Linear PCM vs Bitstream

[mad ferret]

hi guyz i am a little new to these things so i have few questions i will be very thankful if you can answer them
i own a playstation 3 and sony sf-2300 system. What should i choose bitstream or pcm setting for blu ray movies?

the second thing is that when i put the gh metallica game the receiver show `dolby digital` but when i play other games like pes2009 and cod4 it doesnt show `dolby digital` is this a problem? how i can get dolby digital sound from these games or should i in the first place?

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by mad ferret

hi guyz i am a little new to these things so i have few questions i will be very thankful if you can answer them
i own a playstation 3 and sony sf-2300 system. What should i choose bitstream or pcm setting for blu ray movies?

the second thing is that when i put the gh metallica game the receiver show `dolby digital` but when i play other games like pes2009 and cod4 it doesnt show `dolby digital` is this a problem? how i can get dolby digital sound from these games or should i in the first place?

First, are you connecting PS3 using HDMI? If yes, then make sure that your audio (HDMI out) is set to Linear PCM in order to get lossless audio. If you are using an optical cable, you should have the audio (Optical out) set to bitstream. With an optical cable, lossless audio is not possible.

As for the display of your receiver, no worries. Games handle their own audio streams, so there is nothing that you can really do about that. However, with Blu-ray film content, HDMI + setting above will always yield a "PCM" or "Multich" display. This is because the PS3 is doing all of the work and sending the audio as a PCM signal.

[kornflake7]

ya not really sure how to set my stuff up either I got it setup and it seems like it should be louder, I have a sony bdp-s350 and just got a pioneer vsx-919ah-k have it hooked up via hdmi then hdmi to my tv I have the sony setup all pcm or downmix pcm should it be set to dolby digital? and how should I have it setup on the receiver I just have been doing the auto calibration seeing as I just got it today and haven't had much time to mess with it. Or if I need to hook it up via optical that is fine I have the cables just need to know the direction to go. Any help would be appreciated thanks guys

[Revrick52]

When I stream a video from Amazon Prime it says that it is 5.1 but my receiver says LPCM. BD is set to off. Do I need to set another thing on the bluray player?
My blurays play without a problem. Its only the Amazon which does this. I use a chromecast for Netflix with no problem with 5.1 being that it is connected direct to the USB port on the rear of my Sony 1020 receiver. Would appreciate any help with this.

[snakemaster7]

Originally Posted by Revrick52

When I stream a video from Amazon Prime it says that it is 5.1 but my receiver says LPCM. BD is set to off. Do I need to set another thing on the bluray player?
My blurays play without a problem. Its only the Amazon which does this. I use a chromecast for Netflix with no problem with 5.1 being that it is connected direct to the USB port on the rear of my Sony 1020 receiver. Would appreciate any help with this.

Sorry, but I lol'd.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by snakemaster7

Sorry, but I lol'd.

I corrected it

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by Revrick52

When I stream a video from Amazon Prime it says that it is 5.1 but my receiver says LPCM. BD is set to off. Do I need to set another thing on the bluray player?
My blurays play without a problem. Its only the Amazon which does this. I use a chromecast for Netflix with no problem with 5.1 being that it is connected direct to the USB porn on the rear of my Sony 1020 receiver. Would appreciate any help with this.

There's no difference in the sound so why are you concerned about it?

[Ace of Sevens]

Originally Posted by Revrick52

When I stream a video from Amazon Prime it says that it is 5.1 but my receiver says LPCM. BD is set to off. Do I need to set another thing on the bluray player?
My blurays play without a problem. Its only the Amazon which does this. I use a chromecast for Netflix with no problem with 5.1 being that it is connected direct to the USB port on the rear of my Sony 1020 receiver. Would appreciate any help with this.

How are you playing the Amazon stuff? What device is connected to Amazon and how does it hook to your audio system?

[sj001]

My understanding is that the PS3 currently is unable to output any Hi Def codecs via Bitstream, that being DTS-HD MA or Dolby TrueHD, let alone PCM. However with PCM it will decode TrueHD internally, and send it to your receiver, and you will get the CORE DTS-HD (1.5Mbps), but not full as of yet. PCM uncompressed should definitely sound better than Dolby Digital.

