How much of a higher bit rate am I getting via old school digital coax on Blu-ray...

[Dean L]

...compared to SD-DVD?

Forgive me if this is the wrong area to post or if it has already been discussed (I tried searching).

I am still using a 10+ year old Marantz AV9000 pre. Of course no HDMI inputs. Some movies via Blu Ray do seem to sound quite a bit fuller compared to they're SD-DVD counterparts. Just wondering how much of a higher bit rate I am getting running Blu Ray via coax over SD-DVD. Am i really missing out the sonic improvement of HD Audio via HDMI?

[steve_dave]

It depends on the release.

Most Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on Blu-ray Disc are 640kbs while their DVD counterparts generally offered 384kbs to 448kbs DD 5.1.

Blu-ray Discs with DTS-HD Master Audio tracks are going to output as 1.5mbs DTS over coaxial/optical.

Some examples:

Fight Club goes from 192kbs Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD to 1.5mbs DTS on the Blu-ray Disc.

Shaun of the Dead bumps up from the DVD's 448kbs Dolby Digital to 1.5mbs DTS on the Blu-ray Disc.

Thirteen Ghosts gets nice leap from the DVD's 384kbs Dolby Digital to the Blu-ray's 640kbs Dolby Digital.

Gladiator on DVD had a 768kbs DTS track while the Blu-ray Disc features a 1.5mbs DTS core.

Note that some releases have 192kbs to 224kbs Dolby Digital 1.0/2.0/2.0 Surround tracks on DVD while the Blu-ray Discs offer DTS-HD MA tracks with 1.5mbs DTS cores. So these also get a sonical boost.

To make a long story shorter:

If you don't have HDMI and want to take advantage of multi-channel discrete audio then you have to use the coaxial connection with lossy audio.

Yes, HD audio over HDMI is going to sound a lot better but are you ready to upgrade to it at this time?

[BStecke]

Was Fight Club's DD track really only 192kbps? That doesn't seem right.

[steve_dave]

Blast! Just checked...

Fight Club is 192kbs DD 2.0 Surround while the DD 5.1 is 448kbs.

Sorry for that error. Still the Blu-ray Disc offers a sonic upgrade to lossless DTS-HD MA with a 1.5mbs DTS core.

[tlake6659]

Originally Posted by Dean L

...compared to SD-DVD?

Forgive me if this is the wrong area to post or if it has already been discussed (I tried searching).

I am still using a 10+ year old Marantz AV9000 pre. Of course no HDMI inputs. Some movies via Blu Ray do seem to sound quite a bit fuller compared to they're SD-DVD counterparts. Just wondering how much of a higher bit rate I am getting running Blu Ray via coax over SD-DVD. Am i really missing out the sonic improvement of HD Audio via HDMI?

If your Marantz AV9000 has EXT IN analog inputs, you should use those to experience full lossless audio (Dolby True HD, DTS Master HD, PCM 5.1). Your blu-ray player would also need to have analog outputs.

[Dean L]

Yeah my Marantz has multi channel analog inputs. But my JVC Blu-ray player does not have multi-channel analog outs. Still sounds pretty damn good. Hopefully I'll have the upcoming Marantz AV7005 pre (after I see some user reviews) or an Integra pre later this year.