Official Blu-Ray Player Audio Setup Thread - All Audio Questions Go Here - Page 2

Originally Posted by BIslander

That's a good question, although I don't think it is relevant to the issue of setting up multichannel speaker systems. Bass and time management happen in the digital domain.

I'm not an audio engineer and I don't know how receivers apply surround processing such as ProLogic to analog sources. Dolby Surround and ProLogic were created for use with analog, a way to fold four discrete channels into a stereo signal. But, I have no idea how that is done, actually.

Originally Posted by SVT01LIGHTNING

very aggrevated last night.....yesterday i picked up a samsung BD-P1500 blu ray and my home theatre reciever is a samsung HT-TX72......i wanted all my connections for both recievers to be HDMI


first i had HDMI from the blu-ray to the tv(samsung PN50A550) and HDMI from home theatre reciever to tv....well with the Anynet+ feature the blu-ray would shut down the home theatre reciever so i couldnt get sound through my speakers

next i ran HDMI from the blu-ray to the HDMI IN on the home theatre reciever and then HDMI from the OUT on the home theatre reciever to the HDMI IN on the tv....it worked i got picture and sound but the picture was all stained glass looking and the colors were all distorted

finally i unplugged HDMI from the home theatre and just ran audio with RCA cables and went back to HDMI from blu-ray to the tv and it worked....is this how im gonna have to run my new blu-ray setup? im stumped i usually never have a problem setting stuff up but this one got me as this is my first blu-ray player(and free none the less thanks to circuit city)

any help would be greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by blownaway

I'm planning on purchasing a blue ray player soon.

I have a Denon AVR 5308ci receiver and the Elite Kuro 141FP 60" monitor (will be delivered in January).

I heard that the only way to hear the secondary audio track in HD audio is to have the DVD player decode all the audio. I'm not sure if this is just the case with BDLive or earlier versions of Blue Ray?

Is this correct?

Since the 5308 has it's own built in audio decoding, should I focus on simply a good transport blue ray player (oppo BDP-93 would be perfect) or would I gain anything by buying further up the chain like the Denon DVD-3800bdci or the soon to be released top end Pioneer Elite model?

If my reciver is doing all the audio and video processing, why not pick up an inexpensive BD player the likes of Sony, Panosonic, Pioneer ect....

Please help, thanks

Originally Posted by jmpage2

You are describing a handshake issue, in this case between the home theater receiver and the TV. The home theater receiver is not passing all of the information from the BD player to the TV. You will need to see what options can be set on your receiver to try to fix this, you can also try locking different resolutions on your BD player.

For example, my Yamaha Audio Video Receiver has specific settings for HDMI such as "pass through" in which case it passes everything from the HDMI device through to the display without altering it in any way.

Originally Posted by SVT01LIGHTNING

well i just messed with it a lil more and i switched the resolution to 1080i on the blu-ray player and the picture was clear....that makes me mad why wont it come in clear on 1080p? also i now dont have any audio on a movie and only 3 speakers are shown as active on my AVR....i didnt change the audio output on the blu-ray player its on PCM right now it had 2 bitstream options that i didnt mess with yet?

Originally Posted by SVT01LIGHTNING

very aggrevated last night.....yesterday i picked up a samsung BD-P1500 blu ray and my home theatre reciever is a samsung HT-TX72......i wanted all my connections for both recievers to be HDMI


first i had HDMI from the blu-ray to the tv(samsung PN50A550) and HDMI from home theatre reciever to tv....well with the Anynet+ feature the blu-ray would shut down the home theatre reciever so i couldnt get sound through my speakers

next i ran HDMI from the blu-ray to the HDMI IN on the home theatre reciever and then HDMI from the OUT on the home theatre reciever to the HDMI IN on the tv....it worked i got picture and sound but the picture was all stained glass looking and the colors were all distorted

finally i unplugged HDMI from the home theatre and just ran audio with RCA cables and went back to HDMI from blu-ray to the tv and it worked....is this how im gonna have to run my new blu-ray setup? im stumped i usually never have a problem setting stuff up but this one got me as this is my first blu-ray player(and free none the less thanks to circuit city)

any help would be greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by Mr.G

A quick check on Amazon.com reviews shows a lot of HDMI issues with your Samsung HT-TX72. According to one reviewer the HDMI IN and HDMI OUT on the receiver is NOT a pass-through. You will also want to read the other comments on Amazon.

