Sony DTS Dolby Master Decoding Question

Rick Johnson · 09-01-2008, 09:02 PM

If I have a Sony STR-DA2400ES would the receiver decode the DTS Dolby Master Audio from the Sony BDP-S300 blu ray player?

Stephen_J_H · 09-03-2008, 05:32 PM

Yes, the receiver will decode both DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD. They are separate codecs. As long as the BDP-S300 can bitstream the codecs (and I have yet to hear otherwise), should be no problem.

Rick Johnson · 09-04-2008, 10:25 AM

Thank you for the reply.

My next question is what should I set the HDMI output to "Dolby Digital" or to "Downmix PCM" in order to get the DTS Dolby Master Audio for decoding in my STR-DA4300ES receiver?

Adam Barratt · 09-07-2008, 01:11 AM

There is no such thing as "DTS Dolby Master Audio". DTS and Dolby are two separate companies. As Stephen said, there are two lossless formats available at the moment: 'DTS-HD Master Audio' from a company called DTS (formerly Digital Theater Systems) and 'Dolby TrueHD' from a company called Dolby Laboratories. The two companies and formats are in competition, like GM and Ford, or Pepsi and Coca Cola.

The Sony S300 does not include HDMI 1.3, so cannot send a bitstream (raw) output to your receiver for decoding (so you will never see the 'TrueHD or 'DTS-HD' lights illuminate on your amp with that particular player). TrueHD can be decoded by the player and sent to the receiver as PCM though, assuming the player has the latest firmware, but the player cannot decode DTS-HD Master Audio internally.

What you will hear from DTS-HD MA soundtracks is the 'core' DTS soundtrack upon which the lossless Master Audio version is based. This will be very good, but not lossless (not identical to the source).

I'm not familiar with the S300's configuration, but you should set the player's HDMI output to 'PCM' when listening to TrueHD. The amplifier should display 'PCM' or 'Multich' or similar when set correctly (if it displays 'Dolby Digital' it is not set correctly).

Adam

Rick Johnson · 09-07-2008, 11:16 AM

Thank you for the information Adam, I guess I will be buying a new S550 Blu Ray player when they are released next month.

Rick

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Rick Johnson · 09-10-2008, 04:19 PM

Adam,

If my reveiver will decode the DTS HD MA will setting my S300 to PCM allow the receiver to decode DTS HD MA?

Thanks,

Rick

Adam Barratt · 09-11-2008, 12:53 AM

No. The player needs to have HDMI 1.3 output to send the raw data to a receiver. The S300 doesn't have this capability, so all the receiver will 'see' is standard DTS (the same audio found on DVD, but usually at the higher 1509kbps bit-rate). If you want to see the DTS-HD MA lights on your Sony receiver light up, you will need a new player (such as the Sony S350, the S300's replacement).

Adam

Rick Johnson · 09-11-2008, 09:35 AM

Great information. Thanks for the reply.

RIck

Rick Johnson · 09-11-2008, 05:25 PM

Adam,

I just went out to Best Buy and bought a BDP-S350 player. Any suggestions on what to set the audio setting to for the BDP-S350 and the STR-DA4300ES?

All this stuff is confusing and all new to me. Thanks for all your help lately.

RIck

Adam Barratt · 09-13-2008, 12:29 AM

In the player's setup menu you should set Audio Output Priority to 'HDMI', Audio (HDMI) to 'Auto' and BD Audio Setting to 'Direct'. Your amp should automatically detect the audio and decode it correctly if connected by HDMI. Remember that you may have to select the lossless audio through the disc's audio menu (sometimes under 'Languages' like they were on DVD). Also make sure you're using a disc with TrueHD or DTS-HD MA audio rather than PCM (or you will only see 'PCM' engaged on your receiver). If you see the TrueHD or DTS-HD lights activate on your amp then the settings are correct.

Adam

Rick Johnson · 09-13-2008, 09:24 AM

Adam,

Would you recommend watching a BD movie with the STR-DA4300ES set to NEO 6 cinema?

Thanks,

Rick