Bitstream vs. Linear PCM - Page 18

Originally Posted by Teisco

Thanks but I want to know about the ps3. How do I set pcm or bitstream? There are no large or small speaker settings that I know of.

Originally Posted by iamkoza

I don't get why the PS3 wouldn't say it had a 5.1 source and called it multichannel? Is tha t by product of it not touching the audio when you bitstream? Does it not know the exact details other than it being a mutli-channel track?

Originally Posted by defdog99

Many receivers lose 8db when processing LPCM versus bitstream.

Originally Posted by defdog99

Louder isn't supposed to mean better, but to some, it does.
Especially if they have a weak receiver.

I wish my Yamaha 665 had > 100 watts of power...

Originally Posted by iamkoza

Did you mean it the other way around? My comment was the LPCM LFE was louder than when it was Bitstreamed

Originally Posted by HighdefJoe

So what's the best receiver to get for the ps3 that's in the $500 range that decodes he audio and upscales everything to hdmi 1080? I have a Yamaha that plays just fine but does not decode he audio so I run the audio from ps3 as lpcm

Originally Posted by HighdefJoe

The only issue I have is that the Wii is hooked via component, which, due to the Yamaha, requires me to also have a component along with the hdmi.

Originally Posted by confidenceman

That sounds like a drag. So you have to have component cables between your AVR and your display just for the Wii? Why is that?

If I load Rock Band 2 up, two of the lights go out and it shows as 5.1.

Originally Posted by Valence01

To make it simple, the difference between bitstream and PCM, is where the audio is getting decoded. If you choose PCM, audio gets decoded from DD5.1 or DTS 5.1 or DTS-HD or whatever, to PCM and then gets sent over the audio portion of HDMI to your receiver where it's converted from digital to analog and played over your speakers. If you choose bitstream, the audio track in DD5.1, DTS 5.1, DTS-HD or whatever, gets sent directly to your receiver over the audio portion of HDMI. There it gets decoded to PCM, converted from digital to analog and played over your speakers.

So really, the choice is simply a matter of where you want the audio decoded. In some cases your receiver may not support one or another audio format and the PS3 does. So, you would choose PCM so that the PS3 would decode the audio and send it to the receiver.

I should point out that it's quite difficult to do an objective comparison between the two, if there is ANY difference in volume between the 2 cases, as listeners invariably pick the louder one as being better sounding. Ideally, whether you chose PCM or bitstream, it should sound identical.

To your question of why the receiver is just displaying PCM instead of telling you that it's DD5.1 or DTS5.1, the receiver cannot possibly know the origin of the soundtrack that was decoded by the PS3. All the receiver can know is that it is receiving multi-channel PCM. The PS3 does know and there is an overlay menu somewhere that will tell you the format of the audio track that is currently being decoded and sent as PCM to the receiver. If you want your receiver to display DD5.1 or whatever, then you must configure the PS3 to send bitstream. Then the receiver will know what is the format of the original audio track, since in that case, the PS3 sends the audio track precisely as it is read from disk with no decoding at all.

Bitstream vs PCM applies to Bluray and SD DVDs. I don't remember offhand if it applies to games also. I would think that it does.

As to whether your receiver does multi-channel PCM or just 2 channel, I would say that you ought to be able to hear the difference. Set the PS3 to PCM and play a movie, selecting DD5.1 or DTS5.1 or something multi-channel and listen, if you don't hear anything different from the rear speakers, then assuming you don't have any post-processing (dolby prologic, etc) enabled in the receiver, your receiver does not support multi-channel PCM and the PS3 is down-mixing multi-channel to 2 channel PCM and sending that to your receiver. When the PS3 and your receiver do their HDMI handshake thing, your receiver reports to the PS3 what audio formats it supports. It's very trivial technically, to support multi-channel PCM, but I wouldn't be surprised if some receivers don't support it in which case, the PS3 is forced to downmix to 2 channel stereo PCM, if you've config'd the PS3 to do the decoding by choosing PCM. If you choose bitstream, then the PS3 will send the audio track format or your choice, but it shouldn't allow you to select a format that your receiver does not support.

P.J.

Originally Posted by gregdpw

My pioneer elite receiver is displaying PCM with all of the speaker icons lit up. I should be in good shape right??

Originally Posted by madmartigan10

is there a way to see if im getting 7.1 or not?

Originally Posted by caper_1

is there a way to remux a M2TS file with HD audio into LPCM 5.1 (or any other format) so that we can stream it from PC to PS3?
Is there any way to get HD audio from PS3 to AVR other than by using an actual BD? Thanks.

Originally Posted by redwolf4k

I'm going to bump this thead, its 45 days old but it has great information.

In the case of the previously discussed LOSSY bitstreamed vs. LOSSLESS LPCM...

I have a HTIB that accepts LPCM multi channel, up to 5.1 via hdmi, and I have a ps3 slim. The receiver can only actually decode lossy DTS and DD., so to listen to lossless audio codecs, I have to have the slim do the decoding, and output LPCM from its HDMI output.

The receiver lights up LPCM, and I can confirm with my ears that I am getting 5.1 sound. However, I toggled for a few hours, with several blu-ray titles, back and forth from LPCM 5.1 (various lossless codecs from the ps3, and bitstreamed lossy DTS and DD(the receiver does the decoding). I A/B's this for quite some time, and honestly, besides a slight difference in audio volume level, cannot tell one bit of difference between the sound quality. The receiver seems to do a better job dynamically when doing its own decoding via bitstream, which seems to be normal based on this thread's history.

Perhaps it's worth noting, that this may all be in vein for the guys running $500 and under HTIB setups. After careful testing, I almost feel I get a better experience using lossy bitstreamed DD and DTS 5.1

Before I get bashed for making that statement (which is understandable) let me explain that I am using a budget HTIB, the Sony KS370 5.1 system.

It is my opinion that unless you have pretty good audio equipment and a very trained ear, there is no reason to loose sleep over the whole issue.

If you have a good DD/DTS receiver, I wouldn't go trade it for a budget receiver that does lossless audio via decoding or LPCM.

Originally Posted by redwolf4k

I do Have it hooked up and receiving LPCM from the PS3 right now, I have tested Transformers, Transformers 2, all the LOTR discs, IRON MAN and Wall-E. All blu-ray titles.

I go into the A/V menu, while the blu-ray is playing, and toggle back and form from LPCM and Bitstream, and then confirm that the codec changes as well, when I am on LPCM, the codec the PS3 displays will be DTS-MA for example. And when I switch to Bitstream, I will see it change to plain DTS.

Am I A/B-ing the audio correctly?

I am having a heck of a time hearing any audible difference. Not in voice clarity, surround effects, music and soundtracks, I just cannot hear a difference.

Originally Posted by ballen420

You can't bitstream the HD audio codecs on a fat PS3, only on the new slims.

Originally Posted by Shadowboricua

Second that... Only Slims bitsream TrueHD and DTS-MA. You have to keep yours with LPCM and let the PS3 do the decoding.