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Official Panasonic DMP-BD35/55 Owners Thread - Page 492

post #14731 of 14894
2/22/12 at 1:31pm
Mongol is one of the few Blu's that only has a DD track. You lucked out there. Your settings otherwise appear OK
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post #14732 of 14894
2/22/12 at 1:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luisfc1972 View Post

thanks

i just got a denon1712 andwant to listen to hd audio for the first time. the only bluray i have is Mongol. when i press top menu it does take me to a menu but it doesnt have audio option, just play movie or scene selection.anyhow all im getting is regular dolby d

in the 35 i put it to bitstream and turned secondary audio off. isnt that all i need to do to get hd audio?

I think so, as long as you are using HDMI connection.
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post #14733 of 14894
2/22/12 at 8:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luisfc1972 View Post

in the 35 i put it to bitstream and turned secondary audio off. isnt that all i need to do to get hd audio?

Just turn off secondary audio. Bitstream doesn't matter. With PCM, the player does the decoding. With bitstream, the AVR does the decoding. You get the same audio either way.
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post #14734 of 14894
2/22/12 at 8:36pm
BIslander,

When I can, I let the receiver do the decoding. It has more information about the speakers (from the Audyssey calibration) and can do more advanced decoding/processing.
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post #14735 of 14894
2/22/12 at 9:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BIslander View Post

Just turn off secondary audio. Bitstream doesn't matter. With PCM, the player does the decoding. With bitstream, the AVR does the decoding. You get the same audio either way.

correct me if im wrong. after all my reading here, the reason i chose bitstream is the avr will display the actual audio that is playing. also, supposedly, choosing bitstream sounds better and is louder. if i chose pcm, the receiver will display multi channel something or other and wont sound as good.
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post #14736 of 14894
2/23/12 at 1:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luisfc1972 View Post

correct me if im wrong. after all my reading here, the reason i chose bitstream is the avr will display the actual audio that is playing. also, supposedly, choosing bitstream sounds better and is louder. if i chose pcm, the receiver will display multi channel something or other and wont sound as good.

You're right with the first and third things, and wrong with the second and last.

Yes, if you set bitstream, the AVR does the decoding, so it shows you what format and just looks neat while doing it. But if the player does the decoding and sends it PCM, the decoded stream is not actually "different"... it just displays differently on the AVR since it no longer matters what codec was used, once "unzipped" it's just multi-channel audio, so that's what the AVR displays. No matter which device decodes the audio stream, the end audio stream should be the same.

But people like seeing those "TrueHD" and "DTS-MA" lights, cuz they're cool, and that ability is one reason why we buy nice AVRs, so may as well show it off. The sound should be no different.*

(* the one exception would be the occasional and rare disc with a stream that one device or the other has trouble decoding... unless there is actual damage to the disc, sometimes switching methods for that one disc can help save the day)
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post #14737 of 14894
2/23/12 at 4:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by originalsnuffy View Post

BIslander,

When I can, I let the receiver do the decoding. It has more information about the speakers (from the Audyssey calibration) and can do more advanced decoding/processing.

No, decoding is from digital to digital.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalani View Post


(* the one exception would be the occasional and rare disc with a stream that one device or the other has trouble decoding

Decoding is exactly the same no matter where it is done as per Dolby and DTS license.
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post #14738 of 14894
2/23/12 at 6:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by originalsnuffy View Post

BIslander,

When I can, I let the receiver do the decoding. It has more information about the speakers (from the Audyssey calibration) and can do more advanced decoding/processing.

Audyssey is applied to the PCM after decoding. It happens the same way regardless of where the decoding is done.

Decoding is really nothing more than unzipping a file that was compressed to save space. AVR and player decoding both produce identical PCM and Audyssey is applied the same way regardless of the source.

The only exception is with some AVRs that lack the processing power to decode and use Audyssey at the same time. With those receivers, it is better to decode in the player so that the AVR can do the Audyssey adjustments.
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post #14739 of 14894
2/23/12 at 7:24am
In (Red)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luisfc1972 View Post

the reason i chose bitstream is the avr will display the actual audio that is playing. (Yes)
also, supposedly, choosing bitstream sounds better (No)
and is louder (It might be. If so, simply turn up the volume when decoding in the player for PCM output.)
if i chose pcm, the receiver will display multi channel something or other (Yes) and wont sound as good. (No)

If you want to see the HD codecs displayed on your AVR, use bitstream. That's the only difference, except perhaps for volume, which is simple to adjust.
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post #14740 of 14894
2/23/12 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

No, decoding is from digital to digital.

Decoding is exactly the same no matter where it is done as per Dolby and DTS license.

Read what I wrote more carefully. The examples I was citing are situations like the Star Wars blu-rays, where people had audio drop outs playing bitstream to their AVRs but they played fine when letting the players do the decoding. These things happen. Check the SW BR thread if you don't believe me... and many other examples abound.

It's not a common occurrence, but it does happen often enough to be more than just a freak occurrence. And it has NOTHING to do with licensing.
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post #14741 of 14894
2/23/12 at 10:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalani View Post

Things things happen.

