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Help me decide!!!

post #1 of 5
1/2/08 at 1:45pm
Thread Starter 
I just purchased a Sony STR-DG810 AVR. I selected this model because it had my required 3 HDMI inputs. I have it connected to a Samsung BD-UP5000
BD/HD DVD player.

Now, I am thinking I should have gotten the Onkyo TX-SR705 that steps up to 7.1 with onboard TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio decoding.

Is this onboard decoding just a novelty to have since the Samsung decodes it internally and sends to the Sony as MPCM over HDMI? Are there any reasons to opt for bitstream output over HDMI and let the AVR do the decoding? Will BD/HD DVD players ALWAYS have internal decoding or should I go ahead and get an AVR now that will do all types of decoding?

The Sony handles MPCM just fine (when the Samsung finally supports sending it out over HDMI).

Why do the players give the option to output bitstream audio if they have the decoders built-in?

I guess it's just cool to see TrueHD lit up on the AVR display!

I can return the Sony to Circuit City and pay $350 more to get the 705.

Please help me decide!
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post #2 of 5
1/2/08 at 2:10pm
At the moment, the only way to hear a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack I know of is receiver side decoding. That's the main reason someone would want receiver side decoding. You would also need a player that can send bitstream via HDMI.

TrueHD is usually decoded and sent via PCM, and there's no theoretical advantage to receiver side decoding (no reliable one, anyway.)

Blu-ray discs (apparently) often have a PCM soundtrack. This can be sent directly, and is of the same quality has TrueHD or DTS-MA (in fact in a recent discussion, a film mixer made it very clear that the lossless compressed audio tracks he worked with were directly generated from the same data as the PCM track.)
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post #3 of 5
1/2/08 at 2:35pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the quick reply! Makes sense to me!

So, the discs that have DTS-MA require a receiver that can decode it as there are currently no players that decode it internally, right?

And, the player can extract a DD 5.1 core from the DTS-MA anyway to output to a receiver without DTS-MA decoder?
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post #4 of 5
1/2/08 at 4:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blackkat98 View Post

Thanks for the quick reply! Makes sense to me!

So, the discs that have DTS-MA require a receiver that can decode it as there are currently no players that decode it internally, right?

And, the player can extract a DD 5.1 core from the DTS-MA anyway to output to a receiver without DTS-MA decoder?

Correct. Also, remember that the STR-DG910 has 3 HDMI inputs, converts analog video inputs to HDMI (810 doesn't do this) and can be had for $250 - $300 less than the Onkyo 705.
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post #5 of 5
1/3/08 at 2:39pm
Thread Starter 
I have been thinking about the Onkyo's and the only real difference between the 605 and the 705 is 10 more watts per channel and 1 more HDMI input.

I have three devices (DirectTV HD box, Samsung BD-UP5000 BD/HD player, and XBox 360 with HDMI) all conneceted to my current Sony AVR through HDMI.

If I go with the Onkyo 605 over the 705 (and save over $300) and lose an HDMI input, would I see a drastic difference in picture and sound if I downgrade the Xbox from HDMI to component/optical? I am using an Optoma HD70 720p projector by the way. If I connect a piece of equipment via component, will the 605 pass 720p out the single HDMI output? In other words, the video aspect shouldn't change from my current setup - just the audio since I'm going to now be using optical, right?

I'm sure I should keep the DirectTV box and Samsung connected by HDMI.

I'm not sure what audio codecs DirectTV is using, so would I be better off using optical there versus on the Xbox?
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