Can i still get sound from my old DVD Home Theater System?

[travisbickle]

I'm getting ready to buy a PS3 Slim mostly for blu-rays, and i have an old home theater 5 DVD changer with an Optical Digital Audio input.

I know the PS3 has a Digital audio output, so would i be able to get 5.1 for my Blu-Rays just using a Optical digital audio cord?

Here's what i have http://www.amazon.com/Remanufactured-Samsung-HT-P38-Theater-System/dp/B000B56II2

Help appreciated, this was one of the last things that kept me from going Blu..because i thought i would have to rely on my TV speakers for sound!

[Kryptonic]

Yes, you will be able to get the "core" audio from Blu-Ray's using optical. You will get Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1, but not the lossless TrueHD or DTS-HD.

[travisbickle]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Yes, you will be able to get the "core" audio from Blu-Ray's using optical. You will get Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1, but not the lossless TrueHD or DTS-HD.

Thanks, my home theater doesn't do HDMI..but that doen't matter right?

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by travisbickle

Thanks, my home theater doesn't do HDMI..but that doen't matter right?

You're television doesn't have an HDMI input? If it does, just send the HDMI to your television, but in the PS3 menu, turn off the HDMI audio and instead send it over optical to your Samsung HTiB. If you're television doesn't have HDMI, using component cables will give you 720p/1080i, but DVD's will still be 480p.

[travisbickle]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

You're television doesn't have an HDMI input? If it does, just send the HDMI to your television, but in the PS3 menu, turn off the HDMI audio and instead send it over optical to your Samsung HTiB. If you're television doesn't have HDMI, using component cables will give you 720p/1080i, but DVD's will still be 480p.

No my TV does have HDMI, just not the Samsung HTIB.

So just plug the HDMI to the TV and PS3, then the Optical cord to the ps3 and Samsung...and i'm set?

Sorry if this sounds dumb, i'm know nothing about this stuff.

[Kryptonic]

Yeah, that's right. HDMI from PS3 to TV. Optical from PS3 to Samsung HTiB. Remember to turn the HDMI audio off though when setting up the PS3. You only want the HTiB to provide the sound.

[travisbickle]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Yeah, that's right. HDMI from PS3 to TV. Optical from PS3 to Samsung HTiB. Remember to turn the HDMI audio off though when setting up the PS3. You only want the HTiB to provide the sound.

Alrighty, thanks alot man.

[tsk609]

Thanks 'travisbickle' for that question. I had been struggling to find an answer for the same for the past 2 wks.

[benbess]

I've used a similar set up to what the op is doing for the last month that I've enjoyed blu. We have a ps3 hooked up to our old Sony "dreamsystem" 5dvd player/home theater system.

It worked great, and we were frequently amazed by the sound, until yesterday.

Yesterday the volume control stopped working. Or, more accurately, you could turn it up but not down. Yikes. So we're stuck on volume 27 until we can get it fixed (or find the old remote).

My question is this: is anyone in a city like I like in (Louisville, KY, pop c.800,000) likely to be able to fix something like that for a low price?

If they're not, what receiver in the c. $300 range (or less, if possible) would you recommend for hooking up the 5.1 speakers of our current system?

Many thanks in advance.
Ben

[benbess]

Never mind on those last questions. Found the remote. Works great. Sounds great.

But how do I get the best lossless hd sound from the PS3. What's the setting for that. I see all sorts of sound settings, but none of them seem to be that. They are all 5.1 dolby, and 178 mhz 2 channel, or whatever. What's the best setting to use?

Again, many thanks in advance.

[Phil Taylor]

Originally Posted by benbess

Never mind on those last questions. Found the remote. Works great. Sounds great.

But how do I get the best lossless hd sound from the PS3. What's the setting for that. I see all sorts of sound settings, but none of them seem to be that. They are all 5.1 dolby, and 178 mhz 2 channel, or whatever. What's the best setting to use?

Again, many thanks in advance.

You can't get lossless/HD audio from your HTiB. HD audio is decoded by the latest generations of receivers and a few newer HTiBs.