[Disco_And]

Originally Posted by neckedness

I'm new to this. I just got the Onkyo TX-SR605. I been playing with the PS3's Blu-ray settings and notice if it's set to Bitstream and blu-ray disc soundtrack set to Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds amazing and can see the dolby digital sign lit on the receiver. But the PCM uncompressed soundtrack isn't as good.

Can someone explain?

I have the onkyo 875
And I have mine on bit stream, by using the hdmi lead to the amp it decodes the PCM track on the onkyo and sounds better than the PS3 decoding it , but if you want to hear TrueHD you have to let the PS3 do it in LPCM because the PS3 cant send it in bit stream even with hdmi 1.3 it's down to the hardware so it makes it into LPCM then sends it to the Amp, but like I said don’t leave it in LPCM because all you are doing is letting the PS3 do all the decoding for everything and as you have herd it’s not as good as the onkyo

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by Disco_And

I have the onkyo 875
And I have mine on bit stream, by using the hdmi lead to the amp it decodes the PCM track on the onkyo and sounds better than the PS3 decoding it , but if you want to hear TrueHD you have to let the PS3 do it in LPCM because the PS3 cant send it in bit stream even with hdmi 1.3 it's down to the hardware so it makes it into LPCM then sends it to the Amp, but like I said don’t leave it in LPCM because all you are doing is letting the PS3 do all the decoding for everything and as you have herd it’s not as good as the onkyo

Thank you, as this was what I have been trying to say 5 or so posts ago.

[shatta]

whoa whoa whoa whoa...hold up......right now my ps3 is using optical output...and set to bitstream...with this..my 5.1 sounds good...when for example..in POTC 2 when jack knock off the head of that snail head guy with the coconut..and he fell to the right...the sound came out of the right front speaker only...very nice....my receiver had and orgasm at that moment


so ur tellin me,,the only way i can experience the above with truehd and pcm..is if i have an hdmi input and output for the receiver.....and set my ps3 to linear pcm?

[neckedness]

Originally Posted by Disco_And

I have the onkyo 875
And I have mine on bit stream, by using the hdmi lead to the amp it decodes the PCM track on the onkyo and sounds better than the PS3 decoding it , but if you want to hear TrueHD you have to let the PS3 do it in LPCM because the PS3 cant send it in bit stream even with hdmi 1.3 it's down to the hardware so it makes it into LPCM then sends it to the Amp, but like I said don’t leave it in LPCM because all you are doing is letting the PS3 do all the decoding for everything and as you have herd it’s not as good as the onkyo

So it's best to leave on Bitstream for PCM 5.1? Even though the volume is lower than DD, just turn it up alot more? Thanks for the answer.

[Audio5oh]

Originally Posted by Disco_And

I have the onkyo 875
And I have mine on bit stream, by using the hdmi lead to the amp it decodes the PCM track on the onkyo and sounds better than the PS3 decoding it , but if you want to hear TrueHD you have to let the PS3 do it in LPCM because the PS3 cant send it in bit stream even with hdmi 1.3 it's down to the hardware so it makes it into LPCM then sends it to the Amp, but like I said don’t leave it in LPCM because all you are doing is letting the PS3 do all the decoding for everything and as you have herd it’s not as good as the onkyo

Your pretty much answered my questions, but I have a few concerns. I'm no expert at this Home Theater stuff, so bare with me. I recently bought a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu Ray thats hooked up via a Samsung LN46A650 tv via a Sony 1.2 receiver. Everything is connected via HDMI cables. I plan on buying the Sony STR-DA5300ES very soon, which is equipped with HDMI version 1.3. I hate to say it, but my previous Yamaha DVD player actually sounded way better. I have the blu ray player set to PCM because, according to the manual, it is the appropriate choice since the receiver is NOT equipped with HDMI version 1.3 Problem is, now I have to turn up the volume slightly higher than before when listening to movies or music cd's, plus movies don't sound as good as compared to the Yamaha. Does this mean that I need the 1.3 receiver? According to the Samsung manual, it is suggested that I set the digital audio output to Bitstream (audiophile), only if I have a receiver with HDMI version 1.3, which I don't have yet. Having said this, I noticed that my receiver no longer displays the type of surround formats, such as DTS, Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital EX, especially when playing standard DVD's. Now, no matter what I play, whether it be a blu ray or standard dvd, the display always reads "linear pcm 48khz". If I replace the old receiver for the newer 1.3 receiver, and set it to "bitstream", this means the receiver will do the decoding for the player, right? Where am i confused?

