Panasonic BD35 and surround sound - help needed!

[Damo100]

I just upgraded to the BD35 from a Sony DVD player which had both HDMI and Coaxial cables connected to my Yamaha rx-v1600 receiver (which has HDMI connections).

After testing both players with a standard DVD, the surround sound of the Panasonic does not match the former Sony with the HDMI/coaxial set-up. I called Panasonic who advised changing the Bitstream settings to PCM but there was no improvement.

Because the BD35 has no coaxial input I just have a HDMI cable going to the receiver for audio and video.

1. Are there other cables I need to hook up?
2. Do I have to upgrade to the BD55 to get optimal sound?

3. Why did the Sony have HDMI and Coaxial cables - shouldn't the former have sufficed?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Damien

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Damo100

After testing both players with a standard DVD, the surround sound of the Panasonic does not match the former Sony with the HDMI/coaxial set-up. I called Panasonic who advised changing the Bitstream settings to PCM but there was no improvement.

Because the BD35 has no coaxial input I just have a HDMI cable going to the receiver for audio and video.

I don't mean to dispute what you are hearing. However, if you are bistreaming the same source (whatever DVD you are using) from both players to the same receiver, the sound cannot be different. The audio file being sent is identical in both cases. It looks like you are using different inputs on your receiver for the the two players and I suspect there is something different in how the receiver is handling each source. Try using the same cable and input on your AVR when doing your comparison. That means plugging and unplugging the players. You need to make sure that everything except the player is identical.

1. Are there other cables I need to hook up?
2. Do I have to upgrade to the BD55 to get optimal sound?

No and No.

3. Why did the Sony have HDMI and Coaxial cables - shouldn't the former have sufficed?

For your equipment, yes. For others, not necessarily.