Sound for Dummies - Blu-ray Forum

Perquacky · 08-12-2009, 06:42 PM

Ok, I know there is heaps of info on this, but going through many, many forums I could not find something that states what i THINK is a normal situation that I have and am still not sure how to fix:

I buy a nice new HDTV. Of course, I have to get the blu-ray to go with it. So I buy the blu-ray and the best HDMI cable I can get (If nothing else having one cable for sound a picture is great). I use just the stereo speakers with the TV(I know Im missing a lot but bear with me).

Everything is hooked up and off we go just to have the drowing off voice sound. Now, I have heard all about having a greater range because of realisim, thats the way they do it now, etc... Ok, so I turn on dynamic compression to "even out" the sound. Does not really help that much.

So, after reasearch, the center speaker is where most of the voice sound comes from. So turn that up and it should help. Great... but I dont have a center speaker...

Very well, so I go to my TV settings and have it set for stereo. check. I go to my Blu-ray player and there is no stereo mode, lots of PCM and other terms that dont seem to be what I am looking for. Guess it does not control the sound mode?

Off to the Blu-ray itself. Well, on many I have, the only options it has is 7.1 and 5.1 For some reason they have digital stereo(Thats what I want) in other languages.

So, basically it boils down to the Blu ray telling the sound to play through the center speaker which I dont have and there is no way to get around it.

Question: Is there ANY way to get it to stereo or even Mono mode so I can just use my tv speakers or is it a conspiracy to force me to buy yet more equipment. Im not a huge movie guy but like to relax and watch without too much trouble. It is very strange that it would bassically not allow you to proporly use a 2 speaker set up. Lots of people have this problem and the answer is "Turn up your center speaker". Despite the majority people on this site, most people just want to buy a TV and player and go. Any help or if I am wrong in areas plesae let me know but this is what I have come up with. Thank you.

BIslander · 08-12-2009, 07:34 PM

Set the BD player's digital audio output to "downmix PCM" (stereo, not surround encoded). Your player may not use those exact terms. You want whatever setting produces a straight stereo output.

Try engaging maximum DRC or Night Mode on the player. That serves to boost quiet sounds and reduce loud ones - evening things out so that dialog is emphasized.

Turn off any surround processing your TV might be doing.

If none of that works, turn off HDMI audio in the player and run good old, fashioned analog stereo cables to the TV.

What player do you have, btw? I see more complaints about this problem from Sony S350 owners than from any other player. Perhaps that player doesn't downmix properly.

Also, how does it sound when you play a disc with an actual stereo track, one that the player doesn't need to downmix from 5.1 on the fly?

Perquacky · 08-12-2009, 08:12 PM

Thank you for the help. First, I have a Samsung BD-p1500 Player. It appears to have 3 audio modes: PCM, Bitstream(Re-encode), and Bitstream (Audiophile)
I do have PCM Down Sampling but says that it migh tonly work through an optical digital output.
I have plenty of extra RCA cables laying around I could try. But have to figure out how to turn of HDMI sound.
Worst case is buying speakers, but it still seems strange that blu-ray would cater to the most knowledgable people, I know it sounds strange but you guys would be able to figure this stuff out if they did not, and if you just buy a TV and blu-ray, it gets very complicated. Thansk for the help again!

Perquacky · 08-12-2009, 08:17 PM

Forgot to reply to your last question about the stereo sound. Funny thing, Last night was my first night to install and watch blu-ray and I only had one disc, Casino. I put it in and it went to the language slection menu and froze. I was going nuts, ran out, bought a new disc, Predator, and it worked fine. Guess the VERY first disc i buy on my VERY first attempt to use this was bad. What are the odds. Long story short, I only have those two discs in blu-ray but my cheap DVDs seem to work well. I will have to try the french stereo mode on Predator just to see if the audio is better for speach.

BozQ · 08-18-2009, 09:17 AM

PCM Downsampling is NOT the same as PCM Downmixing!
I just looked through the user manual of your BD player here
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/co...ENG-080609.pdf

PCM Downsampling is to "convert" 96kHz audio to 48kHz, but you don't have to worry about this at all.

The main setting you should consider is the Digital Output mode, which according to the manual, it doesn't matter which mode. So you can just set it to PCM mode and leave it alone.

HDMI is a digital cable system, it is quite intelligent enough for your BD player to identify what kind of speaker set up you have. So for your case, it will know that you are playing audio through a TV/HDTV, so it will automatically downmix for you to 2.0 stereo.

Dynamic Range Compression is a useful feature for boosting the volumes in portions of the movie where it's soft, and lowering the volume when it's too loud. Since you are playing through a HDTV, it is recommended for you to turn it on. A full home theatre system is when you can turn it off for better effect.

