Okay, Let's Start Over: Please Explain How These New HD Soundtracks Work... - Page 2

Mike Frezon · 10-17-2007, 10:50 PM

I'll need six cables to connect the 5.1 analogs from player to receiver? Or, do some companies (maybe Blue Jeans?) make a special "single" cable with six RCA plugs at each end?

Man, you guys must hate people like me who ask these types of questions.

EDIT** Never mind. I got my answer at the Blue Jeans site:

Wow. Expensive. But they look like a very high quality cable.

Royce H · 10-23-2007, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyErwin

The onkyo xx5 models aren't actually future proofed--TrueHD and dts Master Audio HD streams are limited to 96 KHz sampling rate. At least you get dts-HD Master support, which has (apparently) not yet been implemented in any players.

The onkyo can't really apply any dsp effects to a multichannel pcm track. It can apply those effects to a dolby digital plus/dts-hd track though, so that may be of some use.

An HDMI-1.3 receiver will also support libsync mode, if connected to a HDMI-1.3 TV. Gee, this is getting to be a pattern!
New receiver, new players, new display, new cables...

Actually, the Onkyo 705 and above can overlay DSP processing on 5.1 LPCM (mine does it just fine with both my Tosh XA1 and Samsung 1400). The 605 can't do this.

JimJasper · 04-28-2008, 02:16 PM

Just wanted to say that this thread has been very helpful for me, as I have had the same questions as the Nick guy, and have been interested in that same Onkyo receiver.

The comment of Deep Color transmitting to a HD TV vs displaying on a HD TV was surprising. It's another frustrating little detail (for "future proofing") that I never would have thought about. Then again it doesn't look like there is any Deep Color High Def DVD Content out there at all...though it will probably arrive.

Mike Frezon · 05-06-2008, 09:46 PM

I have new questions because of the new audio formats.

I went and hooked up the DMP-BD10 to my receiver (Sony STRDE-445) via the 5.1 analog connections. After doing a fair amount of A/B listening, it became clear pretty quickly that many of the uncompressed PCM tracks were quite a bit superior to the downmixed HD 5.1 tracks fed over my coaxial cable.

My question now is this. Is it ONLY Uncompressed PCM tracks which are carried over the analog cables? Does this set-up work with any of the other tracks offered on a Blu-ray disc?

Panasonic's website says the BD10 can decode the following formats: DD, DD+, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS HD.

So, am I to assume that for any of these formats I should use the analog 5.1 connections rather than the coaxial?

I made the mistake recently of listening to half of Pixar's Cars over the analog connections while defaulted to the Dolby 5.1 track. The sound was really lackluster (subdued even) compared to the uncompressed 5.1 track over the same analog connection.

Jeff Gatie · 05-06-2008, 11:07 PM

Anything the player can decode can be played through the 5.1 analogs, so yes you can and should use them for DD, DD+, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS HD (DTS HD will only be the core on the BD10).

Michael Reuben · 05-07-2008, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Gatie

(DTS HD will only be the core on the BD10)

I don't have the manual handy, but I believe that only applies to DTS-HD MA. I believe the BD10 can handle DTS-HD (the lossy-but-not-as-lossy version).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

So, am I to assume that for any of these formats I should use the analog 5.1 connections rather than the coaxial?

You can use the 5.1 for all those formats. Whether you should is another matter. For those occasional discs where the best available soundtrack is regular DTS or DD, I prefer to use an S/PDIF connection, because my Lexicon has better digital processing than the BD10. But if I left it on the 5.1 analog connections, it would still work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

The sound was really lackluster (subdued even) compared to the uncompressed 5.1 track over the same analog connection.

That's not surprising. For starters, it was probably 4db lower, due to dialnorm.

M.

Mike Frezon · 05-15-2008, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Reuben

You can use the 5.1 for all those formats. Whether you should is another matter. For those occasional discs where the best available soundtrack is regular DTS or DD, I prefer to use an S/PDIF connection, because my Lexicon has better digital processing than the BD10. But if I left it on the 5.1 analog connections, it would still work.

Right. I find it only pays to use the 5.1 analogs when a BD disc offers one of the uncompressed audio formats.

I've tried listening to a 5.1 DD or DTS soundtrack over the 5.1s and it doesn't come close to when I play it back over the coaxial and have the Sony decode the audio.

That seems odd to me (that there would be such a dramatic difference--when the uncompressed tracks sound SO good over the analog 5.1s).

Does it logically follow then that if I upgraded my receiver and went HDMI that I would hear an improvement in the uncompressed tracks then by listening over the 5.1s (because the receiver might handle the decoding better than the player)? Not that there will be a receiver upgrade at any time in my near future...

Thanks!

Jeff Gatie · 05-15-2008, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Does it logically follow then that if I upgraded my receiver and went HDMI that I would hear an improvement in the uncompressed tracks then by listening over the 5.1s (because the receiver might handle the decoding better than the player)? Not that there will be a receiver upgrade at any time in my near future...

Theoretically, the lossless tracks should decode to the exact same bit-for-bit stream, whether decoded in the player or in the receiver (that's what "lossless" means). Now what is done after the decoding (D->A processing, any DSP's that are applied, etc.) is another story.

Michael Reuben · 05-15-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

That seems odd to me (that there would be such a dramatic difference--when the uncompressed tracks sound SO good over the analog 5.1s).

In all likelihood, the DACs in your receiver are better than those in the player. As a rule, most of the investment in manufacturing a player goes to the video side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

Does it logically follow then that if I upgraded my receiver and went HDMI that I would hear an improvement in the uncompressed tracks then by listening over the 5.1s (because the receiver might handle the decoding better than the player)? Not that there will be a receiver upgrade at any time in my near future...

I suspect that would be the case, but I can't confirm it from experience. I'm in the same boat!

M.