Audio Problems in Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD - Blu-ray Forum

screwuhippie · 01-10-2008, 06:24 PM

Hey ... I had to go and get a HD-DVD player because Stardust/Bourne etc wasn't on Blu-Ray. I have the PS3 (which rocks) and I have the Toshiba HD-A3 (which is ok I guess but I really like the PS3 better). I have a Yamaha receiver and I have the PS3 going bitstream into it via HDMI. When I have it on standard (ie direct from PS3) it always detects DTS or Dolby or whatever and the sound is scary good. I have the HD-DVD setup the same way PCM but ... it never detects DTS or Dobly and the sound blows. Does anyone have any idea what i'm doing wrong? I would appreciate any thoughts.

nhaase · 01-10-2008, 06:27 PM

I do not know when you got your HD DVD player, but it is all but official that Paramount and Uni will be going blu soon, so I would return it and be patient.

But, to answer your question, you would probably be better served at avs.com or hd-dvd.com forums, since you will not find too many people here w/ HD DVD players. I do not have one and am not familiar w/ any settings, so I could only give bad advice on that product.

screwuhippie · 01-10-2008, 06:29 PM

Yeah I figured but they are both blocked on my work servers and i'm impatient! i'll try that when I get home. Thanks!

I got it for $170 with 10 free HD-DVD's so ... basically free. I don't mind having two players for the time being but i'll be patient on one's I can't wait on.

But i'm quite happy that Blu-Ray is finally gonna win ... I like it much better.

Thank you

WickyWoo · 01-10-2008, 06:36 PM

You set it to PCM? You need to set it to bitstream. That's why it blows, because you're only getting 2-channel stereo

jadafa · 01-10-2008, 06:42 PM

What wickywoo said. You have to set the audio in the set up for your hd-dvd to bitstream.

jorb4885 · 01-10-2008, 06:46 PM

I had this problem where i was trying to watch Underdog on Blu-Ray and the sound would be working fine until the menu screen popped up and then the sound put out. Doesn't anybody know what might be wrong? I tried other discs and they all worked fine.

julyccc · 01-10-2008, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by screwuhippie

Hey ... I had to go and get a HD-DVD player because Stardust/Bourne etc wasn't on Blu-Ray. I have the PS3 (which rocks) and I have the Toshiba HD-A3 (which is ok I guess but I really like the PS3 better). I have a Yamaha receiver and I have the PS3 going bitstream into it via HDMI. When I have it on standard (ie direct from PS3) it always detects DTS or Dolby or whatever and the sound is scary good. I have the HD-DVD setup the same way PCM but ... it never detects DTS or Dobly and the sound blows. Does anyone have any idea what i'm doing wrong? I would appreciate any thoughts.

A3 decodes True HD and DTS HD internally and pass it as PCM. you will see it as PCM in your receiver. you are getting lossless audio but your receiver show it as PCM becasue your receiver is not decoding it your HD DVD player is.

This is Normal

HD DVD players usually decode lossless audio. the only one that I know that bitstreams is A-35

I don't think you can bitstream it in A3.

julyccc · 01-10-2008, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jadafa

What wickywoo said. You have to set the audio in the set up for your hd-dvd to bitstream.

Not all HD DVD player support bitstream.

some will decode it internally and pass it as PCM to the receiver.

WickyWoo · 01-10-2008, 07:14 PM

He said dd and DTS, so I'm assuming he's referring to the vanilla codecs and not THD/DTS HDMA

screwuhippie · 01-10-2008, 07:36 PM

See thats what I thought ... I figured the PCM stream was the actual decoding playing from the Toshiba ... why does it sound so much crappier then the bitstream-lossless transfer from the PS3? That just rocks! This just sounds hollow and flat. It showing as PCS from the A3 (which you said) and I have it set to Auto on the audio ... I guess is that just the way it is or ... is that why HD-DVD sucks? It does have all the channels coming through so ... maybe my expectations are just to high.

