receiver audio are HDMI audio, optical, and digital coaxial inputs the same?

[mustang-gt-2002]

on my YAMAHA 663 receiver I have only 2 HDMI inputs. one is for the insignia Blu-ray player to get 7.1 dts-HD master audio and dolby true-HD. the other one is for the PS3 for 7.1 gaming. so my question is. which is better to use the optical OR digital coaxial input on the receiver for my DVD player and DirecTV-HD box. the DVD player will play 6.1 DVD's like on "the lord of the rings". will both optical and digital coaxial inputs do 6.1

I can try both but which will give me better sound I would like to hear it from you. thanks for your help

[Big Daddy]

HDMI cable can give you HD audio such as LPCM, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS HD MA. Optical and coaxial cables are almost identical in their delivery and can give you multi-channel audio in lossy Dolby Digital and DTS Digital formats. To understand the differences, read A Guide to Optical, Coaxial, & Speaker Cables. Also, it may be helpful to read A Guide to Home Theater Audio Codecs.

[Driver_King]

Many prefer the use of Digital Coaxial over Optical. There really aren't major differences between the two but if you have the choice, go for the Coaxial connection.

[cdot2four]

couldnt you just use a hdmi switcher??

[mustang-gt-2002]

Originally Posted by cdot2four

couldnt you just use a hdmi switcher??

yes a HDMI switcher would fix things but being the DVD player and DirecTV-HD box. do not output dts-HD master audio and dolby true-HD. there is no need for the use of HDMI on none HD audio.

but thanks for the suggestion

[SirBoss]

Hi I have an older reciever that does not have HDMI so i am using Optical cable, I have read in some other forums that this connection will only output 2.0 channel, but on the front panel screen of the reciever it displays dolby digital when playing DVDs and DTS when playing bluray also theres a massive difference from PCM to dolby to DTS (obviously) with optical audio cable used.

1. So my question is my Optical cable outputing 2.0 still even when it shows dolby or DTS OR is outputing 5.1 channel surround please help it is frustrating me 2. Also my samsung bd-f7500 analog out.

[Scarriere]

Originally Posted by SirBoss

Hi I have an older reciever that does not have HDMI so i am using Optical cable, I have read in some other forums that this connection will only output 2.0 channel, but on the front panel screen of the reciever it displays dolby digital when playing DVDs and DTS when playing bluray also theres a massive difference from PCM to dolby to DTS (obviously) with optical audio cable used.

1. So my question is my Optical cable outputing 2.0 still even when it shows dolby or DTS OR is outputing 5.1 channel surround please help it is frustrating me 2. Also my samsung bd-f7500 analog out.

It should be outputting 5.1 DD and DTS. If you play something PCM, it'll be 2.0
I'm fairly certain of this. If Bislander or Pentatonic were around, he/they could have a definitive answer.

[ZoetMB]

Why do you need the DVD player at all? Your Blu-ray player will play DVDs.

[benji888578]

Originally Posted by SirBoss

Hi I have an older reciever that does not have HDMI so i am using Optical cable, I have read in some other forums that this connection will only output 2.0 channel, but on the front panel screen of the reciever it displays dolby digital when playing DVDs and DTS when playing bluray also theres a massive difference from PCM to dolby to DTS (obviously) with optical audio cable used.

1. So my question is my Optical cable outputing 2.0 still even when it shows dolby or DTS OR is outputing 5.1 channel surround please help it is frustrating me 2. Also my samsung bd-f7500 analog out.

The optical connection will give you regular (compressed) DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1, as long as you have your player set to bitstream. Setting your player for PCM will achieve only 2.0 channels through the optical cable. In this case, your receiver will likely use Dolby Pro Logic (/II) for dolby sources with this setting to convert the 2.0 channels to 5.1, but, DTS will only be 2.0.

Some blu-rays have Dolby True HD, not DTS, but, not to worry, both Dolby True HD & DTS-HD MA include the regular (compressed) DD 5.1 & DTS 5.1, so using the bitstream setting is your best (highest quality) option, even with your optical connection.

[Tech-UK]

Originally Posted by benji888578

The optical connection will give you regular (compressed) DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1, as long as you have your player set to bitstream. Setting your player for PCM will achieve only 2.0 channels through the optical cable. In this case, your receiver will likely use Dolby Pro Logic (/II) for dolby sources with this setting to convert the 2.0 channels to 5.1, but, DTS will only be 2.0.

Some blu-rays have Dolby True HD, not DTS, but, not to worry, both Dolby True HD & DTS-HD MA include the regular (compressed) DD 5.1 & DTS 5.1, so using the bitstream setting is your best (highest quality) option, even with your optical connection.

Dolby Pro Logic works on any PCM signal, so if the player is decoding DD and DTS to 2.0 PCM for transport over S/PDIF, then Pro Logic will be applied at the receiver. If you bitstream DD, some DD tracks (specifically Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 tracks) have a PL flag, that will automatically enable PL, depending on the receiver and settings.