Hello, I have a Sony BDP S300 first generation player. I just updated the firmware to 4.2 to pick up the TRUE HD Support from this player. I have played Resident Evil movie which has TRUE HD english audio. I can select the TRUE HD audio and when its connected via hdmi to my ONKYO 805 receiver I see ALL CHANNEL PCM for a second and the receiver then shows DOLBY Digital EX and the movies plays... I understand that the only way the Onlyo receivers show the TRUE HD etc is if they do the encoding from a RAW bitstream input..which my SONY S300 does not do or provide. So my question is how do I really know that TRUE HD audio is really being outputted with this new 4.2 firmware.. I did notice in the firmware notes it says you now can select TRUE HD, indicates with 3.7 fiermware you could not....I dont want to flash back just to see if this is indeed true... Anyway....I am going to sell this hummer and get a new panny bdp55 or the new SONY 355.. Any thoughts, ideas.... thanks lost33
Often times, the onboard audio decoding that players claim can be quite misleading. Especially when it comes to the HD audio formats on Blu-ray discs. You will need to read the firmware release notes very carefully. I have seen players state words like "Dolby TrueHD advanced digital out"... Which upon further investigation means that the Dolby Digital core is being extracted from the TrueHD track. Anyways, back to your problem. It would be interesting if you could quote what the firmware upgrade claims it will do for your player. Unless it can magically change your HDMI socket from v1.1 to v1.3 then I don't think that player will be bitstreaming TrueHD/DTS-HD MA anytime soon. To bitstream those audio formats you need a player equipped with HDMI v1.3, which that player does not have. I think you will find that the firmware has added onboard decoding support, meaning you can now decode the TrueHD track inside the player and send the 7.1 LPCM track to your receiver.
Here is the excerpt from the firmware notes: This utility updates the BDP-S300 firmware to version 4.20, and provides the following benefits: Improvements over firmware version 3.95: * Improves BD-Java compatibility to enhance interactivity with some BD-ROMs. * Adds Dolby® TrueHD Audio decoding functionality. Additional improvements over original firmware: * Compatibility with BD-R/RE discs burned by the Click to Disc™ and Click to Disc™ Editor software included with some VAIO® computers * Compatibility with the newly released BD-R/RE format (BDMV). * Improves BD-Java compatibility to enhance interactivity with some BD-ROMs. I guess this means that it can internally decode Dolby True HD but can not bitstream it out, due to the HDMI 1.1 limitations?? So I guess it times for a panasonic bd55!! thanks lost33
You should set your BD player to Audio - HDMI - up to 7.1. Your Onkyo will say that the audio coming is LPCM, which is true because your BD player is actually doing the decoding... I bet if you hit display on your BDP300 it might even say TrueHD... I cannot say for sure but that's how the PS3 works.
What I did try after much reading was on the bdp s300 change the setting on audio hdmi from AUTO to PCM. The Onkyo receiver now says "Multi channel" and the sound is much more robust....leaving in in auto according to many just send out dolby .... I will try the disply on the s300 but i think we are ok finally, the sound is really great now compared to the plain old dolby.. My toshiba a35 does all this rather well!! Thanks for the data lost33
If you're looking for a good, er, great TrueHD BD, give Dave Matthew's Live at Radio City a try. If that's not your cup o' tea there's always Iron Man!
Yes, but there is a difference between the player doing the decoding and it being sent to the AV Receiver as bitstream, therefore allowing the Receiver to do the decoding. With a BD Player that has HDMI v1.3 you will be able to bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA. With the right receiver (eg: Onkyo TXSR805 as the OP mentioned) you will be able to see TrueHD/DTS-HD MA displayed on the Receiver as it will be decoding the audio. The PS3 can not bitstream the HD audio formats. It can only decode onboard and send the audio as LPCM. Theoretically there is no audible difference between these two methods. However, some people like to see "TrueHD" displayed on their amp.
What I meant to say is set the BD player to PCM, so it does the decoding... because it cannot bitstream, so the Onkyo will not say TrueHD, or DTSHD-MA. BTW, which HDMI version does the PS3 have? I know it cannot bitstream HD audio, I just cannot remember off the to of my head which version it has.