Originally Posted by SVT01LIGHTNING

GREAT!.....just what i needed to hear lol

Originally Posted by jmpage2

The information you have is mostly correct. If the player is going to combine audio tracks such as commentary, etc, then it must do all of the decoding internally, meaning that you would want the player to decode everything itself and send it to your Denon over analog or HDMI.

You can get the Panasonic BD35 for as little as $199. It decodes all audio formats and does a good job of up scaling SD content. You would program the BD35 to send PCM to your Denon and you wouldn't be missing anything as the Denon would still adjust speaker levels, surround delay, etc, from the PCM signal coming in.

If you want superior up-conversion later on down the road you could retire the Panasonic to another television and get the Oppo BD83 when it comes out sometime in the next few months. The Oppo will have the best up-conversion for the money and will also offer some additional picture tweaks that the Panny and other budget players don't offer.

PS, I'm jealous of your TV purchase, the 60" Kuro is a gorgeous set.

Originally Posted by blownaway

Thanks jmpage2 this really helps.

I may p/u a BD35 and re-sell it then get the BD83.

OR

Pick up a used DV-983H someplace and re-sell then get the BD83

Hmmm, what about the video?

I thougth the Realta chip on my 5308 does the upconversion of SD DVD's?

If this is the case, would an oppo player do a better job of upconversion than my receiver?

Originally Posted by jmpage2

This is getting a bit out of scope of the audio thread but yes, the BD83 will contain the Reon processor that will blow your Denon out of the water.

Personally if I was in your shoes I would get a full featured BD player such as the BD35 for the time being and if you do later on desire a 2nd player retire that full featured player to another room and put the BD83 on your Kuro.

None of the current players other than the Pioneer have "source direct" which will pass native sources for all resolutions to your AVR for post-processing. You don't want the Pio either, it has no profile 2.0 support, is slow slow slow loading and has issues reading some Blu-Ray discs. The Panasonic has none of these issues.

Originally Posted by jmpage2

This is getting a bit out of scope of the audio thread but yes, the BD83 will contain the Reon processor that will blow your Denon out of the water.

Personally if I was in your shoes I would get a full featured BD player such as the BD35 for the time being and if you do later on desire a 2nd player retire that full featured player to another room and put the BD83 on your Kuro.

None of the current players other than the Pioneer have "source direct" which will pass native sources for all resolutions to your AVR for post-processing. You don't want the Pio either, it has no profile 2.0 support, is slow slow slow loading and has issues reading some Blu-Ray discs. The Panasonic has none of these issues.

Originally Posted by rto

Since when will a Reon blow a Realta out of the water?

Originally Posted by nmb3

I am in the market to buy a blu ray dvd player and I hear that Panasonic BD35/55 is the best in the market. However, I have an older receiver the Onkyo TX-DS797. The unit does not say HDMI. Should I buy the BD35 of BD55? Which cables will I need to get the greatest sound output? And will I regret the purchase if I buy a new receiver a few years from now? Can anyone recommend a better player? Thanks all I appreciate any help. But can I get away with the BD35 even though my receiver does not have HDMI? Can I hook it up through my TV and then TV to the reciever using component cables? I plan on buying a new reciever in the future but not just right now.

Originally Posted by jmpage2

My mistake, I was thinking of the Anchor Bay 2010 chip which is one of the best upscalers out there. That is the chip in the upcoming BDP83.

Originally Posted by moviegeek

I had one in my Toshiba A20 and I wasn't impressed,I would stick with a Realta.