[benbess]

Originally Posted by Phil Taylor

You can't get lossless/HD audio from your HTiB. HD audio is decoded by the latest generations of receivers and a few newer HTiBs.

Phil Taylor: Many thanks for that. How do I tell if a receiver is true lossless HD? I suppose it says that somewhere in the tech specs. Hmmmm. How much of a jump in sound quality do you think it would be from what I have now, given that I'm 44 years old, have decent hearing, love music, but can't really pretend that I'm a true audio-junkie.

Is there a receiver that does lossless hd for c. $300 or so? Whatever the price, what brand and model do you recommend...?

[BIslander]

The receiver specs will say what decoders are included. But, with a PS3, all you need is a receiver that processes audio over HDMI. The PS3 can do the decoding itself and output PCM.

As for quality, DTS and DD 5.1 sound great on blu-ray. They are less compressed than DTS and DD 5.1 on DVD. You may not hear much, if any improvement, from lossless.

[Phil Taylor]

Originally Posted by benbess

Is there a receiver that does lossless hd for c. $300 or so? Whatever the price, what brand and model do you recommend...?

Here's a nice economical 5.1 AVR from Yamaha with decent specs - does the HD audio and has 4 HDMI inputs - just under $330 shipped - that's US - Amazon won't ship it to Canada but you should be able to find it locally --
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V465...dp/B001S2RD9U/

True that you may not notice a lot of difference ... depends on your ears and standards.

[benbess]

Phil and Bilander: Many thanks. I'll think it over....

[Kryptonic]

Originally Posted by Phil Taylor

Here's a nice economical 5.1 AVR from Yamaha with decent specs - does the HD audio and has 4 HDMI inputs - just under $330 shipped - that's US - Amazon won't ship it to Canada but you should be able to find it locally --
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V465...dp/B001S2RD9U/

True that you may not notice a lot of difference ... depends on your ears and standards.

I would recommend the Denon AVR590 over the Yamaha. They really stripped down that Yamaha from last years version. It's significantly lighter and has spring connectors for the speakers. I was looking at this Yamaha when buying my receiver and it just felt cheaply made compared to the Denon. Which I did buy and have greatly enjoyed it's flawless performance for the past couple of months.

You may want to look into the Onkyo 507 as well.

[XBR8]

Hello!

My Hometheater setup includes:

- Sony XBR8 with multiple HDMI inputs
- Yamaha RX V620 which has multichannel analog and optical but no HDMI
- PS3 slim.

I plan to route HDMI from PS3 to TV for video. I will primarily be using the PS3to watch blu ray movies, second to gaming. Therefore 5.1 Dolby/DTS surround sound is important.

Is it possible to connect the multi AV (audio only) to the reciever or is optical
the only option? I'm not a big fan of optical since there is some loss in the conversion of signal from electrical/light.

I'm interested in knowing the best audio option for this scenario with non-HDMI reciever and PS3.

Thanks for your help.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by XBR8

Hello!

My Hometheater setup includes:

- Sony XBR8 with multiple HDMI inputs
- Yamaha RX V620 which has multichannel analog and optical but no HDMI
- PS3 slim.

I plan to route HDMI from PS3 to TV for video. I will primarily be using the PS3to watch blu ray movies, second to gaming. Therefore 5.1 Dolby/DTS surround sound is important.

Is it possible to connect the multi AV (audio only) to the reciever or is optical
the only option? I'm not a big fan of optical since there is some loss in the conversion of signal from electrical/light.

I'm interested in knowing the best audio option for this scenario with non-HDMI reciever and PS3.

Thanks for your help.

Unfortunately the PS3 does not have multi-channel outs. You will have to connect via optical from the PS3 to the receiver (I don't recommend going optical from TV to receiver). The DD 5.1 / DTS core tracks are still a noticeable upgrade from DVD.

You may want to put away money from time to time and save up for a new receiver with HDMI inputs to get lossless audio.

This link should help:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=40872