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Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for? - Page 2

post #31 of 68
2/1/09 at 3:08pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Dave: Instead of using the Toslink to connect the Blu-ray palyer to the receiver...if you use the 5.1 analogs you will get the true lossless audio on all formats which the player can decode. That would be an even better way to go.
Yep. You mentioned it before, but I didn't think my receiver did that. Turns out I bought a higher end receiver than I remembered, and after not using those features for 8 years, I'd forgotten it did all that.

So if get a BR, I will use the analog input. This "future proofing" in my receiver is saving me from buying a new receiver just now. I'll definitely look for similar forward-features in the next unit I buy.
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post #32 of 68
2/2/09 at 4:26am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF
Yep. You mentioned it before, but I didn't think my receiver did that. Turns out I bought a higher end receiver than I remembered, and after not using those features for 8 years, I'd forgotten it did all that.

So if get a BR, I will use the analog input. This "future proofing" in my receiver is saving me from buying a new receiver just now. I'll definitely look for similar forward-features in the next unit I buy.

Hey DAVE F: I too am glad I bought my flagship Yamaha DSP-A1 10 years ago. Would have never thought I would ever use the analog inputs on it but now's the perfect opportunity to use them. To take advantage of the lossless soundtracks. Also prevents me from going out and buying up a new receiver. My DSP-A1 has served me well with standard DVD and now looking forward to it providing exceptional quality with Blu-Ray now.
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post #33 of 68
2/2/09 at 4:27am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Depends. Some discs only have one soundtrack...but most have options. And you should always check...because the lossless track is not always the default.

Mike F: Thanks, I'll look be on the lookout for soundtrack options found on the BR's. BTW, any idea what the difference is between the DD plus track and the Dolby TrueHD track ?

Thx,
Th.
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post #34 of 68
2/2/09 at 5:27am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
Mike F: Thanks, I'll look be on the lookout for soundtrack options found on the BR's. BTW, any idea what the difference is between the DD plus track and the Dolby TrueHD track ?

Thx,
Th.

DD+ is lossy, but less lossy than standard DD. TrueHD is lossless, meaning it is identical to the master recording.
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post #35 of 68
2/2/09 at 9:46am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

When I get my BR player hooked up, I wanted to use one of the older video/audio calibration discs to help calibrate my picture on my Mitsibishi HC-1500.
A friend of mine let me borrow his "outdated" Digital Essentials calibration disc. Am I wasting my time using this older calib. disc Or should I get a hold of one of the High Def calibr. discs instead ?

I really don't want to plop down any more money for buying a calib. disc .
Will the Digital Essentials disc do the job?
Thanks
TroyH
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post #36 of 68
2/2/09 at 11:23am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
Hey DAVE F: I too am glad I bought my flagship Yamaha DSP-A1 10 years ago. Would have never thought I would ever use the analog inputs on it but now's the perfect opportunity to use them.

I remember always having the question...why would they put these 5.1 inputs on my Sony receiver for?!? Well...a few months ago I became very glad they were there. I'm sure a new receiver is in my future, too. Just not right away!

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
Mike F: Thanks, I'll look be on the lookout for soundtrack options found on the BR's. BTW, any idea what the difference is between the DD plus track and the Dolby TrueHD track ?

There are a lot of guys here on the HTF who are a heckuva lot smarter than me on the subject of audio formats, Troy. I only chimed in because you were in a similar boat to me...and it's always nice when people are rowing in the same direction!

Anyway, I hope people more knowledgeable than me will jump in...but I can tell you that Dolby TrueHD is a true lossless track. And here's info from Dolby on DD+.

Ooops. I didn't see that Jeff had already responded above.
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post #37 of 68
2/2/09 at 6:07pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Finally got hdmi cable ran from my rack area to my projector tonight. Now I'm just need to pick up my br player from HH gregg as soon as it gets in.
I had another question that popped into my head.

Since I'll be playing standard dvd's in the BR player, do I still need to run my dig. coax cable to my receiver for standard DD / DTS tracks or will the 5.1 analog ins take care of this too?

Then basically switch my dsp-a1 from digital coax when watching reg. dvd's and then switch it to multi-channel when watching BR.

What's the take on this?
And thanks again,
Troy
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post #38 of 68
2/2/09 at 7:46pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

No need to run the digital coax.
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post #39 of 68
2/3/09 at 4:31am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Campisi
No need to run the digital coax.

