anyway.

The requirements you have are pretty challenging for a single consumer box, but easy with some outboard equipment. S-Video and Component, as the last analog standards, play pretty poorly with digital gear, and I don't think that you'll have a lot of luck finding a consumer-priced box that can convert either of them to HDMI. For S-Video, you'll need something like http://www.startech.com/AV/Converters/Video/Composite-S-Video-Component-YCbCr-to-DVI-DHDTV-Scaler-Converter~VID2DVIDTV) and use a DVI to HDMI cable, with the end of the HDMI cable plugging into your home theater box to be switched out to your display. (S-Video was obsolete when HDMI came out, so a direct S-Video to HDMI won't be easy to find). For component to HDMI, you've got something like http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003VJ9RP6/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/. Once you've got these two inputs into your HDMI ports, the rest should be simple.

There's been several receivers with all of this functionality except for the s-video conversion on slickdeals for $299 lately(marked down from the $5-600 range). At least one of them is still an ongoing black friday deal, and I can dig out the link if you like. Most of this is stuff that any decent consumer AV receiver can do nowadays. The exceptions being separate audio with hdmi video, which seems like a simple obvious feature, but oddly not a lot of receivers have it. The other being component to hdmi conversion. Only the relatively high end(or at least, upper midrange) receivers can do this. Note that on some that don't explicitly specify this feature, but have configurable zones, that you'll easily be able to cheat and say "this zone is playing this video on main display, this zone is playing this audio on these speakers" and end up with exactly what you want. I swear I've seen at least one that just openly let you set the audio and video independently though. And yes, both of the ones I saw had airplay and app control. One even came with a mic you slapped on a tripod to calibrate itself to your room and system(which was a shockingly high end feature even just a couple years ago. Like, something you'd pay someone to come do with specialized equipment)

Use a standard AV receiver with an HDMI audio extractor? ... Once you've got these two inputs into your HDMI ports, the rest should be simple. I realize I can build my own set of jury-rigged switches and splitter boxes, which is more or less what I have now. I'm wondering if there are specific models of receivers that do what I'm after. It sounds like I still need to go the mess-o-cables route. Thanks, all.