Write what you write more carefully.

What I wrote is correct.
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post #14742 of 14894
2/23/12 at 11:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

Write what you write more carefully.

What I wrote is correct.

Really? An obvious typo is your justification for a complete non-sequitur against a quote of mine?

I wrote:

Quote:


(* the one exception would be the occasional and rare disc with a stream that one device or the other has trouble decoding)

And you wrote in response:

Quote:


Decoding is exactly the same no matter where it is done as per Dolby and DTS license.

Which is not wrong as a standalone statement, but which is utterly irrelevant as a response to what I wrote. I wrote about AN ERROR in the decoding process, by one device or another. This happens. Should it? No. Does it? Yes. Demonstrations abound. What on earth does that have to do with licensing? Answer: Nothing.
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post #14743 of 14894
2/23/12 at 4:49pm
Kalani is correct about DTS bombs, which are known to affect some equipment.

There may also be differences in the decoders. Players with DTS Master Audio Essential decoders, for example, will have limitations with some matrix encoded soundtracks that can be better handled by fully functional DTS Master Audio decoders in other equipment.

But, aside from those kinds of unusal circumstances, it doesn't matter whether decoding is done in a player or receiver. The resulting PCM will be the same either way.
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post #14744 of 14894
3/19/12 at 8:31am
I purchased the BD55 in 2008. It's been a pretty solid player for me for the most part. Recently over the past few months I've encountered several problems with it. For some reason it is unable to read certain blu rays that it could before. Namely Star Trek The Original Series blu rays. It just won't load them. It makes noise and then just stops or gives an error message. I also just tried Spellbound blu ray on it last night and again it did the same thing. It tries to read and then just gives an error message and stops. It does continue to play DVD's, however last night it gave me some fits on a DVD disc as well. I ended up ejecting the disc and then put it back in and then it did read it ok.

I don't think it's a software issue, but I did update the software sometime ago. I'm having trouble verifying what version the player is currently using. As I am having problems with DVD's and blu rays I don't think this is the issue.

Any ideas on the issue? It must just be giving out or possibly need serviced? I'm pretty bummed with the issues with it considering it's age.

Thanks for the help!
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post #14745 of 14894
3/19/12 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by THSS View Post

I purchased the BD55 in 2008. It's been a pretty solid player for me for the most part. Recently over the past few months I've encountered several problems with it. For some reason it is unable to read certain blu rays that it could before. Namely Star Trek The Original Series blu rays. It just won't load them. It makes noise and then just stops or gives an error message. I also just tried Spellbound blu ray on it last night and again it did the same thing. It tries to read and then just gives an error message and stops. It does continue to play DVD's, however last night it gave me some fits on a DVD disc as well. I ended up ejecting the disc and then put it back in and then it did read it ok.

I don't think it's a software issue, but I did update the software sometime ago. I'm having trouble verifying what version the player is currently using. As I am having problems with DVD's and blu rays I don't think this is the issue.

Any ideas on the issue? It must just be giving out or possibly need serviced? I'm pretty bummed with the issues with it considering it's age.

Thanks for the help!

The story with these units is that their blue laser (for blu-rays) dies after a while, some more quickly than others. The red laser (for dvds and cds) usually keeps going for longer. Service it or replace it with today's equivalent of a brand new, perkier, unit (good chance it would also cost less to do so than it would cost to repair the aging '55.)

You could try updating to the latest firmware and see if that makes any difference, but since your discs used to play before, it's likely just a hardware issue. Numerous cases of dead blue lasers in this thread.
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post #14746 of 14894
3/19/12 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by fmalczewski View Post

The story with these units is that their blue laser (for blu-rays) dies after a while, some more quickly than others. The red laser (for dvds and cds) usually keeps going for longer. Service it or replace it with today's equivalent of a brand new, perkier, unit (good chance it would also cost less to do so than it would cost to repair the aging '55.)

You could try updating to the latest firmware and see if that makes any difference, but since your discs used to play before, it's likely just a hardware issue. Numerous cases of dead blue lasers in this thread.

Thank you. Disappointing that there are numerous cases of the blue lasers going dead!!.

My player is working still. I'm watching a DVD right now. I can play certain blu rays (like Star Wars films), but others (Star Trek the Original series and Spellbound) it won't play. I've also had issues with both DVD and blu ray playback with freezing and almost skipping.

Well. I may have just bought my last Panasonic item. I have an Oppo DVD player from 2006 that is running just fine. It may be a matter of getting what you pay for in terms of quality huh?

I really appreciate the feedback and input.
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post #14747 of 14894
3/19/12 at 11:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by THSS View Post

I purchased the BD55 in 2008. It's been a pretty solid player for me for the most part. Recently over the past few months I've encountered several problems with it. For some reason it is unable to read certain blu rays that it could before. Namely Star Trek The Original Series blu rays. It just won't load them. It makes noise and then just stops or gives an error message. I also just tried Spellbound blu ray on it last night and again it did the same thing. It tries to read and then just gives an error message and stops. It does continue to play DVD's, however last night it gave me some fits on a DVD disc as well. I ended up ejecting the disc and then put it back in and then it did read it ok.