Charlie: so help me understand, when ever I would play a standard dvd w/ 5.1 DD, the bitstream will travel through the analog in cables instead of the dig. coax ? Is this correct? Will there be any difference in sound quality or better you think?

thx for clarifying,
TroyH
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post #40 of 68
2/3/09 at 4:52am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

The bitstream doesn't travel in the analog cables. The audio is decoded internally in the player and sent to your receiver as 6 discrete channels, just like it would be with the new lossless audio. Your receiver is acting merely as an amplifier and not processing the sound at all (though you may be able to use some of the distance and level controls depending on your receiver). There shouldn't be much of a difference in sound quality theoretically, but you may lose some controls as the BDP probably has less control over the processing. For instance, my Sony S550 does not have the ability to set the crossover. It's preset and people assume it's somewhere in the 80-100 hz range, but nobody knows as far as I can tell. If that's a problem, you can hook up the coax as well, but you will have to go into the menu and select analog or digital coax whenever you put in a DVD or BD and need to switch it. Personal choice.
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post #41 of 68
2/3/09 at 7:12am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Charlie: Right now when DD is used as the soundtrack, I get a display on my front DSP-A1 window showing Dolby Digital Normal with the AC3 indicator on and also the same goes when playing a standard dvd that has DTS I will get the DTS Digital Surround wording and the DTS indicator.
If I continue to use my dig.coax cable for playing just my standard dvd's, I will have to make sure that I'm going to the same input as before correct?
But ................ whenever I play a BR disc, I will need to select the proper input for that? And the display should read "MULTI CHANNEL " or something like that ?
Thanks for explaining,
TroyH
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post #42 of 68
2/3/09 at 10:12am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
Charlie: Right now when DD is used as the soundtrack, I get a display on my front DSP-A1 window showing Dolby Digital Normal with the AC3 indicator on and also the same goes when playing a standard dvd that has DTS I will get the DTS Digital Surround wording and the DTS indicator.
If I continue to use my dig.coax cable for playing just my standard dvd's, I will have to make sure that I'm going to the same input as before correct?
But ................ whenever I play a BR disc, I will need to select the proper input for that? And the display should read "MULTI CHANNEL " or something like that ?

Troy: That's exactly right. If you continue to use your digital connection for when you play DVDs (and your analog connection for playing BDs) then you are just switching inputs on your receiver.

I did this for awhile (because I liked that pretty blue light coming on on the front of my receiver whenever I sent the bitstream via the coax). I changed my habits when I switched from cable TV to satellite TV. My new satellite box only had an optical audio line out which forced me to completely reconfigure my set-up. So I decided to run all my audio from the BD-10 via analog and it has been great.

I don't know if you have a Harmony remote...but they allow to set up various activities to customize your HT needs. You would be able to select one input to watch a DVD and another input to watch a BD...even though you are using the same player. Kinda handy.
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post #43 of 68
2/3/09 at 12:14pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon
Troy: That's exactly right. If you continue to use your digital connection for when you play DVDs (and your analog connection for playing BDs) then you are just switching inputs on your receiver.

I did this for awhile (because I liked that pretty blue light coming on on the front of my receiver whenever I sent the bitstream via the coax). I changed my habits when I switched from cable TV to satellite TV. My new satellite box only had an optical audio line out which forced me to completely reconfigure my set-up. So I decided to run all my audio from the BD-10 via analog and it has been great.

I don't know if you have a Harmony remote...but they allow to set up various activities to customize your HT needs. You would be able to select one input to watch a DVD and another input to watch a BD...even though you are using the same player. Kinda handy.

MIKE: Thanks for the clarification and two cents. So two questions. Now that you have all your audio coming out of the BD-10 via analog outs, can you discern a difference between your old connection of dig. coax vs. now how you have it hooked up which is now thru your analog 5.1 outs??
What does your BD-10 display on the front whenever you have a standard dvd playing or a BR playing?
Thanks again Mike,
TroyH
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post #44 of 68
2/3/09 at 12:41pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
MIKE: Thanks for the clarification and two cents. So two questions. Now that you have all your audio coming out of the BD-10 via analog outs, can you discern a difference between your old connection of dig. coax vs. now how you have it hooked up which is now thru your analog 5.1 outs??
What does your BD-10 display on the front whenever you have a standard dvd playing or a BR playing?
Thanks again Mike,
TroyH

Troy: I did discern a difference at first...a major one...because I had to then go in and tweak the settings on the player to match up against the settings in the receiver. Once the BD-10's settings were tweaked to my satisfaction, though, the audio was every bit as good...except when it was better with the improved audio tracks from the HD software.

