Help Newbie PS3 Audio Question

[bpob]

Sorry for the newbie post. Just got the PS3 yesterday and hooked up to my plasma via HDMI. I also have an optical running to my receiver (Sony STR-DE597) as it is old and does not accept HDMI. The question is when I set the audio to optical, I cannot hear any sound coming from the TV speakers, I can only hear from the receiver. I do get sound from the TV when I set audio to HDMI, then I get nothing from the receiver. There are times when I will watch a BD without the receiver (late at night when the kids are asleep) and it seems odd that I have to keep switching the audio depending if I want to hear sound from the TV or receiver. I upgraded from the Sony BDP 300 and that unit had no problem doing both, it was just painfully slow.

I apologize in advance if this has been posted before or if it is not posted in the right thread. I'm just a newbie looking for help.

[bpob]

Is there no one out there that can help me?

[Kryptron]

To the best of my knowledge *Not 100% sure* i believe the PS3 can not output sound through optical and hdmi at the same time. I think you can only select one output for sound, so Analog L/R or Optical or HDMI but not more then one*.

[WriteSimply]

What Kryptron said. Only one audio/video output at any given time. Either audio via HDMI, optical OR analog stereo. No multiple audio out for the PS3.


fuad

[bpob]

Thanks guys...seems odd that my old unit can handle both, but the best unit out there cannot.

[Leopold BUTTERS]

Originally Posted by bpob

Thanks guys...seems odd that my old unit can handle both, but the best unit out there cannot.

look at it this way, now you have a reason to upgrade Just find a reciever that has HDMI in and HDMI Audio/Video out. That way you can run the audio and video to your TV and through your reciever and just choose which one to have on/off.

[Uniquely]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

What Kryptron said. Only one audio/video output at any given time. Either audio via HDMI, optical OR analog stereo. No multiple audio out for the PS3.


fuad

That does blow though.... even the 360 can output audio and video over multiple outputs at the same time. I do it all the time when I have parties.

[ultramundane]

Originally Posted by Leopold BUTTERS

look at it this way, now you have a reason to upgrade Just find a reciever that has HDMI in and HDMI Audio/Video out. That way you can run the audio and video to your TV and through your reciever and just choose which one to have on/off.

I'd prefer sony to use one of those USB ports and provide a firmware update and drivers for a USB 7.1 analog output interface.

Thanks,
Ryan

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by bpob

Thanks guys...seems odd that my old unit can handle both, but the best unit out there cannot.

Well some people here would protest at the use of "best."

Originally Posted by Leopold BUTTERS

look at it this way, now you have a reason to upgrade Just find a reciever that has HDMI in and HDMI Audio/Video out. That way you can run the audio and video to your TV and through your reciever and just choose which one to have on/off.

If he has a receiver like that, it still doesn't solve his problem.

He would need a HDMI receiver and a HDMI splitter. The receiver to get the best sound and the splitter so that he doesn't have to fiddle with the PS3 setting when he just want TV audio.

Originally Posted by robinandtami

That does blow though.... even the 360 can output audio and video over multiple outputs at the same time. I do it all the time when I have parties.

The reason is simple: extra audio chips.

Originally Posted by ultramundane

I'd prefer sony to use one of those USB ports and provide a firmware update and drivers for a USB 7.1 analog output interface.

So you think an interface with Dolby/DTS 7.1 Digital-to-Analog converter chips going to be cheap, huh? Good luck.


fuad

[ultramundane]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

So you think an interface with Dolby/DTS 7.1 Digital-to-Analog converter chips going to be cheap, huh? Good luck.

Yes, 5.1 and some 7.1 DAC USB devices are very cheap. I mean super cheap and they have decent sound quality. You can find them for about $50. With all that computing power in the PS3, it could easily spare some cycles for decoding DTS/DD and passing an already decoded compressed digital stream to the USB device for uncompression and conversion. So yes, this is cheap technology. Nothing more than a USB device for uncompression and conversion. Thanks for the good luck wishes. As for TrueHD, THX, and other decoding or post processing. They don't make sound for my ears. I also don't most Blu-Ray movies because my HTPC upconverts my DVD's to look much better than most Blu-Ray movies which I have seen.

