Gregory Suarez

Question about PCM 5.1 and HDMI

If I have a multi-channel receiver with HDMI inputs and I use my PlayStation 3's HDMI output, will I be able to fully decode the Uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio tracks on Blu-ray discs? I have heard that not all HDMI-equipped receiver can do this.

Patrick Mason

Re: Question about PCM 5.1 and HDMI

Hi Gregory,

HDMI has been able to support 7.1 PCM audio since its inception, so any HDMI receiver should play those BLU-RAY soundtracks beautifully.

What you might have heard is that you need a newer HDMI 1.3 receiver to pass Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA bitstreams through to the receiver. Fortunately, with the latest updates installed, your PS3 will decode Dolby TrueHD tracks and send them out as PCM to your receiver. DTS-MA support has been rumored for some time, but hasn't happened as of yet.

Hope that helps!

Patrick

Gregory Suarez

Re: Question about PCM 5.1 and HDMI

I spoke with a Sony customer service guy and he told me that the PS3 can pass 5.1-channel DTS-HD from its HDMI output, but not 7.1.

Patrick Mason

Re: Question about PCM 5.1 and HDMI

The PS3 will decode the 5.1 channel 1.5mps "Core" audio signal from DTS-MA streams, in other words delivering the equivalent of a full bit-rate standard-DVD DTS track. Obviously, this doesn't sound too shabby, but it's not as great as the full lossless tracks. Keep in mind that there's nothing on the market that can yet take full advantage of these tracks, so your set-up is the best currently possible.