7.1 mixes arriving on HD discs plus DTS-HD on HD-DVD US release (2 Viewers)

[Arthur Legardo]

That was me. The 7.1 indicator lights lit up during the New Line "intro", but during the movie my 3808 only indicated 5.1 DTS-HD MA.

 

[Shane Martin]

I wonder if this is another flag screwup much like DVD had with 6.1 tracks for a while.

 

[Shane Martin]

From my reading it appears that Onkyo's receivers don't have the issue with 7.1. Denon and Pioneer Elite do have the issue.

 

[MarkA]

I have the Hairspray Blu-Ray and it only plays 5.1 on my new Onkyo 605.
I just bought Rush Hour 3 on Blu-Ray. Are there also problems with this title not playing 7.1? Is anyone having trouble playing 3:10 To Yuma in 7.1?
I want to make sure there is nothing wrong with my equipment.
Thanks

 

[Dave Moritz]

So is everyone so far having problems with the new 7.1 encoded discs? I guess I would not be suprised if it was just the Onkyo owners reporting problems. But it looks like the problems are happening to Onkyo, Denon and Pioneer Elite owners. Now I hate to ask this, but is everyone sure there Blu-ray can output 7.1 bitstream audio? I am wondering if this might be a problem with players that are only outputting 5.1 to pcm? If not then it is just another sign that these formats are still not ready for prime time. I have no idea why the heck these formats had to be release before they where completly ready. I was so jazzed about the possibility of 7.1 lossless audio, but now it looks like we will have to wait for them to get it to work correctly. I hope this is all worked out before Lord Of The Rings hits HDM as I would hate to buy it and have the 7.1 audio not function properly. Dam I miss the days of records, cassettes and CD's where you could play it on any brand of equipment and it automatically worked!

I guess that the price we pay for so much technology being intergrated into home entertainment.

Would everyone please list brand & model of receiver and your HD player. That way we can see if there is a comon denominator in the equation or not? Or if it is a software based problem? Is it only with DTS-HD MA encoded disc or is there a problem with PCM 7.1 encoded discs as well?

I currently do not have 7.1 capability but I wanted to start building a 7.1 catalog for when I do have the ability to play these disc back in 7.1. I will list my ht configuration anyway.

My current ht configuration:
Yamaha RX-V995 5.1 Surround Receiver
Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Player
Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD Player

The Sony BDP-S300 is hooked up to the receiver via optical and 5.1 analog cables for audio and HDMI straight to the HDTV. And the Toshiba HD-A1 is hooked up to the receiver with a digital rca cable and the video is wired via component video cables. So the max I get audio wise is 5.1 on both HD players. I am currently saving up for a Denon AVR-3808ci receiver as out of all the current offerings that is the one I prefer so far. I am also looking at upgrading my Sony BDP-S300 to a Denon DVD-2500BTCI Blu-ray transport later this year. So the goal is to have 7.1 lossless audio capability by the end of 2008, at least that is the plan.

Future HT Configuration:
Denon AVR-3808CI 7.1 Receiver
Denon DVD-2500BTCI Blu-ray Transport
Toshiba HD-A35 HD-DVD Player ??? Will get something better if it becomes available ???
?? Brand ?? 150 X 3 Channel Power Amplifier

 

[MarkA]

Mine is a Panasonic DMP-BD10A Blu-Ray player and my receiver is Onkyo SR-605. Both Hairspray and Rush Hour 3 show up as 5.1.

 

[Shane Martin]

Part of the issue is the BD10a can't output bitstream audio especially on Hairspray or RH3 which are DTS MA 7.1 mixes. The users saying they are seeing it work are using an Onkyo flavored receiver with the BD30K Panasonic which CAN output DTS MA bitstream. Those with the 30k and the Pioneer or Denons are having the issue.

3:10 to Yuma if you have it hooked up right should go 7.1. The soundtrack is uncompressed PCM.

My understanding so far is the PCM discs work fine but the DTS MA discs don't and only on the Pioneer/Denon line.

 

[MarkA]

Thanks for the reply. In my manual for the DMP-BD10A it states that DTS-HD Master Audio will be output as DTS Digital Surround audio. Shouldn't it still be output as 7.1? The back of the Rush Hour 3 case says it also has 7.1 surround listed separately from DTS-HD Master audio 7.1, so I thought that would come out as 7.1 also.

 

[Shane Martin]

I don't think the core is 7.1. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey Shane,

I would not say its a Denon and Pioneer Elite problem as MarkA who has a Panasonic DMP-BD10A and an Onkyo SR-605 is having problems as well.

I picked up War on Blu-ray today and it has a 7.1 pcm track so I hope that is ok. I will not know personally until the end of the year when I have both Denon AVR-3808ci receiver and Denon DVD-2500 BTci Blu-ray player. I am not sure but I am looking at upgrading to a native 1080p 60" HDTV in 2009.


If your player is not capable of outputing DTS-HD Master Audio then it will only output the core DTS. And even if the disc is encoded at 7.1, your player might only deal with the legacy core which would be the old lossy DTS. And the original lossy DTS surround sound is limited to 5.1 channels, while the DTS-ES tracks are limited to a max of 6.1 channels. So no it wouldn't be output as 7.1 if your player can not bitstream DTS-HD Master Audio.

 

[Shane Martin]

Covered as to the reasons why above. The Onkyo isn't the issue. The BD10a can't output 7.1 DTS MA. That's the issue.

For those that can output 7.1 DTS MA and have a Pioneer Elite/Denon receiver that can decode it, they are having issues.

 

[Dave Moritz]

If for some reason it is a issue with the Denon it will only be a matter of time before they fix it with a firmware update. And that can be done via the ethernet connection on the Denon. I would rather own the Denon as there is no way I will place a Onkyo receiver in my home theater! I might consider a Onkyo rebadged HD-DVD player but not a Onkyo receiver.

 

[MarkA]

Thanks so much for the information, it's really appreciated!
I wonder if Panasonic would ever have a firmware upgrade which would add
the DTS HD Master Audio?

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey MarkA,

Is your Panasonic use HDMI 1.2 or 1.3? If it is not a 1.3 player then my guess is that there can be no DTS-HD MA firmware update. If it is 1.3 than there is a chance unless I am mistaken.

 

[MarkA]

I don't see anywhere in the manual whether it is 1.2 or 1.3.
I sure hope it's the latter!

 

[Shane Martin]

It's 1.2
I don't think the hdmi version is the problem. This is simply a chip/horsepower issue. This is why I don't think Panasonic will release a firmware.

 

[Dan Keefe]

I'm jealous..

 

[Rob Grim]

Well, I played "War" on my 3808CI through my BDP-S1 and the input signals came across in 7.1 (speaker display on the left side) and was output as 7.1. For what ever reason when I purchased Pan's I bought the BD version (don't think BB had the HD version in stock) so I can not comment on the inputting signal due to the BDP-S1 not being able to bitstream so it just pulls the DTS core track. I've been thinking about going ahead and purchasing the HD-DVD of Pan's to see how it will decode through my XA2 but just not sure I wanna spend another $30 just to verify what everyone else is stating. Like many others, I'm waiting to purchase a new BD player as soon as Denon releases it.