Have a good day all.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by ultramundane

Yes, 5.1 and some 7.1 DAC USB devices are very cheap. I mean super cheap and they have decent sound quality. You can find them for about $50. With all that computing power in the PS3, it could easily spare some cycles for decoding DTS/DD and passing an already decoded compressed digital stream to the USB device for uncompression and conversion. So yes, this is cheap technology. Nothing more than a USB device for uncompression and conversion. Thanks for the good luck wishes. As for TrueHD, THX, and other decoding or post processing. They don't make sound for my ears. I also don't most Blu-Ray movies because my HTPC upconverts my DVD's to look much better than most Blu-Ray movies which I have seen.

Have a good day all.

You lost all credibility with this statement. You can't make something from nothing.

[ultramundane]

Originally Posted by aramis109

You lost all credibility with this statement. You can't make something from nothing.

Hey now, I'm just a computer programmer/DBA/ETL Admin guy here who has personal experiences with this technology. I am only relating my personal experiences and you of course need not agree with them or if you have a solution you can of course pass that along please.

Your statement doesn't make any logical sense. That is what a lot of Blu-Ray movies in fact are today. That is, the upconversion processing was done in a lab for many Blu-Ray movies and stored on a Blu-Ray disc to be sold at a premium cost. New movies are of course different, however, I still don't see much difference between a Blu-Ray movie and a enhanced DVD which is further upconverted. In fact, I have Dinosaur both on Blu-Ray and on DVD. The DVD copy has much better sound quality and better picture quality. I have more vibrant colors on the DVD, better contrast, and I completely lose the Blu-Ray jitters and the image fog which it puts on many scenes. It is amazing when I have friends over who have their expensive BD-350, BD-550 Blu-Ray players, and even my audio/video engineer friend over who has a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray player. They say wow, how did you get your Blu-Ray movies to look so good. I have to explain to them it is a DVD being upconverted by my HTPC. Then they are angry because their Blu-Ray movies don't long as good after they spent so much money.

So yes, you can add enhance the image quality via upconversion. I upconvert my Nintendo Wii-Box to 1080p using my Denon Faroudja upconverter and the text is unbelievably clearer and more readable when playing it on my 52" Samsung LN52A650. This is necessary so I read the poor quality of text and choice of font in Guitar Hero so that I can sing along.

Thanks.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by ultramundane

Your statement doesn't make any logical sense. That is what a lot of Blu-Ray movies in fact are today. That is, the upconversion processing was done in a lab for many Blu-Ray movies and stored on a Blu-Ray disc to be sold at a premium cost.

Obviously, you don't know how a HD master is made.

If the title is shot on video, then the camera spec determines the upper limit. Most often HD video shoots are 1080i, but newer shoots are in 1080p.

If the title is shot on film, particularly 35mm of ANY AGE, then the film goes to be laser scanned either at 2K or 4K. From there, a 1080p version is made. There is NO UPCONVERSION.

New movies are of course different, however, I still don't see much difference between a Blu-Ray movie and a enhanced DVD which is further upconverted. In fact, I have Dinosaur both on Blu-Ray and on DVD. The DVD copy has much better sound quality and better picture quality.

You can argue about the PQ (Dinosaur is a blend of live action footage and CGI so how it is blended affects the PQ) but the AQ? PCM 5.1 at 24kHz against lossy compression of Dolby Digital/DTS?

I have more vibrant colors on the DVD, better contrast, and I completely lose the Blu-Ray jitters and the image fog which it puts on many scenes.

You do realize that with each video component, you must adjust your TV to THAT component to get the best result.

It is amazing when I have friends over who have their expensive BD-350, BD-550 Blu-Ray players, and even my audio/video engineer friend over who has a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray player. They say wow, how did you get your Blu-Ray movies to look so good. I have to explain to them it is a DVD being upconverted by my HTPC. Then they are angry because their Blu-Ray movies don't long as good after they spent so much money.