Thanks for the tips/tricks guys. You confirmed what I suspected.

jeremyr · 01-11-2008, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by screwuhippie

See thats what I thought ... I figured the PCM stream was the actual decoding playing from the Toshiba ... why does it sound so much crappier then the bitstream-lossless transfer from the PS3? That just rocks! This just sounds hollow and flat. It showing as PCS from the A3 (which you said) and I have it set to Auto on the audio ... I guess is that just the way it is or ... is that why HD-DVD sucks? It does have all the channels coming through so ... maybe my expectations are just to high.

Thanks for the tips/tricks guys. You confirmed what I suspected.

Just make sure you have it set to auto on your A3 and you're fine. It will allow the player to decode TrueHD and send it PCM to your receiver, and if you put in a DVD that's not TrueHD, it will bitstream the signal to your receiver for it to decode. I dont' know what you're hearing that sounds different.. TrueHD on an HD-DVD is going to be the same as TrueHD on a Blu-ray. Maybe a setting in your receiver?

Manco · 01-11-2008, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

He said dd and DTS, so I'm assuming he's referring to the vanilla codecs and not THD/DTS HDMA

See guys. Never try to out smart WickyWoo.

kingofgrills · 01-11-2008, 06:12 PM

If his receiver has HDMI inputs that pass audio, wouldn't he be better off setting both the PS3 and (gasp) HD-DVD players to pass linear PCM via HDMI?

There's no point to sending Bitstream via HDMI, because he'll just pick up the lossy DTS and Dolby Digital soundtracks. If he wants to benefit from the lossless audio tracks, he'll need his PS3 or HD-DVD player to decode the track and send it as linear PCM.

The bitstream track may sound better to you right now, but louder doesn't necessarily mean better. With linear PCM lossless tracks, the sound should seem fuller and smoother sounding, but it will probably be quieter than a lossy track at the same volume setting on the receiver.

Just set it to linear PCM, turn up the volume, and enjoy. The extended frequency range on your Yamaha receiver will sound phenomenal. Just make sure you have a proper movie setting (General, Adventure, Sci-Fi, etc.) and set the extended surround on to incoroporate the back surround channel.

Warjack Prime · 01-12-2008, 04:51 PM

King of Grills is right. I have the HD-A30 and have no choice but to let my Toshy decode and send the signals via PCM to my Denon 3808CI. When I first did this I thought the sound sucked, but it turns out the volume just needed to be turned up. Crank it up and you'll be surprised how good it sounds.

In my opinion you're better off letting your PS3 decode and send the audio via PCM to your receiver if you have a newer, quality receiver. The PS3 can't send lossless audio via bitstream anyway so you might as well just do everything via PCM. I know it sucks not having the Dolby TrueHD light illuminate on your receiver, but them's the breaks.

01-10-2008, 06:24 PM	#1
screwuhippie Member Member since:Dec 2007	Audio Problems in Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD Hey ... I had to go and get a HD-DVD player because Stardust/Bourne etc wasn't on Blu-Ray. I have the PS3 (which rocks) and I have the Toshiba HD-A3 (which is ok I guess but I really like the PS3 better). I have a Yamaha receiver and I have the PS3 going bitstream into it via HDMI. When I have it on standard (ie direct from PS3) it always detects DTS or Dolby or whatever and the sound is scary good. I have the HD-DVD setup the same way PCM but ... it never detects DTS or Dobly and the sound blows. Does anyone have any idea what i'm doing wrong? I would appreciate any thoughts.