08-12-2009, 06:42 PM	#1
Perquacky Junior Member Member since:Aug 2009	Sound for Dummies Ok, I know there is heaps of info on this, but going through many, many forums I could not find something that states what i THINK is a normal situation that I have and am still not sure how to fix: I buy a nice new HDTV. Of course, I have to get the blu-ray to go with it. So I buy the blu-ray and the best HDMI cable I can get (If nothing else having one cable for sound a picture is great). I use just the stereo speakers with the TV(I know Im missing a lot but bear with me). Everything is hooked up and off we go just to have the drowing off voice sound. Now, I have heard all about having a greater range because of realisim, thats the way they do it now, etc... Ok, so I turn on dynamic compression to "even out" the sound. Does not really help that much. So, after reasearch, the center speaker is where most of the voice sound comes from. So turn that up and it should help. Great... but I dont have a center speaker... Very well, so I go to my TV settings and have it set for stereo. check. I go to my Blu-ray player and there is no stereo mode, lots of PCM and other terms that dont seem to be what I am looking for. Guess it does not control the sound mode? Off to the Blu-ray itself. Well, on many I have, the only options it has is 7.1 and 5.1 For some reason they have digital stereo(Thats what I want) in other languages. So, basically it boils down to the Blu ray telling the sound to play through the center speaker which I dont have and there is no way to get around it. Question: Is there ANY way to get it to stereo or even Mono mode so I can just use my tv speakers or is it a conspiracy to force me to buy yet more equipment. Im not a huge movie guy but like to relax and watch without too much trouble. It is very strange that it would bassically not allow you to proporly use a 2 speaker set up. Lots of people have this problem and the answer is "Turn up your center speaker". Despite the majority people on this site, most people just want to buy a TV and player and go. Any help or if I am wrong in areas plesae let me know but this is what I have come up with. Thank you.

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08-12-2009, 07:34 PM	#2
BIslander Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Sep 2008 Location:Bainbridge Island, WA	Set the BD player's digital audio output to "downmix PCM" (stereo, not surround encoded). Your player may not use those exact terms. You want whatever setting produces a straight stereo output. Try engaging maximum DRC or Night Mode on the player. That serves to boost quiet sounds and reduce loud ones - evening things out so that dialog is emphasized. Turn off any surround processing your TV might be doing. If none of that works, turn off HDMI audio in the player and run good old, fashioned analog stereo cables to the TV. What player do you have, btw? I see more complaints about this problem from Sony S350 owners than from any other player. Perhaps that player doesn't downmix properly. Also, how does it sound when you play a disc with an actual stereo track, one that the player doesn't need to downmix from 5.1 on the fly?

08-12-2009, 08:12 PM	#3
Perquacky Junior Member Member since:Aug 2009	Thank you for the help. First, I have a Samsung BD-p1500 Player. It appears to have 3 audio modes: PCM, Bitstream(Re-encode), and Bitstream (Audiophile) I do have PCM Down Sampling but says that it migh tonly work through an optical digital output. I have plenty of extra RCA cables laying around I could try. But have to figure out how to turn of HDMI sound. Worst case is buying speakers, but it still seems strange that blu-ray would cater to the most knowledgable people, I know it sounds strange but you guys would be able to figure this stuff out if they did not, and if you just buy a TV and blu-ray, it gets very complicated. Thansk for the help again!

08-12-2009, 08:17 PM	#4
Perquacky Junior Member Member since:Aug 2009	Forgot to reply to your last question about the stereo sound. Funny thing, Last night was my first night to install and watch blu-ray and I only had one disc, Casino. I put it in and it went to the language slection menu and froze. I was going nuts, ran out, bought a new disc, Predator, and it worked fine. Guess the VERY first disc i buy on my VERY first attempt to use this was bad. What are the odds. Long story short, I only have those two discs in blu-ray but my cheap DVDs seem to work well. I will have to try the french stereo mode on Predator just to see if the audio is better for speach.

08-18-2009, 09:17 AM	#5
BozQ Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Singapore 4K collection:- Blu-ray collection:-	PCM Downsampling is NOT the same as PCM Downmixing! I just looked through the user manual of your BD player here http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/co...ENG-080609.pdf PCM Downsampling is to "convert" 96kHz audio to 48kHz, but you don't have to worry about this at all. The main setting you should consider is the Digital Output mode, which according to the manual, it doesn't matter which mode. So you can just set it to PCM mode and leave it alone. HDMI is a digital cable system, it is quite intelligent enough for your BD player to identify what kind of speaker set up you have. So for your case, it will know that you are playing audio through a TV/HDTV, so it will automatically downmix for you to 2.0 stereo. Dynamic Range Compression is a useful feature for boosting the volumes in portions of the movie where it's soft, and lowering the volume when it's too loud. Since you are playing through a HDTV, it is recommended for you to turn it on. A full home theatre system is when you can turn it off for better effect.

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