Hmmm. Just because somebody has a NASCAR stock car doesn't mean he's going to burn rubber on the highway. Or knows how to. You can have a 35mm projector in your home theater but if you don't know how to properly set it up, it means nothing.

It has also been proven that people are more attracted to HDTVs that are brighter and more colorful even though the HDTVs use incorrect settings. That's why stores have HDTVs set to Dynamic all the time.

So yes, you can add enhance the image quality via upconversion. I upconvert my Nintendo Wii-Box to 1080p using my Denon Faroudja upconverter and the text is unbelievably clearer and more readable when playing it on my 52" Samsung LN52A650.

Upconversion can ENHANCE the image quality. But this is where you are missing the point. You can scan a 5x7 print of the Sears Tower but you won't get the same quality as a scan of the original negative. The key word is enhance. The upconverting algorithm is creating a portion of the image out of nothing. But it is not the same as the original image.

Don't use the Wii as an example of upconversion quality because there is no HD version of the Wii.


fuad

[ultramundane]

Pretty active forums here!

You can argue about the PQ (Dinosaur is a blend of live action footage and CGI so how it is blended affects the PQ) but the AQ? PCM 5.1 at 24kHz against lossy compression of Dolby Digital/DTS?

I personally cannot tell any audio difference. AQ has been great for years. The advancements being made in AQ since 5.1 DD/DTS are just extra layers of icing on a cake to me. They all sound great! My audio engineers discrete 10.1 system is nice, but it just not appeal that much to me because his Blu-Ray movies give me a headache due to their graininess during some scenes, jitters, and not having enough frames for the clarity being produced for my viewing taste. The edges are too sharp. So, in order to make them look good, they have to be smoothed using post processing or more frames/per second are needed. In any case, most of the AQ issues I have are my friends houses because they purchased a nice receiver, some better than mine, but they sound terrible because they used practically unshielded RCA cables, unshielded 14, 16, or 18 gauge wire (yuck get some good wires to hook up them components), poor speaker placement, unmatched speakers, poor EQ settings, new speakers which they are afraid for some reason to break in for a few hundred hours, speakers with horn tweeters (it's not karaoke), bad speakers in general, and 6.1 being played through their 7.1 sound systems which overpowered rear channel and then won't turn the speakers in so that they are facing each other.

You do realize that with each video component, you must adjust your TV to THAT component to get the best result.

This is not true as it depends upon the setup. I don't have to adjust the TV settings at all. I can actually set my TV settings pretty flat across the board and adjust the settings in my HTPC with better results.

It has also been proven that people are more attracted to HDTVs that are brighter and more colorful even though the HDTVs use incorrect settings. That's why stores have HDTVs set to Dynamic all the time.

For sure, but you are also many times in bright light setting and many times when you get it home it needs to be tuned for your home experience and viewing preferences.

Upconversion can ENHANCE the image quality. But this is where you are missing the point. You can scan a 5x7 print of the Sears Tower but you won't get the same quality as a scan of the original negative. The key word is enhance. The upconverting algorithm is creating a portion of the image out of nothing. But it is not the same as the original image.

That's fine, it's just that most, if not all Blu-Ray's I have seen introduce too much grain during some scenes, the colors have been week, the contrast lacking, and because of the clarity not enough frames per second so it gives me a headache. I suppose those things are important to my viewing experience. I prefer things to not look artificial and choppy due to hard edges moving around without enough frames to support.

Don't use the Wii as an example of upconversion quality because there is no HD version of the Wii.

Okay, I'll drop Wii-Box out of the picture in a second. The wii is not connected to my main TV or to my HTPC. I have it connected to a Denon faroujda upconverter so that I can read the text on many games. The Denon Faroujda can't touch my HTPC for PQ.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by ultramundane

Hey now, I'm just a computer programmer/DBA/ETL Admin guy here who has personal experiences with this technology. I am only relating my personal experiences and you of course need not agree with them or if you have a solution you can of course pass that along please.

