Im a bit confused with all of this HD Audio stuff. So help?

Question

Hey Guys . newbie here with some questions on HD Audio stuff. i read a bunch of threads about this but still confused due to probably reading too many technical jargons around. anyways i have a PS3 and Onkyo tx 605 connected thru HDMI. I read that the PS3 decodes the HD tracks like Dolby HD or DTS Master ( when implemented) before the reciever gets it. my question is what's the point on getting a reciever that can decode these codecs if the the player or PS3 is the one who will be decoding the tracks?. another one is when you watch a bluray disc with Dolby HD track. the Onkyo reciever displays "Multichannel PCM" and not the Dolby HD. does it still means that im am lisetning to the Dolby HD track of the movie?. thanks for any help you might offer. dont flame me lol.

Answer 1

First the PS3 Decodes the DTS HD but does not yet decode DTS HD Master audio. They are 2 different bit rates.....DTS HD is around 1.6 MB/s while DTS HD Master is around 24 MB/s more or less.

Because Dolby True HD is a lossless format I believe it is normal for it to appear as multichannel PCM on the receiver.

The reason why receivers are made to decode these formats as well as some players is that if you connect using HDMI you can choose to let the player or the receiver decode it. But if you have an older receiver without HDMI you can use the player's analog multichannel outputs. Most players have this...the PS3 does not however.

Answer 2

It is not that hard.

Each BD DVD has multiple audio streams, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby-HD, etc. When you use the analog out, you just get 2-channel audio. When you use the s/pdif output you can get 2-ch PCM, or 5.1 DD or DTS. When you use HDMI you can get all that, plus Dolby-HD or DTS-HD. When you watch a movie, make sure that you specify the best format for your setup; either through the BD Movie menu or your player.  Note, that not all movies may have Dolby-HD sound.

Answer 3

What Jordan said.

Answer 4

firs let me start by telling u that the best image and sound u can get is out the HDMI that u already have...so the home theater is the one ho plays wherever the ps3 tells him to...so if u ps3 says is pcm...that what the home theater will read..

the thing about ur home theater .....well i do have a sony one and when something like that happens..there is a bottom that i can press to change the audio.......like if the movie says it DST and my home theater reads is Dolby...I'm able to change it ...look for something like that in yours on check the manual......

Answer 5

Yea, so am I and I do it for a living.  HD audio is a joke, a sales pitch.  HD is a name for a video standard, and marketing person made it into something else.  You only have 2:  Analog or Digital.  Once you are past that, PCM means "Post code modulation" and is often audio that is part of the video signal, embedding into it. As far as your receiver, it would depend on input, what output it gives.  Coax (RCA type) input or optical or HDMI, and your BLUE RAY player should have a mode, which puts different TYPES of digital audio out.

Whatever you do, realize HD has to do with video signal and  not subsequent embedded audio.  Multichannel PCM is Dolby Digital: or Dolby Digital embedding onto PCM decoded into multiple channels, Not to be confused with Dolby Stereo, which is a 2 channel surround encoded matrix which only decodes into 4 channels Left, right, Center, and Mono surround. Multichannel audio has MORE then Mono surround. HDMI is a protocol which allows for copyrighted information to be seen, but not recorded, accompanied with digital audio. I don't use it, don't like it. But it is really easy, with only one wire and all. I would use the OPTICAL out and don't use HDMI for your audio to receiver, but that's just me.

Answer 6

Almost everyone is confused by this. Many assume that they are getting HD audio when they are not. It's a matter of what type of cable is being used, whether bitstream or PCM and whether appropriate decoders are available.

Rather than try to answer your question I'm simply going to point you at the best article I've found so far. It takes you step through all the formats and explains what you need to do to get the advanced audio.

It certainly helped me ... hope it does you.