How can I get lossless?

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by CraigW

I am not going to get sucked into a DD v. dts debate.

Many DVDs are in fact encoded at with DD@448kbps. It was WHV that was fixated on the 384kbps rate for many years.

As far as the maxrate lossy tracks on Blu, I guess I have never cared to compare them. They just exist as a stop gap for those that haven't upgraded yet. They probably are a little better than the lower rates found on DVD, but I doubt with with complex audio designs that they are much better than the standard DVD tracks.

At least with lossless you know that it is probably the closest you will ever get to the master audio stems at home.

You haven't listened. Yet, you know with certainty that lossless is clearly better. How? (I'm going to assume you also haven't done any research on the subject or read the opinions of audio professionals about this specific comparison.)

Not a DD-DTS debate, btw. This is a specific subset of that discussion limited to the quality of the outputs at the maximum legacy bitrates on HD media - rates that are outside the DVD spec for Dolby.

I also believe you are mistaken about the prevalence of DD 5.1 @ 448 on DVD. But, it's not relevant either way since this is about 640, which is not supported on DVD.

[Darkdruid81]

Originally Posted by inlayterms

O.K., so, given my setup, an internal decoder is needed. Thank-you. I think I'm going to keep the receiver, it fits with the rest of my equipment, and I'm happy to give the PS3 a break from playing Blu-ray and dedicate it to games. Do you recommend any good Blu-ray players with internal decoding (perhaps a Sony)?

well it truly depends on your budget but i think if you can get a good deal on a Panasonic blu ray player go with that as they perform much better than a Sony

[Tok]

Originally Posted by BIslander

You haven't listened. Yet, you know with certainty that lossless is clearly better. How? (I'm going to assume you also haven't done any research on the subject or read the opinions of audio professionals about this specific comparison.)

Not a DD-DTS debate, btw. This is a specific subset of that discussion limited to the quality of the outputs at the maximum legacy bitrates on HD media - rates that are outside the DVD spec for Dolby.

I also believe you are mistaken about the prevalence of DD 5.1 @ 448 on DVD. But, it's not relevant either way since this is about 640, which is not supported on DVD.

What's the point of listening when I can easily tell the difference between DVD lossy and BD lossless. Is 640kbps better? Sure.

As far as DVD many high profile studios were using 448kbps, but Warner was fixated on 384 for a long period of time.

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by CraigW

What's the point of listening when I can easily tell the difference between DVD lossy and BD lossless.

To learn something, perhaps.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by BIslander

To learn something, perhaps.

Unless you have highend equipment to analyze the signal, most audio comparison testing is subjective. I don't believe that an extra 192kbps divided among five channels is going make it significantly better. Better sure, significant enough to compare with a lossless system that when decoded would produce a PCM file of 16-bit@48kHz.

Again I can hear a significant difference between DVD lossy and BD lossless. The original poster wanted to know what to do get lossless without sacrificing his main audio component. Lossless > Lossy, if I can get lossless with my system then I don't really care what the legacy lossy track sounds like.

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by CraigW

The original poster wanted to know what to do get lossless without sacrificing his main audio component.

Here's what the OP asked:

Originally Posted by inlayterms

As my sig should show, my receiver is a Parasound AVC-1800. It doesn't have HDMI inputs (or capabilities, for that matter), so I'm using an optical cable for games and movies (thus limiting myself to lossy sound). My receiver, however, does have discreet 5.1 multiple analog inputs.

So, short of selling my receiver, is there an HDMI converter that I can purchase to connect my PS3 to my Parasound AVC-1800 in order to get lossless sound? If not, will a Blu-ray player with 5.1 analog outputs suffice for me to get "the good stuff"?

The OP started this thread based on the belief that he has to buy new equipment in order to get the best sound - either a box that converts the PCM from his PS3 into multichannel analog or a decoding player with analog outs.

You obviously agree that those are the only two choices.

I believe there's a third choice. If the quality of the max bitrate legacy encodes on Blu match lossless, then the OP doesn't need to buy anything. His current player and processor will do just fine.

Originally Posted by CraigW

Lossless > Lossy, if I can get lossless with my system then I don't really care what the legacy lossy track sounds like.

You may not care. But, it actually matters to the OP because he can't get lossless without ditching a processor he clearly wants to keep or spending money on a new player or a converter box.

I have no problem if you disagree about the quality of the DTS core and 640kbps Dolby tracks compared to lossless. But, it appears you've come to a conclusion based on absolutely nothing. I do object to that.