Hello all, We watched the Pretty Woman BR tonight, and I don't think I had the audio settings right. The primary options were DD 5.1 (pretty standard) and then something called 5.1 uncompressed. Normally, the "top" audio option listed is the best, so I tried that first but the receiver display just said "all channel stereo" and not Dolby D (which it always says when doing a 5.1 soundtrack. Also, we noticed the audio just didn't sound all that good on that mode. I have some set-up options on the BR player that we've never touched...like Downmix (set to stereo instead of Surround Encoded) and PCM Down Coversion (set to "off"). Does anyone know if any of these options would have enabled the uncompressed track come through as 5.1 to our receiver? Thanks a ton in advance for your help!
What player are you using, and do you have an HDMI (HD) capable audio receiver that is hooked up to your player with an HDMI cable? In most cases BDs automatically default to the best possible audio option, in this case LPCM is the best audio and not all receivers are capable of this... so the default on the disc is standard Dolby digital 5.1. Generally you should always select the best possible audio output from the movie's menu that your system can handle... that way you know for sure. Leave the "Downmix" and "PCM down-conversion" off.
I have a Panasonic BR player and an Onkyo 5.1 receiver. I only use the HDMI for video (direct to TV) and an optical audio cable for 5.1 sound (the receiver was purchased just before the dawn of HDMI). Typically, even though most of the BR soundtracks (TrueHD, DTS 7.1, etc.) just get converted to 5.1 DD or DTS but I guess there's something funky about the LPCM audio that the receiver doesn't know how to process as 5.1. I've been thinking about trying to upgrade the receiver...if for no other reason than to increase my available HDMI inputs (the TV has 2, the receivers I've seen in the store have 3). Maybe if I run into more movies with this type of soundtrack that will give me more reason to do so! Thanks for the reply.
That's the problem right there. Full 5.1 (7.1) LPCM requires an HDMI cable to a compatible HDMI receiver that can at least decode LPCM. If you try to pass that audio track through an optical cable it's bandwidth will only allow 2 channels to pass through (left and right). With the other HD audio codecs, DTS HD-MA and Dolby TrueHD, is a standard def 5.1 track interleaved with the HD data, this is why you still get 5.1 surround with these options. This is not the case with LPCM, there is no core, or legacy audio track, just high bandwidth data that an optical cable cannto support. If you encounter another BD with LPCM as it's HD audio option you will need to select from the BD menu it's secondary audio option, which will most likely be Dolby Digital 5.1. If you are partial to Onkyo, I believe the 605 has 3 or 4 HDMI inputs and can decode all of the HD audio tracks... which is going for around $300 USD... I hear it's a good receiver.
Thank you for that thorough explanation...that makes perfect sense. We've had our Onkyo for about 4-5 years and have been pretty happy with it, but I'm not necessarily "married" to the brand. If I do go the new receiver route, what are your recommendations as far as best sound/value between the brands? Seems like I heard a lot about Denon a few years back as a good one, and the local Best Buy always has Harmon-Kardon on sale. Thanks!
Just to clarify odin24's post: When LPCM is transmitted thru HDMI, it no longer needs to be decoded by the receiver. LPCM is actually the uncompressed signal. LPCM is what you get when the disc has the uncompressed soundtrack or when the player decodes the True HD or the DTS HD MA soundtrack. The LPCM soundtrack then undergoes a digital-to-analog conversion before it's amplified.
Really, I'm no connoisseur of audio receivers. I know Denon are good, Harmon Kardon are good, I have an entry level Sony (820)... I paid $300 CDN (reg. $500) at a door crasher, I absolutely love it. I suggest doing some online research, figure out what you need and want in a receiver... and what you are willing to pay, then come up with some sort of compromise. I do know one thing though, the better your speakers are, the better your receiver should be. I suggest something that can output and decode LPCM, DTS HD-MA, TrueHD, E-AC3 (DD+), and has at least 2 or 3 HDMI inputs... most of the second gen HD audio receivers have all of these. Alot of the 1st gen receivers only decoded LPCM, which means your BD player would need to decode the DTS HD-MA and TrueHD streams and send as LPCM. What you really needs is versatility, so you're somewhat future proof.
