AC-3 vs Anamorphic

[G9logitech]

Hi Guys -

First off, im not sure if this is the right place to post this in, but this is the only forum topic that mentions blu ray formats.

QUESTION: What is the difference between AC-3 and Anamorphic formats on blu ray discs? I was about to order Casino Royale, however, the collectors disc has AC3, and the regular blu ray of Casino Royale says Anamorphic.

Thanks for your time

[jajuka81]

The 2 things you mentioned are actually unrelated.

AC-3 refers to sound (Dolby Digital)
Anamorphic refers to it being widescreen format, and enhanced for widescreen TVs.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.

[G9logitech]

thanks for the reply.

I just thought this since the AC-3 and Anamorphic where in the same area on both blu rays. I just got confused.

So, which blu ray would be better in picture quality, anamorphic in not said in the collectors edition, however, AC-3 is.

COLLECTOR'S EDITION CASINO ROYALE BLU RAY
Format: AC-3, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

REGULAR CASINO ROYALE BLU RAY
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen

thanks for your time


EDIT: i heard the older blu ray of this movie only had LPCM HD audio, but the newer version has TrueHD. Maybe this was Quantum of Solace though.

[G9logitech]

nevermind. I found out the answer. "ONLY" the collector's edition has TrueHD audio. The regular only has LPCM 5.1 audio (16 bit/48khz)

Thanks to bluray.com. Did not know this place had this option to search and get very detailed information about blu ray discs here.

Thanks BluRay.com

[DMC86X]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

nevermind. I found out the answer. "ONLY" the collector's edition has TrueHD audio. The regular only has LPCM 5.1 audio (16 bit/48khz)

Thanks to bluray.com. Did not know this place had this option to search and get very detailed information about blu ray discs here.
Thanks BluRay.com

Yea this is a very informative site.

[js666]

Originally Posted by jajuka81

The 2 things you mentioned are actually unrelated.

AC-3 refers to sound (Dolby Digital)
Anamorphic refers to it being widescreen format, and enhanced for widescreen TVs.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Correct.
oooooHHHH, I remember AC-3 back in the laserdisc days.

[hanser]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

nevermind. I found out the answer. "ONLY" the collector's edition has TrueHD audio. The regular only has LPCM 5.1 audio (16 bit/48khz)

you realize, that TrueHD does not sound better than LPCM? Both are lossless audio formats.

[KayaM]

Originally Posted by hanser

you realize, that TrueHD does not sound better than LPCM? Both are lossless audio formats.

But on Casino Royale, it does.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by KayaM

But on Casino Royale, it does.

Agreed. Even the review on this site stops short of saying it was remastered for the Collector's Edition, but there's no denying the TrueHD sound is better than the LPCM - in this case (Certainly not trying to start another debate over the merits of PCM v TrueHD v DTS-HD MA. I know they're all lossless and theoretically the same).

[G9logitech]

ok. now I am really confused. I thought I had this down to the "T".

So if LPCM sounds better than TrueHD, how should I connect my blu ray player to my receiver? Should I set my blu ray's player settings to LPCM, PCM, or Bitstream output to the receiver? (sorry I had asked this question before, but now im very confused)


When I asked this before, I was told I should output via LPCM output from my player to my receiver all with HDMI... Then I was told to output only video from HDMI and use analogue for audio and HDaudio... So what is it?

Thanks

[RiseDarthVader]

Okay let's get this straight BOTH PCM and Dolby TrueHD are in 16bit/48Khz, BOTH are lossless. Any difference heard between the 2 releases is probably the collectors edition using a new master OR the placebo effect which still does effect this sites reviewers.

So G9logitech all lossless/uncompressed audio formats are of equal quality. Now find out if your receiver decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-MA if it does then choosing bitstream or output in PCM will not make a difference in the audio quality as long as you have them connected by HDMI. Now if your receiver only decodes Dolby Digital and DTS then you should set it to output in PCM if your receiver accepts the PCM signal through HDMI.

[KayaM]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

ok. now I am really confused. I thought I had this down to the "T".

So if LPCM sounds better than TrueHD, how should I connect my blu ray player to my receiver? Should I set my blu ray's player settings to LPCM, PCM, or Bitstream output to the receiver? (sorry I had asked this question before, but now im very confused)


When I asked this before, I was told I should output via LPCM output from my player to my receiver all with HDMI... Then I was told to output only video from HDMI and use analogue for audio and HDaudio... So what is it?

