Optical Connection Problems?

[Craig02]

Hey guys, Iv had no problems like this before, Iv tried everything i can think of but i cant get it to work anymore, Ok so I have a Sony BDP-S550 Blu-Ray player and a Panasonic PT860 home cinema kit, Iv been running an optical connection to get 5.1 surround sound on my blu-rays,

So here's where it gets complicated and confusing, If i play a blu with a dolby digital track it works with all of the speakers, But if i play a blu with a DTS track the menus have audio but as soon as the movie starts the audio stops

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Craig

[Adegan]

My brother had the same problem with the same Panasonic HTIB receiver. Apparently it does DTS if you play DVDs internally but when you try to bitstream the same codec from another machine (PS3 or stand alone BD) it doesn't let you. There are many threads in the web about this very stupid and annoying problem. His solution was, since it was with the PS3 he did not select DTS as one of the formats to bitstream and it worked for him. We even called customer service to see if there was a way around this and apparently there is none.

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by Craig02

Hey guys, Iv had no problems like this before, Iv tried everything i can think of but i cant get it to work anymore, Ok so I have a Sony BDP-S550 Blu-Ray player and a Panasonic PT860 home cinema kit, Iv been running an optical connection to get 5.1 surround sound on my blu-rays,

So here's where it gets complicated and confusing, If i play a blu with a dolby digital track it works with all of the speakers, But if i play a blu with a DTS track the menus have audio but as soon as the movie starts the audio stops

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Craig

in your user manual page 11 under other audio connections, it shows the optical connection. it states only pcm (2ch) and dolby digital can be decoded this way. dts is not accepted. you may get dts from dvd's with the built in player but these types of htib sets are limited and not all of them will decode dts from an external source regardless if they do from the internal source.

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Craig02

Hey guys, Iv had no problems like this before, Iv tried everything i can think of but i cant get it to work anymore, Ok so I have a Sony BDP-S550 Blu-Ray player and a Panasonic PT860 home cinema kit, Iv been running an optical connection to get 5.1 surround sound on my blu-rays,

So here's where it gets complicated and confusing, If i play a blu with a dolby digital track it works with all of the speakers, But if i play a blu with a DTS track the menus have audio but as soon as the movie starts the audio stops

If the HTIB won't process DTS from external sources, it's a fairly substantial problem. Most studios use dts-MA exclusively on Blu. You'll need to set the S550 to Mix so that it decodes the track itself and then downmix the 5.1 track to stereo for transmission over optical. There's a downmix setting for surround encoding, which will give you Dolby Surround. That's the system used on VCRs that folds four channels into the stereo signal. A Dolby ProLogic decoder is used to extract the extra two channels on playback.

[Craig02]

But guys the strange thing is i had DTS working through the optical connection

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Craig02

But guys the strange thing is i had DTS working through the optical connection

That would be strange given what's been said about that particular HTIB.

There's one other factor that might cause DTS to work with DVD playback but not Blu-ray. The DTS core on BD is encoded at 1509 kbps, twice the bitrate normally used on DVD. Some processors can't handle the higher rate, even though it's within the DTS specification.

[jomari]

so, if you put a dvd in the 550, would it play any DTS encoded tracks?

if so, then your current HTIB wouldnt be able to handle the higher bandwidth as mentioned earlier.

[Craig02]

Ok im really quite crap at this so im doing my best, Please be patient with me

I tried playing a DVD with a DTS track on my S550 and again there is no audio so i gather now that i have never had proper DTS audio on my blus

At the current time all im really concerned about is getting my 5.1 working again with blus which have a DTS audio track, Im not really bothered if it is not actually DTS i will do something about that later ie buy a receiver or something

So basically can anyone tell me what my settings should be so i can get my blus with dts tracks working in 5.1?