[edDvedD]

anynody using this system with PS3?mind to share ur setting coz i'm using this cheap speaker only...

http://www.gadgetsguru.com/sony-ht-d...ndia-4267.aspx

http://sumaria.co.in/product_info.ph...b7af6e7c7bff71

rite now my setting is PS3 with LPCM thru optical and select Pro-Logic II for the best sound.PCM or trueHD or DTS-HD MA will rock the house but not DD 5.1...

[jdc115]

Originally Posted by Audio5oh

Problem is, now I have to turn up the volume slightly higher than before when listening to movies or music cd's, plus movies don't sound as good as compared to the Yamaha. Does this mean that I need the 1.3 receiver?

The volume difference really doesn't mean anything, it is not really a function of the sound quality though people often confuse the difference in volume as a difference in sound quality.

But if you match the volume levels, can you tell a difference in the sound quality of sending the signal over as Bitstream vs PCM?

[Audio5oh]

I tried using Bitstream, although it is not suggested with my 1.2 receiver, however, the only difference I see is that in PCM mode it sounds better.

[He-Man]

Originally Posted by neckedness

I'm new to this. I just got the Onkyo TX-SR605. I been playing with the PS3's Blu-ray settings and notice if it's set to Bitstream and blu-ray disc soundtrack set to Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds amazing and can see the dolby digital sign lit on the receiver. But the PCM uncompressed soundtrack isn't as good.

If I set to Linear PCM, and the movie soundtrack to Dolby Digital 5.1, the sound is low and not so good. But the PCM uncompressed soundtrack sounds louder and better than the DD5.1. Though it still doesn't sound amazing if set on bitstream and DD5.1.

I thought PCM uncompressed suppose to sound amazing and better than DD5.1. The movie I tried were Talledega Nights and Stealth.

Can someone explain?

I'm experiencing the exact, i mean exact same thing! the 5.1 PCM track sounds so so low compared to the bitstream DD track, i have to turn the volume twice as high just to even get the same affect.

[{wbk}viper]

Ok so I've read the entire thread here. And there is one thing I still dont understand. Perhaps you fine people can be of assistance.

I use the Onkyo 705. It's 1.3 compliant.

#1 I also observe that when I set my ps3 to bitstream that the audio is, not just a little better, but night and day better. The center channel is not clear at all on LPCM and the sound does not seem to fill the room. I have adjusted for any dB disparity that may exist between the two. The bitstream DD track is much more full and is louder. The LPCM is a bit softer so I adjust the volume up a bit to match the bitstreamed stream. But the audio quality is (I would say) quite poor on the LPCM track. I don't think it's good at all. I base this assessment on several movies with differing tracks. The most recent is the latest harry potter BD. It says it's encoded in PCM 5.1. I tried LPCM for it and it was bad. The Bitstream was AWESOME!!

This leads me to my biggest lack of understanding.

#2. When I set the ps3 to LPCM to play the 5.1 PCM track on harry potter, I opened the onscreen diplay and it said that it was playing DD 5.1 at 48K. Why would it say that? When I switched it to Bitstream and looked at the OSD it said 5.1 Multi Channel @48k. What? Am I missing something? I though the multi channel was the PCM and the DD was the bitstream. The ps3 seems to be showing the opposite.

The LPCM souds so bad, I think there must be something I havent configured correctly. Perhaps I haven't selected the appropriate track on the BD? Should I have to do that?

Any help would be appreciated...but for now I don't understand how anyone can think that PCM is better...but I'm sure I have something wrong here.

[crackinhedz]

you have to manually select which audio track to play on the Bluray disc menu. It defaults to dolby digital or dts if you dont.