blu-ray and 7.1 audio experts go here please....

[sho89mtx]

I just bought myself a Sony Blu-ray player and I already have a dolby digital 7.1 1000W sound system from a couple years ago and my tv is about a 2 year old, Mits 1080i HDTV. So since I don't have an HDMI port on my tv, I went and bought a HDMI to DVI cable and connected my blu-ray player to that. Now for the audio part I have an Optical cable connected to the blu-ray player to my audio receiver. I was reading in the blu-ray guide though that I can't get 7.1 dolby digital without an HDMI cable for the audio. So does that mean I need a newer 1080p HDTV with hdmi ports and a HMDI receiver in order to play 7.1 audio on my blue-ray player or just one of those options? I hope I explained it well enough.

[turboLAZER]

Originally Posted by sho89mtx

I just bought myself a Sony Blu-ray player and I already have a dolby digital 7.1 1000W sound system from a couple years ago and my tv is about a 2 year old, Mits 1080i HDTV. So since I don't have an HDMI port on my tv, I went and bought a HDMI to DVI cable and connected my blu-ray player to that. Now for the audio part I have an Optical cable connected to the blu-ray player to my audio receiver. I was reading in the blu-ray guide though that I can't get 7.1 dolby digital without an HDMI cable for the audio. So does that mean I need a newer 1080p HDTV with hdmi ports and a HMDI receiver in order to play 7.1 audio on my blue-ray player or just one of those options? I hope I explained it well enough.

first, the type of tv you have has nothing to do with your audio setup.

dolby digital 7.1 does not exist

the only way to get discrete 7.1 audio with blu-ray is with the following:

uncompressed PCM 7.1
DTS HD Master Audio 7.1
Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (but honestly can't think of a single blu-ray that uses this, anything with Dolby TrueHD is almost always in 5.1)

to get these 7.1 audio codecs you'll need:

1) a Blu-ray player that decodes(with HDMI or 7.1 analog outputs) or bitstreams(with HDMI) these codecs

2) and an A/V receiver with 7.1 analog inputs, HDMI repeater, or internal decoding

as long as you get an A/V receiver with internal decoding of DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 or Dolby TrueHD 7.1 you shouldn't have any problems

[BACsader]

The Nightmare Before Christmas has a 7.1 DolbyTrueHD track.

[turboLAZER]

Originally Posted by BACsader

The Nightmare Before Christmas has a 7.1 DolbyTrueHD track.

thanks for the info, i edited my last post so it's little less definitive

[BACsader]

It's fine, I just had to put my two cents in.

[turboLAZER]

looks like Nightmare Before Christmas is the only Dolby TrueHD 7.1

http://www.blu-raystats.com/Stats/Stats.php ---->7.1 filter

[sho89mtx]

Originally Posted by turboLAZER

first, the type of tv you have has nothing to do with your audio setup.

dolby digital 7.1 does not exist

the only way to get discrete 7.1 audio with blu-ray is with the following:

uncompressed PCM 7.1
DTS HD Master Audio 7.1
Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (but honestly can't think of a single blu-ray that uses this, anything with Dolby TrueHD is almost always in 5.1)

to get these 7.1 audio codecs you'll need:

1) a Blu-ray player that decodes(with HDMI or 7.1 analog outputs) or bitstreams(with HDMI) these codecs

2) and an A/V receiver with 7.1 analog inputs, HDMI repeater, or internal decoding

as long as you get an A/V receiver with internal decoding of DTS HD Master Audio 7.1 or Dolby TrueHD 7.1 you shouldn't have any problems

well now i'm even more confused, I have an Onkyo ht R530 7.1 1000w receiever, no HDMI inputs though and my blu-Ray player is the Sony bdpx1. So I don't need a new tv, i can use the DVI jack on my 1080i then? What receiver would u suggest that's relatively cheap that will do 7.1 because I already have great speakers and a good sub, don't need a whole new package just a receiver then?
also what about this multi-channel input that I have on the back of my receiver, does that do anything?

[Big Daddy]

Buy an Onkyo 606 receiver. It is very good and very cheap.

[Driver_King]

Read.

[sho89mtx]

k, guys thanks for the info, but what about my multi-channel hookups in the back, should i hook them up to my sony blu-ray player or not? Does an optical cable do the same thing?