Many Thanks

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Craig02

Ok im really quite crap at this so im doing my best, Please be patient with me

I tried playing a DVD with a DTS track on my S550 and again there is no audio so i gather now that i have never had proper DTS audio on my blus

At the current time all im really concerned about is getting my 5.1 working again with blus which have a DTS audio track, Im not really bothered if it is not actually DTS i will do something about that later ie buy a receiver or something

So basically can anyone tell me what my settings should be so i can get my blus with dts tracks working in 5.1?

You can't get 5.1 from your BDs that only have DTS tracks if the receiver can't decode DTS. It would only be possible if your receiver has 5.1 analog inputs, which I doubt. I explained your only real option in a previous post:

Originally Posted by BIslander

You'll need to set the S550 to Mix so that it decodes the track itself and then downmix the 5.1 track to stereo for transmission over optical. There's a downmix setting for surround encoding, which will give you Dolby Surround. That's the system used on VCRs that folds four channels into the stereo signal. A Dolby ProLogic decoder is used to extract the extra two channels on playback.

Audio Output Priority = Coaxial/Optical
BD Audio = Mix
Dolby Digital = Dolby Digital
DTS = Downmix PCM
Downmix = Dolby Surround
(Use Dolby Surround if your receiver has a Dolby ProLogic decoder. Most do. If not, leave Downmix set to Normal.)

Audio DRC = Wide Range (This is not related to the DTS issue. But, it's the proper setting to make sure dynamic range control is not engaged.)

[Craig02]

Originally Posted by BIslander

Audio Output Priority = Coaxial/Optical
BD Audio = Mix
Dolby Digital = Dolby Digital
DTS = Downmix PCM
Downmix = Dolby Surround
(Use Dolby Surround if your receiver has a Dolby ProLogic decoder. Most do. If not, leave Downmix set to Normal.)

Audio DRC = Wide Range (This is not related to the DTS issue. But, it's the proper setting to make sure dynamic range control is not engaged.)

So there is 100% no way at all to get 5.1 working with blus that only have DTS tracks?

I used the settings you have said and i only get audio out of the front left and right, Nothing out of the center or rear left and right, Is that the best i can get?

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Craig02

So there is 100% no way at all to get 5.1 working with blus that only have DTS tracks?

I used the settings you have said and i only get audio out of the front left and right, Nothing out of the center or rear left and right, Is that the best i can get?

You are limited to stereo (two channels) out of the player. The Dolby Surround setting means the player will produce four discrete channels (L/R/C/mono surround) and fold them into the stereo signal. But, it is up to your receiver to extract the C and surround channels from the stereo signal. You need a Dolby ProLogic decoder in your receiver and, assuming your AVR has ProLogic, you need to turn it on.

I did not see an online manual for a PT860. But, the PT760/960 manual lists Pro Logic II as an available option. So, your 860 likely has that feature, too. It's available on nearly all surround systems. A ProLogic II decoder will extract the extra two channels from the stereo signal and it will turn the mono surround into stereo and produce the .1 SW channel as well. It's not as good as discrete 5.1, but it sounds pretty good.

So, it looks like you have the player part set up properly now to decode DTS and output a stereo PCM signal. Once you get the Pro Logic decoder engaged on your surround system, you should have audio for all channels.

[Craig02]

Thanks man, I found the ProLogic II button on my remote and it sorted the problem right out Finaly 5.1 again

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Craig02

Thanks man, I found the ProLogic II button on my remote and it sorted the problem right out Finaly 5.1 again

[jomari]

albeit it is a 'synthetic' (sorry folks, just woke up and this is the word that comes to mind) mode of 5.1, it can work for now right?

as mentioned above, apparently your current receiver cannot decode DTS signals, either because it didnt have the appropriate licensing from DTS, or just because it doesnt have the appropriate hardware to do so.

have you tried it on your HTIB player and see if a dvd will play with a DTS track? i dont think it matters, but at least you can put it to rest so to speak.

congrats on your current fix. glad to have been able to help.