Buying a Blu Ray player: what to watch for? (1 Viewer)

[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 ?
Thanks for explaining,
TroyH

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[Mike Frezon]

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.

 

[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 :frowning: ). 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

 

[Mike Frezon]

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...

 

[T r o y]

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

 

[Mike Frezon]

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!

 

[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

 

[Mike Frezon]

Is that drool coming from Troy's mouth?!?

 

[Ed Moxley]

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.

 

[T r o y]

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

 

[Mike Frezon]

Yup. That's drool!

j/k, Troy!

 

[T r o y]

Mike, no doubt about it..... I'm drooling...

 

[DaveF]

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...

 

[T r o y]

Hey DaveF: The seller merchant is Wholesale AV out of NY.

 

[Ed Moxley]

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.

 

[T r o y]

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 :frowning:
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.

 

[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.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

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."