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by turboLAZER

Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (but honestly can't think of a single blu-ray that uses this, anything with Dolby TrueHD is almost always in 5.1)

The Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney Studios; is the ONLY Dolby True HD 7.1 track at this point.

[andyman1970]

Originally Posted by sho89mtx

k, guys thanks for the info, but what about my multi-channel hookups in the back, should i hook them up to my sony blu-ray player or not? Does an optical cable do the same thing?

You can not get the HD soundtracks with an optical cable. You only get the core (basic) Dolby Digital and DTS. If you want to experience the full benefit of HD soundtracks like Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio you will need a receiver that has an HDMI input and preferably internal decoders like the Onkyo 606 that was mentioned. You can run 1 HDMI cable from the Blu-ray player to the receiver then the HDMI to DVI cable from the receiver to the TV.

[SlmShdy1]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

You can not get the HD soundtracks with an optical cable. You only get the core (basic) Dolby Digital and DTS.

Not exactly true. You can get HD audio from an optical cable, but only 2 channels.

Originally Posted by andyman1970

If you want to experience the full benefit of HD soundtracks like Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio you will need a receiver that has an HDMI input and preferably internal decoders like the Onkyo 606 that was mentioned.

Not exactly true, either. I tried reading up on that particular player and it looks like it decodes Dolby TrueHD, but it mentions nothing about DTS-HD (HR or MA). So you don't need a receiver with the HD decoders if you send the audio PCM, but you do need something with HDMI because it doesn't look like your player has analog outputs.

Now, I also looked up your receiver and it only has 5.1 analog inputs. So if you upgraded your player to something with analog outputs, you could still only get 5.1 uncompressed sound. I'm a little confused as to why it's a 7.1 system if there's no way to get 7.1 sound unless you use one of the sound settings to matrix a 5.1 signal into a 7.1 signal.

You know, the easiest choice would be just to buy a new receiver if you want full 7.1 uncompressed audio.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by sho89mtx

I just bought myself a Sony Blu-ray player and I already have a dolby digital 7.1 1000W sound system from a couple years ago and my tv is about a 2 year old, Mits 1080i HDTV. So since I don't have an HDMI port on my tv, I went and bought a HDMI to DVI cable and connected my blu-ray player to that. Now for the audio part I have an Optical cable connected to the blu-ray player to my audio receiver. I was reading in the blu-ray guide though that I can't get 7.1 dolby digital without an HDMI cable for the audio. So does that mean I need a newer 1080p HDTV with hdmi ports and a HMDI receiver in order to play 7.1 audio on my blue-ray player or just one of those options? I hope I explained it well enough.

Model number of your receiver and model number of your BD player please?

[sho89mtx]

Originally Posted by prerich

Model number of your receiver and model number of your BD player please?

Onky HD R530 Reciver
Sony Blu-ray BDP-bX1

[sho89mtx]

also....so since i have my optical cable hooked up that's all I need right since i don't have the updated receiver, i don't have to plug the mulit-channel cables in and the optical cable?

[prankster]

Originally Posted by sho89mtx

also....so since i have my optical cable hooked up that's all I need right since i don't have the updated receiver, i don't have to plug the mulit-channel cables in and the optical cable?

using an optical in your current setup will net you standard 5.1 dolby digital or dts. unfortunately, if you want 7.1 hd audio you will need to upgrade your receiver to one that accepts hdmi.

[sho89mtx]

Originally Posted by prankster

using an optical in your current setup will net you standard 5.1 dolby digital or dts. unfortunately, if you want 7.1 hd audio you will need to upgrade your receiver to one that accepts hdmi.

k, thanks, so what's the point of that multi-channel cables?

[hourglass]

Your Blu-ray player does not have the necessary output connections to use the multi-channel jacks on your receiver.

You'll either need to get a new receiver or a Blu-ray player which has 5.1 analog outputs.

hg

[Bizdady]

Originally Posted by hourglass

Your Blu-ray player does not have the necessary output connections to use the multi-channel jacks on your receiver.

You'll either need to get a new receiver or a Blu-ray player which has 5.1 analog outputs.

hg

wont it need 7.1 analog outputs?