Home Theater Forum  ›  Forums  ›  Home Theater Hardware  ›  Receivers/Separates/Amps  ›  Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread

Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

#1
Rating: 0
9/1/07 at 3:05pm
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: Silicon Valley
  • Post Count: 4,087
I am getting my head around what I need as I prepare to join HD. I have an old B&K AVP Processor that's worked like a champ. But if I am correct, it cannot accept audio signals from the new HD-DVD players.

Can someone give me a primer or suggest a place where I can read up on what audio hook ups are needed?

What I am considering is staying with B&K and going with their Reference 50 pre-amp. What I can gather is that audio-in into the pre-amp from a HD-DVD/Blu Ray player would be via optical, rather then HDMI. The way I am looking at hook-ups is HDMI to a plasma for video. And hopefully the pre-amp can process all the audio options, like English Dolby True HD, though the B&K literature doesn't state it can process this. Only Dolby Pro Logic IIX, Dolby Digital Surround EX, DTS, DTS-ES and Neo:6.

Any insights, corrections, suggestions for sites and maybe other pre-amps are appreciated.

Thanks! Nelson
Export to Wiki
#2
Rating: 0
9/1/07 at 4:10pm
  • Joined: February 2001
  • Post Count: 3,219

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Nelson, you could hook up your player via the analogue outputs into the B&K Reference 50's "DVD Audio-In"

The optical link on a HD-DVD player outputs ordinary Dolby Digital or dts, often downsampled from the Dolby TrueHD, PCM, or dts-Master soundtrack.
Export to Wiki
#3
Rating: 0
9/1/07 at 5:19pm
  • Joined: May 2003
  • Location: Singapore
  • Post Count: 1,245

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

the first posting on this thread might be of help

>
DVD-A registry for hirez/surround audio
Bluray, DVD-Audio, DAD/HDAD, DualDisc, MVI

Export to Wiki
#4
Rating: 0
9/1/07 at 6:27pm
  • Joined: February 2001
  • Post Count: 3,219

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

ah yes. B&K doesn't make a future proof receiver or pre/pro
Export to Wiki
#5
Rating: 0
9/1/07 at 7:16pm
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: Silicon Valley
  • Post Count: 4,087

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeremyErwin
ah yes. B&K doesn't make a future proof receiver or pre/pro

Does anybody?

Thanks for the insights Jeremy and FeisalK!

I had not considered that or understood that the optical out of any high definition optical disc player would downconvert the audio. Having so any analogue cables out of the player to a pre-pro might be a problem as my location for the player will be about 25 feet away from the audio rack. So if I place the player near the audio, then I'd need a pricey HDMI cable to the plasma! But the analogue cables might be doable for less money.
Export to Wiki
#6
Rating: 0
9/2/07 at 10:47pm
  • Joined: March 2001
  • Post Count: 61

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Also to be considered is that no current HD DVD or BD player will pass TrueHD or DTS-HD MA as bitstream information via HDMI. So Multichannel PCM over HDMI or multichannel analog are the only options for those formats at this time.

Royce

\"I never drink...wine.\"
Bela Lugosi, DRACULA, 1933

Export to Wiki
#7
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 7:11am
  • Joined: February 2001
  • Post Count: 3,219

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Quote:
Originally Posted by Royce H
Also to be considered is that no current HD DVD or BD player will pass TrueHD or DTS-HD MA as bitstream information via HDMI. So Multichannel PCM over HDMI or multichannel analog are the only options for those formats at this time.

Sony BDP-S500
Denon DVD-2500BTCI
Onkyo DV-HD805

all coming out, more or less, this fall.
Export to Wiki
#8
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 8:52am
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: Silicon Valley
  • Post Count: 4,087

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

And I just discovered on another forum that B&K could have a new machine with HDMI support.

Very confused still. In looking at images of the back of Toshiba HD DVD players, it looks like there's only 2 RCA jacks out for audio. Some have multi out jacks for all the channels?

