HD Sound Decoding -Blu Ray or AVR??

[micjak77]

Hey Guys,

I am planning to buy a BluRay player on a trip to US. I have some questions.

Generally what is the best mode to decode the HD audio formats, should these be done by the receivers or left to the BluRay player to do, the thing is I am planning to buy Pana DMP -BD55 which has analogue 7.1 & 5.1 out so that I dont have spend more on upgrading my receiver which the good old Yammy. I am hoping that there is nothing I loose by doing this.

Also please give me any feedback that you guys might have on BD55, I see that Sony 350s is available online for as less as $150.

Peace out.

 

[TechHead]

Boils down to whose DACs are better.
The reviews I've seen of the BD55 speak very highly of the onboard DACs, so it's worth a try to use the 7.1 outputs into your amp.

Does your amp have an HDMI input?

 

[spirovious]

Its not DAC but decoders,whichever are better,opt fot that.

 

[psychotropic]

that sounds like a good idea. There is nothing that you will "lose" by doing this. Yes the component with better DACs should be allowed to do the decoding, but if you have an AVR that cannot handle the new HD formats, it's simpler and cheaper to let the BD player decode and send analog output to your AVR.

Hey Guys,

I am planning to buy a BluRay player on a trip to US. I have some questions.

Generally what is the best mode to decode the HD audio formats, should these be done by the receivers or left to the BluRay player to do, the thing is I am planning to buy Pana DMP -BD55 which has analogue 7.1 & 5.1 out so that I dont have spend more on upgrading my receiver which the good old Yammy. I am hoping that there is nothing I loose by doing this.

Also please give me any feedback that you guys might have on BD55, I see that Sony 350s is available online for as less as $150.

Peace out.

 

[micjak77]

Boils down to whose DACs are better.
The reviews I've seen of the BD55 speak very highly of the onboard DACs, so it's worth a try to use the 7.1 outputs into your amp.

Does your amp have an HDMI input?

My AVR doesnt have HDMI in/out but how will that make a difference if I decode on my Bluray and pass analogue to the receiver? Let em know if I am missing something.

 

[micjak77]

that sounds like a good idea. There is nothing that you will "lose" by doing this. Yes the component with better DACs should be allowed to do the decoding, but if you have an AVR that cannot handle the new HD formats, it's simpler and cheaper to let the BD player decode and send analog output to your AVR.

Thanks Psychotropic, this helps.

 

[venkatcr]

My AVR doesnt have HDMI in/out but how will that make a difference if I decode on my Bluray and pass analogue to the receiver? Let em know if I am missing something.

In digital form, HD Audio can only be carried through HDMI. So if your receiver does not have a HDMI IN, you have no option but to decode on the player and pass the data in 8 channel analogue format. Does your AVR have 8 analogue inputs jacks?

Decoding audio is again in the digital domain, a relatively easy task and can be done by any decent circuitry. It is in the conversion to analogue that many players and AVRs falter.

Cheers

 

[vishanv]

Folks, excuse my ignorance, are these blu ray players (BD-55, 350) multi-region?

 

[psychotropic]

nope, the only multi-region BD player available is from Momitsu, although there maybe hacks available for others.

Folks, excuse my ignorance, are these blu ray players (BD-55, 350) multi-region?

 

[micjak77]

In digital form, HD Audio can only be carried only through HDMI. So if your receiver does not have a HDMI IN, you have no option but to decode on the player and pass the data in 8 channel analogue format. Does your AVR have 8 analogue inputs jacks?

Decoding audio is again in the digital domain, a relatively easy task and can be done by any decent circuitry. It is in the conversion to analogue that many players and AVRs falter.

Cheers

Venkat, my Yamaha is a 6.1 receiver and has 7 anologue input jacks. So this shouldnt be a problem right?

 

[psychotropic]

you should happily be able to output 5.1 channel HD audio, but for the rear surround channels I am not sure how the transition from the two separate outputs of the BD player and the single input of the BD player can be handled.

But then there's hardly anyone recording anything in 7.1...so it's not a major concern.

Venkat, my Yamaha is a 6.1 receiver and has 7 anologue input jacks. So this shouldnt be a problem right?

