Any Blu-ray Player That Decodes All HD Audio Formats Yet?

[Rob Tomlin]

Title pretty much says it all. Still waiting for a player than can internally decode all the audio formats, including DTS Master Audio. Where are they?

[Jodi]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Title pretty much says it all. Still waiting for a player than can internally decode all the audio formats, including DTS Master Audio. Where are they?

We can only hope that the second generation of Blu players will be able to internally decode all HD audio formats. I would like to think that Sony's new high-end Blu player (the $1000 - $1500 one) that will be released in late 2007 will be capable of doing it. Somehow I don't see the recently announced Sony BDP-S300 ($599 and due out this summer) able to decode the HD audio codecs. As for the other manufacturers, I just can't even guess.
We'll wait and see.

Jodi

[Maximus]

Also the Sharp player due in Q3 claims to do TrueHD and DTS-MA.

[JToddler]

Ultimately the decoding is left to the receiver with the latest decoding format capabilities, blu-ray players or may it be a dvd player or what not, passes on the signal to the receiver. Hence, no matter how advanced your player is, if your receiver is old, then the purpose is futile! Just make sure to purchase a receiver that can decode all the formats coupled with the speaker set up that allows you to enjoy the sound(s) that you want to hear!

[thunderhawk]

I doubt it. In the beginning probably, but afterwards... They'll just leave the decoding to the receiver, like with DVD (there were plenty of models with decoders, but are there still now?).

[Iceman_II]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Title pretty much says it all. Still waiting for a player than can internally decode all the audio formats, including DTS Master Audio. Where are they?

The formats you are discussing is for the really top end of the audio ladder. Wouldn't most people with high end systems be wanting just a data stream to feed their amps to keep all that audio goodness, rather than decode it in the player and send the decoded signal to the amps? Seems to me that sending a digital signal to your reciever/amps would be a whole lot cleaner than sending a bunch of analog wave forms which could degrade.

IMHO, I trust my reciever/amp to faithfully play around with the audio signal a whole lot more than I trust ANY BD or DVD player.

Not to throw stones, and nothing personal, but lets put this in perspective. I would think that most people wanting internal decoding are people without the capability to play the audio otherwise, and rather than fork out the bucks to upgrade their recievers/amps, they want to increase the cost of ALL BD hardware by including features and capabilities which few others would use.

[Knight-Errant]

Well the decoding technology is not yet available in receivers so the only way to get the advanced codecs is to do the decoding in the player at the moment.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

The formats you are discussing is for the really top end of the audio ladder. Wouldn't most people with high end systems be wanting just a data stream to feed their amps to keep all that audio goodness, rather than decode it in the player and send the decoded signal to the amps? Seems to me that sending a digital signal to your reciever/amps would be a whole lot cleaner than sending a bunch of analog wave forms which could degrade.

This would apply to players that ONLY have 5.1/7.1 analog out that also decodes TrueHD and DTS HDMA.

If a player decodes TrueHD and DTS HDMA for both analog and HDMI out, this doesn't hold water, as the PCM signal in the HDMI path is still digital.


fuad

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by Knight-Errant

Well the decoding technology is not yet available in receivers so the only way to get the advanced codecs is to do the decoding in the player at the moment.

Exactly!

And has been mentioned many times before, if the disc is authored in the "advanced" mode, the player MUST decode the audio codec INTERNALLY. If that is the case, why would you need or want your processor to have these decoding capabilities?

[thunderhawk]

It all depends on it.

[bruce]

Well I just found this, the specs on the new HD DVD player, the HD-A20 and look what they have listed for specs under audio-

Built-in Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS and DTS-HD Decoders.

If f'ing Toshiba can do it on a player that comes out in April, why can't Sony on a player that does not come out until this Summer, I can't think of one HD DVD that has DTS-HD sound but we have Fox putting Blu-Ray discs out every month with it.

[Deciazulado]

Wasn't DTS HD MA different from DTS HD?

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by bruce

Well I just found this, the specs on the new HD DVD player, the HD-A20 and look what they have listed for specs under audio-

Built-in Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS and DTS-HD Decoders.

If f'ing Toshiba can do it on a player that comes out in April, why can't Sony on a player that does not come out until this Summer, I can't think of one HD DVD that has DTS-HD sound but we have Fox putting Blu-Ray discs out every month with it.

I'm with you all the way here.

It is certainly ironic that the Toshiba will be able to do DTS-HD, but BD players can't, when there are NO HD-DVD's that have DTS-HD!!

But there are quite a few BD discs with DTS-HD as you say, but we can't hear it!

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Wasn't DTS HD MA different from DTS HD?

Yes.

[thunderhawk]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Yes.

Is it?...

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

DTS-HD Master Audio - Previously known as DTS++ and DTS-HD, DTS-HD Master Audio supports a virtually unlimited number of surround sound channels, can downmix to 5.1- and two-channel, and can deliver audio quality at bit rates extending from DTS Digital Surround up to lossless (24-bit, 96 kHz). DTS-HD Master Audio is selected as an optional surround sound format for Blu-ray and HD-DVD. DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD are the only technologies that deliver compressed lossless surround sound for these new disc formats, ensuring the highest quality audio performance available in the new standards. (n.b. DTS Coherent Acoustics coding system has been selected as mandatory audio technology for both the Blu-ray Disc (BD) and High Definition Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD)[3])

[bruce]

Hope this explains everything-



DTS-HD Master Audio is capable of delivering audio that is a bit-for-bit identical to the studio master. DTS-HD Master Audio delivers audio at super high variable bit rates -24.5 mega-bits per second (Mbps) on Blu-ray discs and 18.0 Mbps on HD-DVD - that are significantly higher than standard DVDs . This bit stream is so "fast" and the transfer rate is so "high" that it can deliver the Holy Grail of audio: 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths that are identical to the original. With DTS-HD Master Audio, you will be able to experience movies and music, exactly as the artist intended: clear, pure, and uncompromised.

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio can deliver up to 7.1 channels of sound that is virtually indistinguishable from the original. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio delivers audio at high constant bit rates superior to standard DVDs---6.0 Mbps on Blu-ray discs and 3.0 Mbps on HD-DVD to produce outstanding sound quality. It is capable of delivering up to 7.1 channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depth resolution. It allows content creators to deliver rich, high definition audio on movies where disc space may not allow for DTS-HD Master Audio.

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by thunderhawk

Is it?...

Interesting. I thought so.

From the DTS website:

You can enjoy DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio if you have a new Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD player with a DTS-HD Audio decoder built into the player....

They seem to be differentiating between two formats here, but I don't know if there is actually a difference.

edit: Bruce got in before my response. Thanks Bruce!

[Rob Tomlin]

BTW, Bruce's response is a perfect example of why you should never trust Wikipedia at face value!

[bruce]

Well I kind of gave up, with none of the new(upcoming) players having the DTS-HD codecs, I went to Best Buy with a print out of the current price from Target(Amazon) for $525.00 on the Samsung to see if they would match, they did, so now I have my 2nd player, the PS3 and a A1 upstairs on my 65" Toshiba 1080 DLP and a Samsung and a A1 for my Optima 720P projector downstairs.

[Blackraven]

Isn't the DTS already built-in to the PS3 hardware spec? I guess the only thing needed is a firmware upgrade that would activate the DTS feature.