Thanks

Well it all depends. For example on what receiver you've got, whether it can decode Lossless codecs internally or whether it will accept them already decoded. If you choose to bitstream over HDMI and your receiver can decode internally(TrueHD, dtsHD) then all you really need is an HDMI cable.
If your receiver lacks internal decoders(for Lossless) and your BD Player has them, then you can use the analogue outputs on your BD Player (assuming that it has them). In this instance point your BD players settings to LPCM.

[Johan1981]

Originally Posted by KayaM

Well it all depends. For example on what receiver you've got, whether it can decode Lossless codecs internally or whether it will accept them already decoded. If you choose to bitstream over HDMI and your receiver can decode internally(TrueHD, dtsHD) then all you really need is an HDMI cable.
If your receiver lacks internal decoders(for Lossless) and your BD Player has them, then you can use the analogue outputs on your BD Player (assuming that it has them). In this instance point your BD players settings to LPCM.

Well, if your receiver would have the LPCM multi-channel through HDMI feature, then you still can do without analogues on the BD-player if the BD-player you use can decode True-HD and DTS-HD MA and thus still only need an HDMI cable. To make the answer easier lol

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by RiseDarthVader

Okay let's get this straight BOTH PCM and Dolby TrueHD are in 16bit/48Khz, BOTH are lossless. Any difference heard between the 2 releases is probably the collectors edition using a new master OR the placebo effect which still does effect this sites reviewers.

So G9logitech all lossless/uncompressed audio formats are of equal quality. Now find out if your receiver decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-MA if it does then choosing bitstream or output in PCM will not make a difference in the audio quality as long as you have them connected by HDMI. Now if your receiver only decodes Dolby Digital and DTS then you should set it to output in PCM if your receiver accepts the PCM signal through HDMI.

Isn't Casino Royale a 20-Bit track?

[RiseDarthVader]

I'm pretty sure people found out it was a 16bit track in a 24bit container.

[G9logitech]

thanks guys

I have a denon 4308 and a denon 3800. Thats why some people said I should use analogue, however, some other says just HDMI with LPCM output.

So what do you guys, being very wise as yourselfs, think I should do?

Thanks

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by RiseDarthVader

I'm pretty sure people found out it was a 16bit track in a 24bit container.

I thought that was a myth. What made it look like it was in the "wrong" container was the fact that different channels can be different bit depths on Dolby TrueHD tracks... I could be wrong though... but I don't want to go back into the DTS vs. Dolby thread to find out!

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

thanks guys

I have a denon 4308 and a denon 3800. Thats why some people said I should use analogue, however, some other says just HDMI with LPCM output.

So what do you guys, being very wise as yourselfs, think I should do?

Thanks

Use HDMI, it's much easier. I am not familiar with your receivers, but I think they decode the audio and don't just do the whole "video passthrough" stuff. With analog, lots of things can go wrong. I know with multiple set ups, I've had to turn the subs up about 15db when using analog outputs (for both Blu-ray and HD DVD). Plus, I enjoy using things like THX Select2, Surround EX, Pro-Logic IIx, and a lot of receivers wont allow those things to be applied to analog inputs.

So in short, go with HDMI.

[G9logitech]

Thanks clayton. I can finally rap this up. I had asked this several times on other forums, and I just get different answers, such as HDMI jitter and stuff like that. But im sure with a good high data transfer HDMI cable this should not matter.

Thanks you so very much. It is much appreciated.

[Johan1981]

Originally Posted by G9logitech

Thanks clayton. I can finally rap this up. I had asked this several times on other forums, and I just get different answers, such as HDMI jitter and stuff like that. But im sure with a good high data transfer HDMI cable this should not matter.

Thanks you so very much. It is much appreciated.

Just buy the cheapest HDMI cable you can find, you can first see if this suits you and as most people believe is that when you use HDMI digital you won't see/hear a difference between cheap and good ones. If something goes wrong in the process, you will encounter drop outs and blocks in the picture, though I have a 10 meter cable of 20 Euro's, working perfectly fine for me!
Though the Analogue outs from your Denon BD player to the AVR can be very satisfying, I think the distortion you get from the analogue cables from your BD player to your receiver will be worse than the jitter you will get through HDMI. I have yet to experience jitter myself and am quite the picky person, it is in a lot of situation more a psychological thing than it is really true, it might be for my digital preference too of course :P.

The real big plus about using HDMI is that you can use Audyssey and you are 100% sure the bass management is done right with digital as all the processing will happen at your receiver centrally. That is my biggest argument for using HDMI in your case.
If you want to know more about this kind of stuff go here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=90 you might get way more correct info there on this matter.