I don't think it's a software issue, but I did update the software sometime ago. I'm having trouble verifying what version the player is currently using. As I am having problems with DVD's and blu rays I don't think this is the issue.

Any ideas on the issue? It must just be giving out or possibly need serviced? I'm pretty bummed with the issues with it considering it's age.

Thanks for the help!


Before you replace it or send it for repair, I would recoomend trying to clean the player's lens with one of those BD/DVD cleaners. Maybe that'll help. This happened to me before on my old Sony BD player and cleaning it fixed the problem.
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post #14748 of 14894
3/19/12 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by THSS View Post

Thank you. Disappointing that there are numerous cases of the blue lasers going dead!!.

My player is working still. I'm watching a DVD right now. I can play certain blu rays (like Star Wars films), but others (Star Trek the Original series and Spellbound) it won't play. I've also had issues with both DVD and blu ray playback with freezing and almost skipping.

Well. I may have just bought my last Panasonic item. I have an Oppo DVD player from 2006 that is running just fine. It may be a matter of getting what you pay for in terms of quality huh?

I really appreciate the feedback and input.

If you think through what you just wrote: The red lasers are known to be long-lived, from almost all manufacturers, short of some aberrant bad batch. It's the BLUE lasers, especially in the early model blu-ray players, that can have issues. If you had an Oppo blu-ray from that same era, then it would be a valid comparison.

At any rate, you can buy THREE Panasonic BR players ($135 for the excellent new Panny 220 model at Amazon right now) for the cost of ONE Oppo BD93 ($500), and still have nearly $100 left over. Oppo is excellent, no doubt, but excellence costs, and on a BR, the PQ is not $365 better, IMO.

If you do some research, I believe you'll discover that the general consensis puts Panasonic Blu ray players among the very best of the consumer-grade BR players. Most people put them second only to top tier players like Oppo.
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post #14749 of 14894
3/20/12 at 7:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalani View Post

At any rate, you can buy THREE Panasonic BR players ($135 for the excellent new Panny 220 model at Amazon right now) for the cost of ONE Oppo BD93 ($500), and still have nearly $100 left over.

Do any of those new blue ray players have multi-channel audio outputs? If my BD55 ever dies, I would need to find a new one that does.
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post #14750 of 14894
3/20/12 at 8:23am
^Another output modern players often lack is component video, or if they do, they will eventually be, lets say,"compelled" to downrez its output to SD, not HD.
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post #14751 of 14894
3/20/12 at 10:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by m. zillch View Post

they legally have been required to downrez its output to SD, not HD.

What law is that?
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post #14752 of 14894
3/20/12 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jay214128 View Post

Do any of those new blue ray players have multi-channel audio outputs? If my BD55 ever dies, I would need to find a new one that does.

The DMP-BDT500 will have both twin HDMI outputs as well as multi-channel audio outputs. It's scheduled to be released in May.
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post #14753 of 14894
3/20/12 at 11:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

What law is that?

Don't recall exactly the "law", but here's a link I found via google that describes at least part of the impact of it: Copy protection kills Blu-ray HD component video jacks. The '35 and '55 predate these restrictions, so any firmware updates for them in particular shouldn't mess with the capabilities of their component outputs. It's just the more recently manufactured players that will be, or already are, crippled.
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post #14754 of 14894
3/20/12 at 11:16am
deleted and rewritten below
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post #14755 of 14894
3/20/12 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

What law is that?

OOps. Did I originally write the word "legally"? That implies a law, whereas what I meant was "AACS licensing compliance", which all brands of bluray players I am aware of adhere to.

I have corrected my post.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20042864-1.html
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post #14756 of 14894
3/20/12 at 11:36am
Yep, more like an "agreement" than a law.
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post #14757 of 14894
3/20/12 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary J View Post

Yep, more like an "agreement" than a law.

It's similar to a law in its effects, but it was written directly by entertainment industry lawyers instead of by our elected representatives.
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post #14758 of 14894
3/20/12 at 12:07pm
Yeah my wifes' Kindle is similar to my iPad.
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post #14759 of 14894
3/29/12 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cortiz View Post

Before you replace it or send it for repair, I would recoomend trying to clean the player's lens with one of those BD/DVD cleaners. Maybe that'll help. This happened to me before on my old Sony BD player and cleaning it fixed the problem.

Thanks for the feedback. I updated the software and it seems to be doing the trick for now. Very interesting that it is able to play the discs that it could not before.

I'm still puzzled why the Star Trek ones worked fine then started having problems?

Anyway. Glad it's working again.
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post #14760 of 14894
4/8/12 at 3:36pm
so with my new hd audio receiver and pannasonic 35 i just watched sunshine on blu ray. not sure why people say they cant tell a difference but hd dts did sound better and cleaner than the regular dts.

my question is if i want to watch a regular dvd with the 35, do i turn secondary audio back on to get regular dolby d and dts?

i had to turn secondary audio off to get hd audio
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