Ps3 Pcm

[Nielsb90]

I have a PS3 hooked to my receiver through optical cable.. Some movies have PCM soundtracks... Is that hi-def and does that need HDMI, or can I play that? Also, is there better non-hi-def sound on Blu-Rays than on regular DVDs?

[sbjork]

An optical cable will only pass two-channel PCM, not multichannel. The PCM soundtracks are indeed "high definition" lossless tracks, but unless you are using the HDMI output, you cannot really access them (other than downmixed into a matrixed two-channel track, which is a definite step down.)To get a mutichannel PCM output from your PS3 you must use HDMI and have a receiver that will accept it.

To get multichannel sound via your optical connection, you are stuck with the Dolby Digital or core DTS soundtracks. The Dolby Digital tracks on Blu-Ray run at a slightly higher bitrate than they do on DVD, so technically they could be considered "better," but the difference is negligible, and for most people probably inaudible.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Nielsb90

Also, is there better non-hi-def sound on Blu-Rays than on regular DVDs?

dts on Blu-ray is usually 1.509 Mbps, which is double the normal bitrate found on DVD's.

However there are some dts releases on DVD that have the full lossy core, usually it's discs that only have a Dolby 2.0 track as the other option.

Where movies are concerned, the following DVD's all had 1.509 Mbps dts tracks. There are many more, but they're specialty discs or concert discs like Nine Inch Nails ...and all that could have been for example.

1. 12 Monkeys (Universal) 1509kbps
2. Amistad (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
3. Antz (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
4. Apollo 13 (Universal) 1509kbps Discontinued
5. Babe (Universal. Warning: Pan and Scan) 1509kbps Discontinued
6. Born on the Fourth of July (Universal) 1509kbps Discontinued
7. Boxer, The (Universal) 1509kbps
8. Dances With Wolves (Image Entertainment) 1509kbps Discontinued
9. Dante's Peak (Universal) 1509kbps
10. Daylight (Universal) 1509kbps
11. Dragonheart (Universal) 1509kbps
12. EdTV (Universal) 1509kbps
13. Flintstones, The (Universal) 1509kbps
14. For Richer or Poorer (Universal) 1509kbps
15. Galaxy Quest (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
16. Interview with the Vampire (Warner) 1509kbps
17. Jackal, The (Universal) 1509kbps
18. Lethal Weapon (Warner) 1509kbps
19. Lethal Weapon 2 (Warner) 1509kbps
20. Lethal Weapon 3 (Warner) 1509kbps
21. Liar Liar (Universal. Warning: Pan and Scan) 1509kbps
22. Little Rascals, The (Universal) 1509kbps
23. Mercury Rising (Universal) 1509kbps
24. Mouse Hunt (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
25. Nutty Professor, The (Universal) 1509kbps
26. Out of Sight (Universal) 1509kbps
27. Passion of the Christ, The (20th Century Fox) 1509kbps Canada/754kbps US Standard and Definitive Edition
28. Patch Adams (Universal) 1509kbps Discontinued
29. Paulie (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
30. Peacemaker, The (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
31. Primary Colors (Universal) 1509kbps
32. Prince of Egypt, The (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
33. Re-Animator: Millennium Edition (Elite Entertainment) 1509kbps Discontinued
34. River Wild, The (Universal) 1509kbps
35. Shadow, The (Universal. Warning: Pan and Scan) 1509kbps
36. Small Soldiers (DreamWorks) 1509kbps
37. Super Speedway: The Mach II Special Edition (Image Entertainment) 1509kbps
38. Thin Red Line, The (20th Century Fox) 1509kbps
39. Twister (Warner) 1509kbps
40. Virus (Universal) 1509kbps
41. Waterworld (Universal) 1509kbps

[rlf3911]

Basically if you've got a 3.1+ sound system set up, get a receiver with HDMI and use it. If you've only got a 2.0 system, the upgrade to HDMI wont help much until you expand your sound setup.