Pioneer SC 05 Doesn’t play DTS HD MSTR or DD True HD

Had my SC 05 for over 1 year & I now think it never worked right.

Just got off the phone with Pioneer & they say I have the settings correct. 

When I play a BD with DTS HD MA 5.1 the display has always shown “DTS.”  I just discovered the display should have shown “DTS HD MSTR.” So, apparently all the time I thought I was listening to lossless audio I was in fact listening to mere DTS. 

When I play a BD with Dolby True HD it now shows “DDigital.” Until yesterday It had always shown “DD True HD.” 

I just got it back yesterday from 3+ days at an authorized Pioneer service Center where they did a firmware update.  They apparently did a reset so all my MCACC & other setting were reset to factory default. (Annoying!) I spent hours resetting everything. 

I have a 5.1 system & also use Speaker B in another room. Auto/Direct set to “Auto Surround” I also tried hitting the “Standard” button & the display still said “DDigital” while playing a Dolby True HD movie. I’ve tried several different BD movies & double checked I selected the correct audio option on the movie when there are choices. SBch set to off.

I am posting in case someone can point out an error in my settings that are causing this or tell me they had the same issue & had it successfully repaired. 

Thanks in advance for any help. I dread taking it back for service. 

Steve

I neglected to mention my player is Panasonic DMP BD 80, I use all HDMI connections & I have set the player to bitstream. 

It now works perfectly! I was so sure it was related to this week’s firmware update which was needed to hear DTS HD MA 2.0 (Which strangely now displays as Stereo) I see “DTS HD MSTR” & I see “DD True HD” when appropriate.

The issue was NOT the recent FW update but, my BD player settings. Specifically I had BD-Secondary Audio set to ON. I had been told to set it to off back in 2009 when I had a non-HDMI AVR & was using analog outs to get lossless audio from my Panasonic DMP BD 80.  I did just that. When I later upgraded to my new HDMI AVR I (incorrectly ) assumed that the BD-Secondary Audio s/b set to ON since I Now had all HDMI connections. I just assumed that the “DTS” in the display meant DTS HD MA. I did think I occasionally did see DD True HD even with the wrong “ON” BD -Secondary Audio setting but, I may be mis-remembering.

I never suspected my BD player settings other than bitstream vs. PCM could affect lossy vs. lossless audio.  My many forum searches had been related to the FW issue with the SC 05. 

 Apparently when you wish to listen to a PIP commentary you must delve back into the player setting to turn it back on & then off again to enjoy lossless audio for the next BD!

I’m very happy now!  Everything works & the sound is absolutely awesome! 

Steve

You’re Welcome Charles,

I have read  many forums on many topics & sometimes I find an issue similar to my current problem from 6 months or a year ago & there is no followup & I wonder if the original poster ever solved it. 

So, I try to post a solution if I found one. 

I think the instructions for Panasonic re BD-Secondary audio are terrible. Should say “WARNING! If you leave BD Secondary Audio set to ON you will NOT get lossless audio.” 

Secondary audio is for the PIP commentary which is a special feature on some BDs. Instead of the typical commentary we know from DVDs & many BDs where the Director talks while you watch the movie again with the movie soundtrack either of or very low--this is the director (or others) talking in a small window & you can see them talk. Some BDs have behind the scenes stuff going on in the window. 

If I ever want to hear that Pip I will need to go back in & turn the Secondary audio back on & remember to turn it off again afterwards!

I like having "DTS HD MSTR" or “DD True HD” displayed. It acts as verification you are getting the lossless audio advertised on the back of the BD. I have seen some BDs with multiple audio tracks & the default is NOT the lossless. So if you just hit play you hear Dolby Digital & need to go into the movie setup & select the lossless audio. 

--Steve