Panasonic DMP-BD35 and no DTS? (1 Viewer)

[marcel101]

Hello! This is my first post, and like many on the this forum, I just got a Panasonic DMP-BD35. I've spent the last couple of days trying to get audio from the Blu-Ray movie with no luck. I'm taking the HDMI signal from the player to my Panasonic 42" Plasma (that's a couple of years old), and the Optical out to my Marantz SR-580, which WAY pre-dates HDMI and only has Dolby Digital (labeled as AC-3!).

The problem is I'm getting audio from the menus, but as soon as I get into the movie, no audio. I think I've exhausted every combination of settings on the BD-35 to no avail. I've turned off (and on) Audio through HDMI, and tried every setting with the Digital outs (Bitstream and PCM). I'm 99% sure the Optical In on my Marantz is PCM, and the Digital In lights DOES stay solid lit (indicating a signal).

Since all the Blu-Ray discs seemed to be labelled DTS and my receiver doesn't have it, am I wasting any further efforts? I was REALLY hoping I would at least have 5.1 through the optical, but it may be futile. BTW, my old DVD's play fine through the unit, so that's further leading me to think the problem is DTS. Sadly, a new receiver is NOT an option!

Anybody have any thoughts at all? Many thanks,

Marcel

 

[Matt Hough]

If your receiver doesn't decode DTS, I'm pretty sure you won't get anything from Blu-ray discs which only have DTS-HD English tracks.

I'm guessing when you had regular DVDs playing through this receiver, you never chose DTS tracks on discs either for that reason. Blu-ray won't work any more than DVD would with DTS.

I'm not sure the optical output can do anything other than bitstream which is why you aren't getting any sound on the films. Menu sound is usually in Dolby Digital or Dolby Prologic which is why you're hearing it.

If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me, but it may be time to think about a new receiver if you can swing it.

 

[Steve_Pannell]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I have a similar setup to yours except my receiver does have DTS. (It's an eight year old Pioneer VSX-D909S).

All of the Blu-rays I've seen so far have enough sound options that one of them should work if the audio is going to the receiver. You said that you're getting audio from the menus but not the movie. This may sound like a stupid question but is the menu sound coming through the receiver or is it coming through the HDMI cable to the TV?

 

[Mark-P]

I've come across quite a few BDs that ONLY offer DTS-MA (with DTS-core output as well).

Marcel, does your receiver have a co-ax digital input along with the AC-3 input? It sounds like the AC-3 input is for Dolby digital bitstreaming only and won't accept a PCM signal. Years ago I had a reciever like that but it had a digitial input for PCM as well as one that was marked AC-3 that was specifically for a laserdisc connection.

If your reciever won't accept PCM signals, you will have to resort to the analog outputs for DTS-only blu-rays until you can get a new receiver.

 

[marcel101]

Thanks for the speedy replies gentlemen.

Steve, the menu audio was definetly coming from the receiver; the sound cuts out when the actual movie started. And Mark, the receiver DOES have a coaxial input as well as optical. I had my DVD player going into the coax, and my HD-PVR going into the optical connector. Both worked as expected in AC-3.

But an update; I've got audio working, but only when I select Dolby Pro-Logic II as a digital selection. Now I know this is "synthesized" 5.1, but it actually sounds pretty good. I know it's not separating it as intended, but the improved picture and extras on the Blu-Ray now might be enough for me to keep it until I can get a new receiver. But if any one has any further thoughts, I'd love to hear it!
Thanks again,

Marcel

 

[Derek Miner]

A thought - in the audio menu for the BD35, is the secondary audio option turned OFF? If it's off, I think the player sends the higher quality formats out by bitstream but the receiver won't understand that. If the secondary audio is on, it will send the various Dolby upgrades (+, TruHD) downconverted as the old-fashioned DD that the receiver can decode property.

 

[marcel101]

Thanks for the suggestion Derek. I DO have the secondary audio turned on (but I've tried it off as well). What's confusing, is that I'm expecting the same behaviour you've described. In the Digital Audio Output window it states:

"When Bitstream" is selected in each setting below (do they mean above??) with BD-Video Secondary Audio set to "On", the audio of BD-Video is converted and output as follows:
-Dolby D, Dolby TrueHD to Dolby Digital, and DTS-HD to DTS"

So what I'm afraid of is that this still seems to tell me that I need DTS!
I've got a message in to Panasonic, so if if I get a reply, I'll update.

Thanks again,

Marcel

 

[Todd Erwin]

Marcel,

You're going to need a receiver capable of DTS decoding. However, you should be able to select DTS output as "PCM" which will give you a 2-channel PCM stream that your receiver can decode and process in Dolby Pro-Logic in the meantime. Check the audio settings menu on the BD35.

The good news is that receivers capable of decoding Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-MA are becoming more affordable (currently just under $400). Keep your eyes open for deals on Onkyo, Yamaha, and Denon receivers that can either decode these two hi-res formats and/or handle multi-channel PCM.