Originally Posted by blownaway

I have a Denon AVR 5308ci receiver and the Elite Kuro 141FP 60" monitor (will be delivered in January).

I heard that the only way to hear the secondary audio track in HD audio is to have the DVD player decode all the audio. I'm not sure if this is just the case with BDLive or earlier versions of Blue Ray?

Is this correct?

Originally Posted by jmpage2

The information you have is mostly correct. If the player is going to combine audio tracks such as commentary, etc, then it must do all of the decoding internally, meaning that you would want the player to decode everything itself and send it to your Denon over analog or HDMI.

Originally Posted by mfrank1

Hi all -- I though I'd try a post here to see if anyone out there can help. I purchased a Sony CT-100 soundbar because I thought the dialog sounds were low when I connected my Sony S550 directly to my Bravia 46XBR4 via HDMI. While the sound is somewhat improved with the CT-100 (probably owing to the subwoofer), I have to play it at Max (50) to feel it's even acceptable. I tried hooking up a Panasonic BD55 to ithe CT-100, to see if my problem was sound output from the S550, but the levels were about the same, also with HDMI. Optical output is about the same as HDMI from the S550. I've considered the possibility something may be wrong with my CT-100 and wish there was an objective way to test it. Has anyone encountered a similar problem with this equipment and solved it?? Thanks so much for any help.

My S550 settings:

Audio HDMI = Auto
BD Audio = Direct
Audio ATT = Off
Dolby Digital = Dolby Digital
DTS = DTS
DRC = Standard
Downmix = Dolby Surround
48KHz/16 bit

The settings on the CT-100 are:

Sound Field = Movie
Dual Mono = Main
A/V Sync = Off
Audio DRC = Std

Originally Posted by jmpage2

Unfortunately if your AVR does not have a tru HDMI pass through then these are the sorts of issues you are going to be stuck dealing with.

I would recommend that for the time being you go optical or coax digital from your BD player to the Samsung AVR and hook up your HDMI direct from the BD player to the TV.

You will still get very good sound this way and eliminate all of the handshake problems, etc.

Alternatively if your AVR is within the return window you should return it and get something that's relatively inexpensive but good such as the Onkyo 606 which supports all lossless audio formats, offers true HDMI 1.3a pass through, etc.

Originally Posted by SVT01LIGHTNING

yea thats exactly what i did last night and now everything is working perfectly picture and sound....my tv does not say its in 1080p when u hit info/display, it just says 1080 but im assumin its in 1080p cuz i set the reso. on the blu-ray itself back to 1080p....also i now only have 3 speakers showing operative when i watched a blu ray(the front left and right and the sub)....hopefully its somethin i need to go in a menu on my AVR and changed around.

thanks for all ur help again!

Originally Posted by Avatar28

That is the same thing I got on my AVR when watching a standard DVD, though a bluray was fine when I watched it (set to the Dolby Digital track, though). What setting is your audio format set to on your BD player? I think you need to set it to decode the audio in the player instead of the receiver since you are using optical.

Originally Posted by jmpage2

Turn off DRC, since it's going to result in the player adjusting volume itself based on how loud the movie is.

You probably want to turn it off on both the BD player and Sound Bar initially.

Originally Posted by tundrSQ

Recently I have been reading that with Blu-ray units using analog connections for older AVR's that it is recommended that i would also use a s/pdif or optical cable for when watching SD dvd's...is this correct and why? And which is preferred since i have both available to me.

Thanks,

Originally Posted by tundrSQ

Recently I have been reading that with Blu-ray units using analog connections for older AVR's that it is recommended that i would also use a s/pdif or optical cable for when watching SD dvd's...is this correct and why? And which is preferred since i have both available to me.

Originally Posted by jmpage2

I'm not aware of why you would need to do this. The BD player should decode all formats it is capable of for transmission over the analog outputs if it is equipped with them.

The only exception might be an inability to mix secondary audio such as commentary with a lossless audio track.