 

[Spidey]

I hope micjak77 is aware Pansonic BD-55 blu ray player is discontinued.

regards

 

[venkatcr]

but for the rear surround channels I am not sure how the transition from the two separate outputs of the BD player and the single input of the BD player can be handled.

The seven analogue output/input are

2 x Fronts
1 x Centre
2 x Surrounds
2 x Rears

A 6.1 amplifier cannot handle this as unless you take a Y Cable and send both the Rear Left and Right to the Rear Centre.

HD Audio is mostly recorded in 7.1.

Cheers

 

[reju]

The seven analogue output/input are

2 x Fronts
1 x Centre
2 x Surrounds
2 x Rears

A 6.1 amplifier cannot handle this as unless you take a Y Cable and send both the Rear Left and Right to the Rear Centre.

HD Audio is mostly recorded in 7.1.

Cheers

I think you mean to say Eight (7.1) analogue outputs on BDP are
2 x Fronts
1 x Centre
2 x Surrounds
2 x Rears
1 x Sub woofer

Any idea why HD audio viz MLP/ DSD on DVD-A/ SACD are only 5.1?

 

[micjak77]

I hope micjak77 is aware Pansonic BD-55 blu ray player is discontinued.

regards

Spidey, in the BluRay world, the speed at which technologies are eveloving.I guess each model is upgraded may be in 6 months or so. But that doesnt render them obsolete. I am looking at at BD55 more beacuse it has 7.1 & 5.1 channel analoge outputs which means i wouldnt have to upgrade my reciever.

 

[micjak77]

The seven analogue output/input are

2 x Fronts
1 x Centre
2 x Surrounds
2 x Rears

A 6.1 amplifier cannot handle this as unless you take a Y Cable and send both the Rear Left and Right to the Rear Centre.

HD Audio is mostly recorded in 7.1.

Cheers

what happens if just leave the 2 rears as it is and not connect them. Though my receiver is 6.1 my speaker set is 5.1. And as far as I know BD 55 has a 5.1 channel anlogue output option in its set up. So that should solve the problem? What do you say?

 

[prakasse]

Hey Guys,

Also please give me any feedback that you guys might have on BD55, I see that Sony 350s is available online for as less as $150.

Peace out.

Sony 350 is better than Panasonic in terms of sound quality. And Sony can decode HD internally and can o/p 7.1 analog too.

Thanks,
Prakash,

 

[reju]

what happens if just leave the 2 rears as it is and not connect them. Though my receiver is 6.1 my speaker set is 5.1. And as far as I know BD 55 has a 5.1 channel anlogue output option in its set up. So that should solve the problem? What do you say?

Yes, setup 5.1 on BDP, and you should be fine

 

[psychotropic]

hey venkat are film soundtracks being recorded on 7.1 these days?

The seven analogue output/input are

2 x Fronts
1 x Centre
2 x Surrounds
2 x Rears

A 6.1 amplifier cannot handle this as unless you take a Y Cable and send both the Rear Left and Right to the Rear Centre.

HD Audio is mostly recorded in 7.1.

Cheers

 

[marsilians]

Hey Guys,

I am planning to buy a BluRay player on a trip to US. I have some questions.

Generally what is the best mode to decode the HD audio formats, should these be done by the receivers or left to the BluRay player to do, the thing is I am planning to buy Pana DMP -BD55 which has analogue 7.1 & 5.1 out so that I dont have spend more on upgrading my receiver which the good old Yammy. I am hoping that there is nothing I loose by doing this.

Also please give me any feedback that you guys might have on BD55, I see that Sony 350s is available online for as less as $150.

Peace out.

I suggest to go for the Pana because of its excellent downmixing capabilities from 7.1 to 5.1. The Sony also provides this capability but I found the sound quality from the Pana much more cleaner.

This way, there is also no need to upgrade your receiver as well. If you make sure to disable the HDMI audio then you will get excellent analogue reproduction from the Panasonic. Other than this, for PQ and start up and other jazz, the 2 models are comparable.

If you had a HDMI capable receiver then you could go for BD35 which is much cheaper.

Side note : Any reason you are not considering the PS3 esp. given its ethernet capabilities as well as being able to handle a plethora of audio formats?