Yamaha's budget receiver is light on HDMI inputs

-Hey, I'm Matthew Moskovciak from CNET, and we're gonna take a look at the Yamaha RX-V473. This is a 5.1 AV receiver with built-in AirPlay and is currently selling for $350. Now, design is pretty much like any other AV receiver. This is a bit full size unit. So, you're gonna need seizable shelve space to hold it. The included remote is about as confusing as it gets with tons of tiny buttons and confusing labels, so you'll definitely wanna consider a universal remote if you go with this receiver. You can also control it with Yamaha's smartphone app, which is available for iOS and android and has a much more straightforward interface than the physical remote. Some AV receivers have upgraded to fancy graphical displays, but the RX-V473's display looks pretty ancient. It's kind of bizarre to see this kind of blocky text on a high def TV especially since the entire screen refreshes every time you press the button. Now, you're honestly not gonna see the setup menus that much, but you will get the same kind of experience when using the built in AirPlay functionality. Around back is the connectivity and there are only 4 HDMI inputs, which is pretty skimpy when most receivers at this price point include 5 or even 6. There's an Ethernet port, which you will need to connect for AirPlay smartphone control and internet radio, but there aren't any additional stream music services built in like Pandora or Spotify. For legacy devices, there are also 4 digital audio inputs including 2 optical and 2 coaxial ports. Sound quality on the Yamaha is good, although it's not quite at the level of some of our other favorite receivers. We had resident audio file, Steve Guttenberg, listen to the Yamaha, and while he generally like the sound, he liked Yamaha's step up model and our reference then on AVR 1912 a little more, but this is a much less expensive receiver. So, that's not completely unexpected. But altogether, the RX-V473 just doesn't over enough value when there are competing receivers that offer more connectivity and more features for the same price. The Yamaha RX-V473 isn't a bad receiver, but you can find a better deal elsewhere. I'm Matthew Moskovciak, and this is the Yamaha RX-V473.