As I described before, the display on the receiver is much more dull when using the analog inputs. No snazzy blue light and no indications of receiving a digital signal from the player. Just the normal receiver display (which on my Sony happens to be "5.1 Input"). The only display on the front of the BD-10 itself is the time code of the program that is being watched. There is also a small blue light--which I believe is only lit when a Blu-ray disc is being played.
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post #45 of 68
2/4/09 at 4:41am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Mike,

I think I know what to do when I get the S550 hooked up (currently on backorder at HH gregg ). But can you walk me thru it just in case. I've been out of the loop for awhile and this whole BR thing is quite new to me.
I believe I understand that when I use my yammy's analogs ins, I lose signal processing when the sony is hooked up to these. Do I basically now setup my audio configuration using the S550 internal setup features for speaker balance, speaker distance, speaker levels, etc ?
Is this what you did to balance out the audio side of things?
What about the sub? I have a velodyne 18" (250watt amp) What's the best way to set it up for the new BR soundtracks?
I appreciate the tutorial info. big time mike, thanks,
TroyH
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post #46 of 68
2/4/09 at 6:26am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
Mike,

I think I know what to do when I get the S550 hooked up (currently on backorder at HH gregg ). But can you walk me thru it just in case. I've been out of the loop for awhile and this whole BR thing is quite new to me.
I believe I understand that when I use my yammy's analogs ins, I lose signal processing when the sony is hooked up to these. Do I basically now setup my audio configuration using the S550 internal setup features for speaker balance, speaker distance, speaker levels, etc ?
Is this what you did to balance out the audio side of things?
What about the sub? I have a velodyne 18" (250watt amp) What's the best way to set it up for the new BR soundtracks?
I appreciate the tutorial info. big time mike, thanks,
TroyH

Yup. That's exactly right. You have to get out your audio meter and re-calibrate your system based on the Sony's settings. I should think the sub settings would be included in that. But, as Charlie noted a few posts ago:

Quote:
There shouldn't be much of a difference in sound quality theoretically, but you may lose some controls as the BDP probably has less control over the processing. For instance, my Sony S550 does not have the ability to set the crossover. It's preset and people assume it's somewhere in the 80-100 hz range, but nobody knows as far as I can tell.

Don't sweat it, Troy. You'll have a blast tweaking your new toy. I always find something like this to be a ton of fun...agonizing over the test tones...pulling out your favorite audio demo discs, etc. The smell of new electronics as you open the box...
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post #47 of 68
2/4/09 at 7:07am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Mike , Charlie and everyone else on this thread, thanks for all your help and input.

I'd already have this thing installed, setup, and enjoying it but like I said, HHGREGG store says they are backordered. I look forward to moving up from standard dvd (as much as I've enjoyed them) to Blu-Ray finally!

TroyH
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post #48 of 68
2/4/09 at 8:02am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
I'd already have this thing installed, setup, and enjoying it but like I said, HHGREGG store says they are backordered. I look forward to moving up from standard dvd (as much as I've enjoyed them) to Blu-Ray finally!

Was looking at your theater set-up Troy. You are gonna be lovin' how those Blu-ray discs look and sound on that set-up. As I said earlier, my HT is quite modest and even I can really appreciate the difference.

Enjoy the anticipation!

Because , soon enough, you'll be enjoying the actual HD experience!
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post #49 of 68
2/5/09 at 4:52am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

I ended up canceling my purchase of my SONY BDP-S550 at HHGREGG last night (on backorder and no idea when they'll be receiving more in) and bought one online from Amazon.com for $270.79 ($11.99 shipping).
Should arrive in 2-3 days.
And I saved $34.00 !

TroyH
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post #50 of 68
2/5/09 at 6:30am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Is that drool coming from Troy's mouth?!?
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post #51 of 68
2/5/09 at 8:03am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

I went with a friend to Raleigh last Saturday. He wanted a new 40" Samsung LCD tv. We stopped first at Best Buy. While there, he bought the Sony BDP-S550 BD player for $329. Then we went to Circuit City. What a joke! For their "Going Out of Business" sale, the S550 was $399. Then we went to HH Gregg. They were sold out of the 40" tv he wanted. The salesman showed him a 46" Samsung LCD (bigger than he wanted). My friend said he really didn't want to pay that much for a tv ($1399). Salesman said, "hold on. I'll be right back". He came back and said he could sell it for $1199. My friend bought it. So, at HH Gregg, you can haggle the price.......