Your statement doesn't make any logical sense. That is what a lot of Blu-Ray movies in fact are today. That is, the upconversion processing was done in a lab for many Blu-Ray movies and stored on a Blu-Ray disc to be sold at a premium cost. New movies are of course different, however, I still don't see much difference between a Blu-Ray movie and a enhanced DVD which is further upconverted. In fact, I have Dinosaur both on Blu-Ray and on DVD. The DVD copy has much better sound quality and better picture quality. I have more vibrant colors on the DVD, better contrast, and I completely lose the Blu-Ray jitters and the image fog which it puts on many scenes. It is amazing when I have friends over who have their expensive BD-350, BD-550 Blu-Ray players, and even my audio/video engineer friend over who has a $2000 Denon Blu-Ray player. They say wow, how did you get your Blu-Ray movies to look so good. I have to explain to them it is a DVD being upconverted by my HTPC. Then they are angry because their Blu-Ray movies don't long as good after they spent so much money.

So yes, you can add enhance the image quality via upconversion. I upconvert my Nintendo Wii-Box to 1080p using my Denon Faroudja upconverter and the text is unbelievably clearer and more readable when playing it on my 52" Samsung LN52A650. This is necessary so I read the poor quality of text and choice of font in Guitar Hero so that I can sing along.

Thanks.

LOL, you're back under a different name . I remember when you were spouting this bull crap off about 3-5 months ago under another a different name. All this was argued back and forth and this character was banned for being a complete troll. Guys don't fall for this troll, He has no idea what he's talking about in the video world, as he said then and now, he is a programmer and just spouting nonsense in regards to studio mastering.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by wormraper

LOL, you're back under a different name

Yep, you're right. He's a troll. Inconsistencies in argument and the BD bashing. Pointless activity.


fuad

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

Yep, you're right. He's a troll. Inconsistencies in argument and the BD bashing. Pointless activity.


fuad

There's a reason I was done once he said upconverted DVD looked better than blu-ray.

[ultramundane]

Originally Posted by aramis109

There's a reason I was done once he said upconverted DVD looked better than blu-ray.

That's perfectly fine all. If you like it better good for you. However, for some reason the wiring in my brain picks up on those sharp edges and lack of frames and this causes me to see jitters/sputters (many of my friends don't see), and other things which I don't personally like. And also, many of my friends prefer my PQ once they see it at my house over there PQ. Have I tuned all there systems, of course not.

That certainly doesn't make me a troll because I don't agree with all of you. If you have some practical advice, which it doesn't sound like you do, I'll listen to it, but as far as name calling because you are dumbfounded or stupified, that's your issue buddies, not mine. I know what I like and I don't need to be told by someone that I should like something because they like it. That's not sound advice. That's advice from a spoiled brat. LOL.

It is certainly possible that I was on here a few months back looking for information. If that was me, sorry for changing names.

And my argument is consistent spoiled brats. My argument is that I don't like the PQ for Blu-Ray and the further advancements in sound over the last 5 years and they have done nothing for the AQ. LOL.

However, you could have argued that this be in its own thread and I would have to agree. But you didn't. You started name calling and using bad logic. LOL of with that.

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by ultramundane

My argument is that I don't like the PQ for Blu-Ray and the further advancements in sound over the last 5 years and they have done nothing for the AQ

Why are you on this site then? To cause issues amongst people that do appreciate BD? If so, then you are a troll.

[ultramundane]

Originally Posted by quirkmanly

Why are you on this site then? To cause issues amongst people that do appreciate BD? If so, then you are a troll.

I guess I don't agree with your definition of troll. So, your definition of troll is someone who doesn't agree with you? My definition of troll is someone who tries to induce emotional responses in people by posting things off topic. Thus, you guys are in fact trolls for changing topics and name calling to induce an emotional response. So, I don't see myself as being troll, but that you guys are being trolls. So, based upon your logic,

If I am troll, then you are also a troll. Is true by the definition of "troll".

But here we are off topic again trying to satisfy some emotions causes by all us trolls.

Did anyone get a USB sound card to work with the PS3 running a variant of Linux? If so, awesome and you can share the sound card and the Linux distribution. Thanks a bunch.