BDP-S360 - Should I set audio settings to "Mix" or "Direct" for best possible sound?

[homer860]

Hi all,

I'm kind of new to blu ray world and I just recently purchased my first blu ray player I'm trying to figure out all of the different soundtrack options.

My concern is how can I be sure that my BD player is set to output the optimal signal for my receiver and then decide what that signal is ?

I've read more into DTS-HD, TrueHD, and PCM and according to this site http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/22/ho...hd-and-dts-hd/ DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD, and PCM are all exact copies of the studio masters and arguably the same.

* PCM is Uncompressed and Lossless.
* TrueHD & DTS-HD MA are Compressed and Lossless.
* All 3 are suppose to be identical to the original master copy.


My receiver is 5.1 and has the following built-in Decoders: DTS decoder, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic (no TrueHD?)

full specs http://reviews.cnet.com/audio-system...=mncolBtm;rnav

My Blu ray has the following Dolby True HD and DTS-MA audio decoding

I have two audio options on the BD player. I can set it to "Mix" or "Direct" .
Am I getting TrueHD o DTS-MA on either one? Do they only specify which unit does the decoding whether it is the receiver or the BD player?

Supposly, If I want lossless dts-MA with an S360, the player must be set to Direct. The player will bitstream the track to the AVR for decoding. This sounds like the perfect option? Let receiver take care of all decodign since it is more powerful than BD player right?

I don't know why "Direct" soundtrack sounds somewhat weak to me as opposed to "Mix" when my receiver can apply CinemaDSP.

If I set audio to "Direct" mode on BD player, I can only choose either "Straight" or "Direct" sound on the receiver. If I choose "Mix" I can choose any of the options available thought the receiver: 7ch enhancer Cinema DSP, Straight Enhancer, 7ch Sci-fi CinemaDsp, etc.

I'm trying to figure out the best option possible, so that I know that I'm getting either TrueHD or DTS-MA sound.

Example:
If The Dark Knight has Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (not DTS-MA),

If I choose:
BD player - Direct in audio settings
Receiver - I can only choose either "Straight" or "Direct" (sounds weak, but from what I'm reading it is suppose to be the best)
(Am I getting TrueHD?)

If I choose:
BD player - Mix in audio settings
Receiver - I can choose any option I want including CinemaDSP, enhancers etc.
(Am I getting TrueHD?)

Because, the movie can also be played with just English: Dolby Digital 5.1
I'm wondering if I'm getting TrueHD sound with any options listed above? and not just Dolby Digital 5.1