DTS HD-Master Audio woes (1 Viewer)

Hey guys, maybe you can hekp me with a problem I'm having with HELLBOY II on Blu-Ray. Just popped it in the player, and the audio plays back distorted as heck!

The receiver shows PCM 5.1, but it's so distorted, its unlistenable. I normally listen with the volume of the receiver at 50 or so, but I have to turn it down to about 25 to make any sense of anything. (seems that maybe the center channel is overloading)

I'm still using the free BD unit some of us received a few years ago, the Panny DMP BD10A.

The receiver is an Onkyo TX-SR605, and the BD unit is connected to the received via HDMI cable. Any ideas? When i switch to the other audio formats, DTS 5.1, they sound just fine.

Help me Obi-Wan....

thanks,

Win

Check to be sure you have bitstream set on the blu-ray player for all surround formats.

What firmware version is your player at? I recall there was an update to version 2.5 to correct DTS playback issues on some Universal titles. The same thing could be at work here.

I would also make sure that 'DTS' and 'DTS-HD' are set to 'Bitstream', as you're only going to be able to access the DTS core from the track anyway.

Thanks for the tips guys..I checked the settings and while DTS was set to Bitstream, DTS-HD was set to PCM. I changed it to Bitstream, and now I get no audio whatsoever. Not even the spanish and french regular DTS tracks are playing now.

Ok, stop the presses...i'm officially an idiot. Before changing the settings i was watching ESPN. The phone rang, i hit mute on the remote, and forgot I did so.
Once I un-muted the receiver, i get audio.

Now i'm wondering if i'm actually getting DTS-HD Master Audio, or just regular DTS. The receiver just says DTS.

Bitstreaming means you get the DTS core of the DTS-HD track.

Actually, I think you'd oly be able to get the DTS core either way. I don't believe the BD10A is capable of bitstreaming Master Audio. Checking out the manual online confirms that: http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPER...PBD10A-MUL.PDF

I have the Panny DMP-BD10A, and I believe that I need to have my HD settings at PCM in order to get the lossless tracks since that Panny does not decode them itself if I am correct.

I have the DTS and Dolby set at Bitstream and the lossless tracks set at PCM.

I will upgrade the Blu-ray entually, but I'll never replace it since that is the only one that will play DVD-A.

So, in order to get the HD audio I have to set it to PCM, and then use what cable? 5 discrete cables, or what? Guess i'll have to update this puppy afterall.

Win

I'm looking at page 22 of my manual and it says the following, under the heading of CHANGING THE UNITS SETTINGS:

DTS-HD

Bitstream - the bitstream signal of DTS Digital Durround is output.
PCM: - DTS-HD PCM sound is output as 2 channels.

Win

I can't remember where I read it, maybe the AVS Forum, but from what I recall the Panny cannot decode The lossless codecs via bitstream, it needed to be set PCM.

You can use the analog cables or HDMI. I use the HDMI.

I read that page from the manual just now online, and it seems to read that if you select Bistream you are not going to get the lossless tracks at all, just the basic Dolby Digital or DTS track. If you choose PCM it will output in 2 channels, but I believe if your receiver can decode the lossless tracks it will convert that 2 channel into surround sound lossless..

I may be totally off the mark on that but that is what i read.

Go to AVS and search for this thread:

Panasonic DMP-BD10, 10A Setup/Tweaks/Settings Thread

I'd post the url, but AVS doesn't let you post the direct link from here.

Oh yes and as Stephen stated above the 10A will NOT decode DTS HD-MA, just DTS-HD.

I forgot something about the DTS-HD settings. If set to 'PCM', it will output any DTS-HD or DTS-HD-MA tracks as PCM, even though it can only access the core DTS track from a DTS-HD-MA.

There are some, but not many, titles that use DTS-HD. They're mostly older Lionsgate titles ("American Psycho" and "Reservoir Dogs" come to mind). The BD-10a can fully decode these tracks.

If you're only dealing with DTS-HD-MA tracks, I would set both 'DTS' settings to 'Bitstream'. Less complications that way. (Whew, confused yet?)

I hope I can use this thread to ask another question, instead of just opening a new one.
I have a Sony BDP-S350, the configurations are set correct for bitstreaming (I get dts when I select a DTS-HD MA track) but I find it to be a bit lackluster. The LFE channel isn't as deep as it's supposed to be. I read in reviews that Wall-E had some thunderous scenes, and the sub is barely noticable on my system. Also in Raging Bull one of the fights (at least on the Ultimate Edition dvd) gave some extra punch, and it just wasn't there when I watched the blu-ray. But King Kong sounded wonderfully, and The Dark Knight (no DTS-HD) sounded spectacular. Does this player has any problems with bitstreaming that some are aware of? Or do I have to play with my configurations?

If your settings on the S350 are to bitstream like this: HDMI Audio = Auto
BD Audio = Direct. Then you should be good.

Troy is correct. The S350 will only decode the DTS core, but will bitstream DTS HD MA. It does decode Dolby TrueHD, though. My receiver won't decode Master Audio, but since I didn't even have DTS until recently, I'm not complaining, especially @ the price I paid.

I checked and everything is set correctly. So, is the BDP-S350 not that good at bitstreaming, or is it something else?