Thanks for the insights so far!
Export to Wiki
#9
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 9:12am
  • Joined: February 2001
  • Post Count: 3,219

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au
And I just discovered on another forum that B&K could have a new machine with HDMI support.

Very confused still. In looking at images of the back of Toshiba HD DVD players, it looks like there's only 2 RCA jacks out for audio. Some have multi out jacks for all the channels?

Thanks for the insights so far!

yep, They're going the cheap way. If you want HD audio, you'll have to use HDMI. If you want to use SACD, DVD-A, HD-DVD, and Bluray players simultaneously, HDMI audio support is also tremendously useful.
Export to Wiki
#10
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 9:46am
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: Silicon Valley
  • Post Count: 4,087

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Thanks Jeremy. As you suggest, if one were to have HD DVD, BD, SACD and DVD-A, all those devices require an HDMI out?

Maybe I should be asking how some of you guys currently hook up your systems? I'll be making trips to the dealers as I check out pre/pros and ask them, but it's always good to see what real users are doing now. I'd hate to buy the wrong thing!

Thanks!
Export to Wiki
#11
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 10:19am
  • Joined: February 2001
  • Post Count: 3,219

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nelson Au
Thanks Jeremy. As you suggest, if one were to have HD DVD, BD, SACD and DVD-A, all those devices require an HDMI out?
Thanks!

A matter of rear panel real estate. one hdmi jack is smaller than a set of multichannel input jacks. Even the outrageously large Denon AVR-5085 only has two sets.

It's not an intractable situation. But suppose you do purchase a bluray player. Then, three months later, you find a good deal on a HD-DVD player. If you had a a hdmi pre-pro, it would be a simple matter of connecting one cord. If you had a non hdmi pre-pro, you would have to go shopping for a multichannel audio switch, or choose which player you wanted to connect. It would limit your options.
Export to Wiki
#12
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 11:31am
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: Silicon Valley
  • Post Count: 4,087

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Jeremy- thanks. When you say one cord is needed for an HDMI pre/pro, are you suggesting that when more then one HD media device can be daisey chained from player to player so one cord goes to the pre/pro? Or one cord per device into the multible HDMI ports on the pre/pro. Sorry for the ignorant questions!

As I said, I have a lot to learn still before getting HD audio.
Export to Wiki
#13
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 11:44am
  • Joined: February 2001
  • Post Count: 3,219

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

A HDMI enabled prepro has multiple HDMI inputs, and one HDMI output.

It's a switch, rather than a bus topology.

So let us suppose you began with a prepro, a projector, and a cable box. You'd get two cables, a long one to go from your prepro's HDMI out to your projector, and a shorter one to conect your cable bx to your prepro's HDMI 1 input. Later, you get a PS3, and one cable to connect the PS3 to your prepro's HDMI 2 input. Then, an HD-DVD player, and one more cable to connect to your prepro's HDMI 3 input, and so on. One cable carries both sound and video signals.


At least that's how it's supposed to work.
Export to Wiki
#14
Rating: 0
9/3/07 at 11:58am
  • Joined: March 1999
  • Location: Silicon Valley
  • Post Count: 4,087

Re: Help on understanding audio requirements for pre-amp from HD-DVD/Blu Ray players

Okay, that's how I thought it was supposed to work.

Then theoretcially, if I have HD-DVD, then later a BD player, they both connect to a pre/pro via their own HDMI cables. Then one HDMI cable will go to my plasma for video from the pre/pro. What I'd really like to do is send video directly to the plasma and by-pass the pre/pro. Plasma and player is about 25 feet away from pre/pro.

But it seems the set-up might have to change if audio/video sources need to go to the pre/pro first to get full HD benefit. And HDMI cable now are a bit pricey, which is why I thought I could get away connecting via optical. But optical out of pre/pro doesn't pass HD audio as I understand it. Unless a player has 2 HDMI outs, or if there's a way to use a splitter and send an HDMI signal to the video display and split to the pre/pro for audio.

Good, this is really helpful!
Export to Wiki
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread