Onkyo HT-S6100, Playstation 3, HDMI, and Audio issues

[jedimacfan]

Hello,

I just bought the Onkyo HT-S6100 and am connecting it to a Samsung T260HD in my office. I have connected a Sony Playstation 3 via HDMI (1.3a cable) to the Onkyo and from there the Onkyo connects to the Samsung. (HDMI 1.3a cable).

The issue I (think) I am having is that my Blu-Ray movies are not playing back the uncompressed audio. The Onkyo only displays "MULTI CH HDMI" and "DTS" when I am playing a BD movie via the PS3. When I shine a flashlight on the tuner, I can easily see "TrueHD" and "HD MSTR" icons but they never show up when I play a BD movie. I have tried Transformers and Batman Begins for TrueHD and Juno for DTS-HD MA, yet the Onkyo only displays DTS Neo 6.

I am pretty sure I have everything connected correctly and configured properly, but I am very new to home theater and am probably doing something wrong. On the PS3 menu, I have manually selected all the audio options available and it is set for Linear PCM over HDMI. I am also running the latest firmware (2.60, which the PS3 claims is the most current).

The PS3 is in the first HDMI input on the Onkyo tuner (DVD). My understanding of the user manual is that I can choose the audio format by pressing the "MOVIE/TV" button on the remote to get to TrueHD or DTS-HD MA. Scrolling through, however, only displays Pro Logic II (bleh), stereo, fake surround, etc. I can never get TrueHD or DTS-HD MA to display.

The only thing I can figure (and if you can confirm my suspicion, then I thank you!) is that the PS3 is decoding the uncompressed audio and sending it to the Onkyo, which then plays it. And because the PS3 is decoding it instead of the Onkyo, the tuner only displays MULTI CH HDMI and DTS Neo6. Is this what's happening and why the Onkyo never displays TrueHD or HD MSTR?

I guess, in a nutshell, is how can I tell if I am hearing the uncompressed track vs the compressed track with my PS3 and Onkyo HTIB?

I am so thoroughly confused, so thanks very much for any help you can provide.

JMF

[Larsco]

Originally Posted by jedimacfan

Hello,

I just bought the Onkyo HT-S6100 and am connecting it to a Samsung T260HD in my office. I have connected a Sony Playstation 3 via HDMI (1.3a cable) to the Onkyo and from there the Onkyo connects to the Samsung. (HDMI 1.3a cable).

The issue I (think) I am having is that my Blu-Ray movies are not playing back the uncompressed audio. The Onkyo only displays "MULTI CH HDMI" and "DTS" when I am playing a BD movie via the PS3. When I shine a flashlight on the tuner, I can easily see "TrueHD" and "HD MSTR" icons but they never show up when I play a BD movie. I have tried Transformers and Batman Begins for TrueHD and Juno for DTS-HD MA, yet the Onkyo only displays DTS Neo 6.

I am pretty sure I have everything connected correctly and configured properly, but I am very new to home theater and am probably doing something wrong. On the PS3 menu, I have manually selected all the audio options available and it is set for Linear PCM over HDMI. I am also running the latest firmware (2.60, which the PS3 claims is the most current).

The PS3 is in the first HDMI input on the Onkyo tuner (DVD). My understanding of the user manual is that I can choose the audio format by pressing the "MOVIE/TV" button on the remote to get to TrueHD or DTS-HD MA. Scrolling through, however, only displays Pro Logic II (bleh), stereo, fake surround, etc. I can never get TrueHD or DTS-HD MA to display.

The only thing I can figure (and if you can confirm my suspicion, then I thank you!) is that the PS3 is decoding the uncompressed audio and sending it to the Onkyo, which then plays it. And because the PS3 is decoding it instead of the Onkyo, the tuner only displays MULTI CH HDMI and DTS Neo6. Is this what's happening and why the Onkyo never displays TrueHD or HD MSTR?

I guess, in a nutshell, is how can I tell if I am hearing the uncompressed track vs the compressed track with my PS3 and Onkyo HTIB?

I am so thoroughly confused, so thanks very much for any help you can provide.

JMF

Your theory sounds right to me. Your PS3 is doing the decoding, so by the time it gets to your receiver, it is multi-channel PCM format. So, you're doing everything right. If you wanted the receiver to "light up" with the name of the codec, you'd need to send the audio to the receiver via bitstream... something the PS3 isn't able to do for the HD audio.

Easiest way to see what is being played is to hit the "display" button on your PS3 remote (If no remote, there's a way to do it with the controller, but I don't exactly recall). In any case, the name of the audio and video codec being used will display on the top of your screen along with the bitrate for each.

I hope this helps.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Larsco

Your theory sounds right to me. Your PS3 is doing the decoding, so by the time it gets to your receiver, it is multi-channel PCM format. So, you're doing everything right. If you wanted the receiver to "light up" with the name of the codec, you'd need to send the audio to the receiver via bitstream... something the PS3 isn't able to do for the HD audio.

Easiest way to see what is being played is to hit the "display" button on your PS3 remote (If no remote, there's a way to do it with the controller, but I don't exactly recall). In any case, the name of the audio and video codec being used will display on the top of your screen along with the bitrate for each.

I hope this helps.

It's "Select" with the controller.

[jedimacfan]

Originally Posted by Larsco

Your theory sounds right to me. Your PS3 is doing the decoding, so by the time it gets to your receiver, it is multi-channel PCM format. So, you're doing everything right. If you wanted the receiver to "light up" with the name of the codec, you'd need to send the audio to the receiver via bitstream... something the PS3 isn't able to do for the HD audio.

Easiest way to see what is being played is to hit the "display" button on your PS3 remote (If no remote, there's a way to do it with the controller, but I don't exactly recall). In any case, the name of the audio and video codec being used will display on the top of your screen along with the bitrate for each.

I hope this helps.

AWESOME! It is playing TrueHD according to the remote ($25 well spent, IMHO). DUDE, A MILLION THANK YOUS! You have just made my night, as I thought I was doing something wrong. Seriously, you have no idea how happy your reply has made me.

I'm not losing anything by doing PCM instead of Bitstream am I? I knew the PS3 didn't do bitstream, but at the same time I don't want to lose out on any of the uncompressed audio.

THANKS *VERY* MUCH!

JMF

[Larsco]

I'm happy to help. To answer your last question, no, you shouldn't be "losing" anything. The end result for your audio should be the same quality regardless of whether it's decoded in the player or the receiver. I've heard some that will argue that certain receivers will do a better job of decoding than certain players, but I don't believe there's any solid proof of that. Even if it is true, I suspect that any difference would require extremely high quality speakers and a very well trained ear to notice the difference.

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by jedimacfan

AWESOME! It is playing TrueHD according to the remote ($25 well spent, IMHO). DUDE, A MILLION THANK YOUS! You have just made my night, as I thought I was doing something wrong. Seriously, you have no idea how happy your reply has made me.

I'm not losing anything by doing PCM instead of Bitstream am I? I knew the PS3 didn't do bitstream, but at the same time I don't want to lose out on any of the uncompressed audio.

THANKS *VERY* MUCH!

JMF

PCM & BITSTREAM are the same thing except

bitstream = player sends sound & the receiver decodes sound(get nice light saying truehd, dts master audio etc)

pcm = player decodes and sends it to receiver(get multich on receiver screen, but the same thing)

i REFUSE to buy a seperate blu ray player just to have my receiver light up "truehd" or whatever.
talk about a waste of money. im watching the movie, not the receiver as to what it says.
plus push SELECT on the ps3 controller = you know what youre listening to

[jedimacfan]

Originally Posted by DonRSD

PCM & BITSTREAM are the same thing except

bitstream = player sends sound & the receiver decodes sound(get nice light saying truehd, dts master audio etc)

pcm = player decodes and sends it to receiver(get multich on receiver screen, but the same thing)

i REFUSE to buy a seperate blu ray player just to have my receiver light up "truehd" or whatever.
talk about a waste of money. im watching the movie, not the receiver as to what it says.
plus push SELECT on the ps3 controller = you know what youre listening to

Thanks for the clarification. I don't care if the receiver says TrueHD or whatever, so long as that is what I am hearing

[axe79]

Have found this site which is a good read on what the PS3 can and can't do.
It can apparently bitstream more than has been thought.

http://whatsonhdtv.blogspot.com/2008...ray-audio.html

Personally on my very revealing system I do notice a difference.