Connecting PS3, a projector and a Dolby THD receiver?

Question

Currently I am running a PS3 connected, via an HDMI cable, to an Epson 1080 UB projector. The sound is fed via an optical cable to a Denon receiver. It works great.

Now I want to upgrade to a receiver that will process the Dolby THD sound on BD DVDs. To that end I need to feed the receiver and the projector the same signal from the PS3. The problem is that the PS3 has only one HDMI output connector.

I have two choices:

1. Connect the PS3 to the receiver, set the receiver in the "pass through" mode and connect the projector to the HDMI output of the receiver for the 1080p video only. There is a potential problem with this solution in that the receiver may output an inferior signal to the one that came in from the PS3. I am also concerned about a problem with lip syncing.

2. Buy an HDMI 1.3 splitter from Gefen for $300-$400 and feed the output from the PS3 to the receiver and the projector simultaneously. This is a more expensive solution. Again I am not sure how good is the splitter output for decoding the THD and the 1080p video. There could be a lip syncing problem in this setup.

This is a problem that all projector owners will run into when they will want to process the Dolby THD sound. Anyone out there has any experience with this problem? Is there any other way to solve this problem?

Answer 1

Don't use your projector speaker for anything in a home theater setup. Your projector sits in the middle of the room and won't give you the correct channel separation for home theater. Dolby TrueHD (I'm assuming this is what you're abbreviation 'THD' means needs a minimum of five effects channels strategically placed around the room in a left, center, right, right-rear and left-rear configuration. Then, a subwoofer for the lowest frequencies. The projector's speaker is really for quick and dirty presentations, not for home theater.

Dolby TrueHD can only be passed using analog break-out cables (L, C, R, LR, RR & Sub) or an HDMI cable. PS3's don't have the analog cable option, so you have to use HDMI to get the signal to the projector. Go with your #1 scenario and don't worry about signal degradation. Receivers which are at least HDMI 1.1 compliant must keep the signal intact due to HDCP specs. For optimal Dolby TrueHD performance, your receiver should be HDMI 1.3a compliant; this way you could output the bitstream from the PS3 and the receiver will do the rest. Depending on your AV receiver, you may have to use PCM to get the Dolby TrueHD signal to work correctly. Either way, you shouldn't have any lip-sync issues.

Answer 2

Use option 1.

HDMI is digital. You will essentially get either a 100% accurate signal or none, so you don't need to worry about signal degradation.

Lip sync errors are reported to be due to HD video processing times being longer than audio processing. Since the video processing isn't part of the HDMI circuit whether you use the receiver as the HDMI switch or an outboard unit you are unlikely to see a difference in lip sync issues (you would need to address that issue separately should it be a problem).

So ... use the receiver and forget the outboard switcher.

BTW, if you do need an HDMI switcher, Oppo make a good unit for $100 ... so you don't need to spend "$300-$400".

Answer 3

I think if you try your first solution, you'll be happy with it. The Denon should pass the signal through without signal loss (well, very minimal). I wouldn't expect lip syncing to be a problem and it doesn't cost you anything to try it.