Yup, and when set to PCM, the Onkyo says "Multi-Channel" and sounds really great now compared to Dolby DD. The Onkyo I have can decode TRUE HD and when I use it with my Toshiba HD-A35 it does light up!! (big smile)... Good old HD was ahead of its times...now its a loss leader...but still plays well.. Aint technology grand!! lost 33...
I thought so. In your previous post you say a BD player that has HDMI v1.3 can bitstream THD & DTSHD, I just got a little confused for a moment regarding the PS3 and it's capabilities.
I have a Onkyo 806 receiver and a Sony s301 blu ray player. If I change my settings to pcm for HDMI on the player, what do I choose on the blu ray disc? Just choose TruHD or if there is a PCM choice, should I choose that? By the way I just updated my firmware on my player to 4.30.
The Onkyo TXSR806 can decode the HD audio formats (TrueHD and DTS-HD) so you shouldn't change the HDMI audio output to PCM. You should just leave it as bitstream or raw.
Jarvis3, If you mean you have a SONY BDPS300 not a 301 (mistype?). This player doesnt bitstream anything, the latest firmware has added the internal decode of dolby True HD. So you if you use HDMI to your Onkyo like me, set the AUTO setting to PCM. this lets the SONY 300 decode and send to the receiver as PCM and you will get the Dolby True HD sound...but the light on you Onkyo will not light up with Dolby True HD. If you dont do this you will get the normal Dolby stuff. Alex
I thank you, lost33. That is what I am going to try. But I do have a Sony bdp s301. Here is the link. http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-home.pl?mdl=BDPS301
Ok, did some searching and it seems like the only difference is the 301 has an hdmi cable in the box? The firmware 4.3 seems to be the same on both. So I would leave the AUTO HDMI setting on PCM, let the S301 do the decode with the formats is can handle, and those that it cant you will get whatever comes "inside" of those down to the receiver, like good old Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1. The only way to improve on this is to upgrade to a newer BD player than can decode the high end codecs and PCM to the receiver OR Bitstream them to the Onkyo and let it do the magic. The age old question is what is better?? Let the receiver do it or the player? And this starts and has started a million opinions and posts.... Lost33
If you are going to upgrade I'd suggest the 350 model, which I believe is the next one up. It can decode and bitstream Dolby THD, and bitstream DTS HD-MA (no decode). It is currently on sale for $250 in Canada, not sure about the USA. Or you could splurge for the 550.
The BDP-S350 is certainly an improvement from the last range of Sony Blu-ray players. The start up time has improved signifigantly. To the point where it is almost as quick as a standard DVD Player. The XMB interface is a nice little touch and it also seems to handle a wider variety of burnt media (AVCHD/BD-5/BD-5). Previous models that I tested didn't seem to like playing my recoded BD-5/BD-9 discs.
Well last night I tried the little experiment. I put my Blu Ray player(Sony BDP s301) HDMI output to PCM, then I loaded Blade Runner(Chose TruHD on the discs menu)....and nothing. I expected my Onkyo 806 to at least read PCM, but all it read was something called direct. And the quality of the audio was very sub par. No dynamic range what so ever.Hardly much volume either. Very disappointing. This is with the firmware update(4.30) that I did recently. On the update page it says: Adds Dolby® TrueHD Audio and Dolby Digital Plus Audio decoding functionality. What is that supposed to mean. I even called Sony. But their support couldn't even explain what it is supposed to mean. Guess I'll just have to buy a new player to experience Lossless sound quality.
You are connecting to the amp with HDMI, right? Direct mode on the Onkyo TXSR806 means that no changes will be made to the audio stream at all. It also turns of the display and just leaves a little blue light on. Why don't you try some different modes? Maybe give the THX mode a try. That receiver is THX Ultra II certified and as such it has plenty of grunt. Far from the disappointing performance you described. I demonstrate that receiver regularly to customers and sell quite a lot of them. They are a fantastic receiver. I just think you need to calibrate your system correctly.