Anyway, I set everything up for my buddy. He has an older Denon 3802 receiver, with no HDMI inputs. I hooked up the 7.1 analog outputs from the S550. When we tried a Blu ray movie, the sound was real quiet. I had to go, so I set it up for optical output as the priority, which worked fine, for volume. Monday I went back and finished making adjustments in the player's setup (distances, levels, etc.). Now it sounds great, with blu ray movies and regular dvds. I want one of these myself, even though my receiver decodes the HD audio. I just can't afford one yet. Maybe I can get one by this summer.

Troy........... you should enjoy your new player. It's pretty easy to setup, gives a great looking picture, and the sound is excellent. I'm jealous.
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post #52 of 68
2/5/09 at 9:37am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

So Ed, a few tweaks here and there in the player's setup menu and I should be good to go. At least that's what it appears you did for your friend's Denon receiver. Did you disconnect the optical connection once you got the sound right using the analog in connection all balanced out?
Did you use a SPL meter to balance out the speaker volume output? If so, what db range did you set it at ? How did you go about calibrating the Sub channel within the BR mix?

Thanks Ed, and don't worry summer will be here before you know it. Hopefully you'll be able to get one earlier than you think
TroyH
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post #53 of 68
2/5/09 at 9:43am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Yup. That's drool!

j/k, Troy!
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post #54 of 68
2/5/09 at 11:50am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Mike, no doubt about it..... I'm drooling...
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post #55 of 68
2/5/09 at 1:32pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by T r o y
I ended up canceling my purchase of my SONY BDP-S550 at HHGREGG last night (on backorder and no idea when they'll be receiving more in) and bought one online from Amazon.com for $270.79 ($11.99 shipping).
Should arrive in 2-3 days.
And I saved $34.00 !

TroyH
Which merchant had it for $270? I've never seen it that low.

Hmm, Amazon has it for $299 & free shipping...That was my buy price...So tempting...
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post #56 of 68
2/5/09 at 3:56pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Hey DaveF: The seller merchant is Wholesale AV out of NY.
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post #57 of 68
2/5/09 at 4:11pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

I left the optical cable in case he wants to use it when watching regular dvds, but the analogs sound so good, he may not use the optical. We'll see.

No, I didn't use my SPL meter. I set the distances the same as the settings for the receiver. I thought I might take the SPL over later, but it sounds so good now, and he's so tickled, I may not bother. Again, we'll see.
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post #58 of 68
2/5/09 at 4:18pm

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Ed, that's good stuff. I'll see how the analog in connections sound and go from there too I guess. A friend of mine let me borrow his digital SPL meter so I plan on setting each channel to 75db , setting the speaker distances, etc.
Man, this thing can't get here quick enuff
update the thread as you get info. from your friend , would be eager to find out how he likes watching his first batch of BR titles and as it grows on him.
Th.
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post #59 of 68
2/6/09 at 5:33am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

OK, I've got jump in here. I finally got my analog inputs to work, but honestly, it does not sound as good to me as coax/DD. Also, when setting with the spl meter, the highest reading I get is 68 if I leave the settings on the S550 at 0db. The only way I can get a reading of 75 is to turn up the volume on the receiver. Is this what I am supposed to do? I am totally confused with this.
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post #60 of 68
2/6/09 at 6:00am

Re: Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary Shipley
OK, I've got jump in here. I finally got my analog inputs to work, but honestly, it does not sound as good to me as coax/DD. Also, when setting with the spl meter, the highest reading I get is 68 if I leave the settings on the S550 at 0db. The only way I can get a reading of 75 is to turn up the volume on the receiver. Is this what I am supposed to do? I am totally confused with this.

Yes, turn the volume up on the receiver until the average tone is in the 75dB range on the meter. Then fine tune each channel to exactly 75dB. If you wish, make note of the level on the master volume control - this level is now your "reference level", which is the level the original content was mixed to. Just a warning, when playing DVD/BD's, reference level is LOUD!!! - not to mention it requires some heavy equipment to achieve cleanly in anything but a small room. But since you now have a reference level, you can come to HTF and provide more information about your viewing experience - i.e. "I was watching movie xyz, at -10dB below reference, and I heard a strange noise from my subwoofer."
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