01-10-2008, 06:29 PM	#3
screwuhippie Member Member since:Dec 2007	Thanks Yeah I figured but they are both blocked on my work servers and i'm impatient! i'll try that when I get home. Thanks! I got it for $170 with 10 free HD-DVD's so ... basically free. I don't mind having two players for the time being but i'll be patient on one's I can't wait on. But i'm quite happy that Blu-Ray is finally gonna win ... I like it much better. Thank you

01-10-2008, 07:36 PM	#10
screwuhippie Member Member since:Dec 2007	Ah! See thats what I thought ... I figured the PCM stream was the actual decoding playing from the Toshiba ... why does it sound so much crappier then the bitstream-lossless transfer from the PS3? That just rocks! This just sounds hollow and flat. It showing as PCS from the A3 (which you said) and I have it set to Auto on the audio ... I guess is that just the way it is or ... is that why HD-DVD sucks? It does have all the channels coming through so ... maybe my expectations are just to high. Thanks for the tips/tricks guys. You confirmed what I suspected.

01-12-2008, 04:51 PM	#14
Warjack Prime Senior Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:*Omaha, NE USA PSN Network: WarjackPrime Blu-ray collection:172 Trading Score:2	Just PCM it! King of Grills is right. I have the HD-A30 and have no choice but to let my Toshy decode and send the signals via PCM to my Denon 3808CI. When I first did this I thought the sound sucked, but it turns out the volume just needed to be turned up. Crank it up and you'll be surprised how good it sounds. In my opinion you're better off letting your PS3 decode and send the audio via PCM to your receiver if you have a newer, quality receiver. The PS3 can't send lossless audio via bitstream anyway so you might as well just do everything via PCM. I know it sucks not having the Dolby TrueHD light illuminate on your receiver, but them's the breaks.

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01-10-2008, 06:27 PM	#2
nhaase Special Member Member since:Mar 2007 Trading Score:2	I do not know when you got your HD DVD player, but it is all but official that Paramount and Uni will be going blu soon, so I would return it and be patient. But, to answer your question, you would probably be better served at avs.com or hd-dvd.com forums, since you will not find too many people here w/ HD DVD players. I do not have one and am not familiar w/ any settings, so I could only give bad advice on that product.

01-10-2008, 06:36 PM	#4
WickyWoo Blu-ray Champion Member since:May 2007 Trading Score:2	You set it to PCM? You need to set it to bitstream. That's why it blows, because you're only getting 2-channel stereo

01-10-2008, 06:42 PM	#5
jadafa Member Member since:May 2007	What wickywoo said. You have to set the audio in the set up for your hd-dvd to bitstream.

01-10-2008, 06:46 PM	#6
jorb4885 Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Austin,TX Blu-ray collection:134	I had this problem where i was trying to watch Underdog on Blu-Ray and the sound would be working fine until the menu screen popped up and then the sound put out. Doesn't anybody know what might be wrong? I tried other discs and they all worked fine.

01-10-2008, 07:14 PM	#9
WickyWoo Blu-ray Champion Member since:May 2007 Trading Score:2	He said dd and DTS, so I'm assuming he's referring to the vanilla codecs and not THD/DTS HDMA

01-11-2008, 06:12 PM	#13
kingofgrills Blu-ray Guru Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Dec 2007 Location:PDX Home Theater Gallery:31 4K collection:5 Blu-ray collection:81 Trading Score:31	If his receiver has HDMI inputs that pass audio, wouldn't he be better off setting both the PS3 and (gasp) HD-DVD players to pass linear PCM via HDMI? There's no point to sending Bitstream via HDMI, because he'll just pick up the lossy DTS and Dolby Digital soundtracks. If he wants to benefit from the lossless audio tracks, he'll need his PS3 or HD-DVD player to decode the track and send it as linear PCM. The bitstream track may sound better to you right now, but louder doesn't necessarily mean better. With linear PCM lossless tracks, the sound should seem fuller and smoother sounding, but it will probably be quieter than a lossy track at the same volume setting on the receiver. Just set it to linear PCM, turn up the volume, and enjoy. The extended frequency range on your Yamaha receiver will sound phenomenal. Just make sure you have a proper movie setting (General, Adventure, Sci-Fi, etc.) and set the extended surround on to incoroporate the back surround channel.

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