No sound on some Blu-Ray discs

[murphs76]

Hi,

I have:
my Blu-Ray player connected to my TV via HDMI
my Blu-Ray player connected to my Home Theatre via optical cable
my TV connected to my Home Theatre via RCA cables (for Foxtel)

When I watch a Blu-Ray disc I switch the Home Theatre system over to use the optical cable (D-IN) so I get Dolby Digital surround sound.

However I have encountered about 3 discs so far (new releases, latest one being X-Men Origins - Wolverine) where I can't get any sound via the optical link and I have to switch over to the RCA cable setting (AUX).

Is this because some discs have different audio output?
Is there a setting I can set so that all discs can be heard through the optical cable?

Thanks,

- Murph -

[Rob J in WNY]

Interesting question. Generally, no matter what multichannel audio scheme a BD movie utilizes, over an optical connection, it should fall back to either lossy Dolby Digital or lossy DTS.

All I can think of is that you may need a firmware update on your Panny BD60 player.

[murphs76]

Hi, I downloaded the firmware update for my region and tried to install it but apparently my player is up to date. I'm thinking that maybe the settings aren't correct for the connections I have.

In the manual it says:
Select whether Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Digital Surround, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio is output in “Bitstream” or “PCM” format.
Bitstream:
Select “Bitstream” when the connected equipment can decode the respective audio format.
–Connect equipment supporting HDMI (High Bit rate Audio) and use a High Speed HDMI Cable in order to output high bit rate audio such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio.
PCM:
Select “PCM” when the connected equipment cannot decode the respective audio format.

So should I be set to Bitstream or PCM?

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by murphs76

Hi, I downloaded the firmware update for my region and tried to install it but apparently my player is up to date. I'm thinking that maybe the settings aren't correct for the connections I have.

In the manual it says:
Select whether Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS Digital Surround, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio is output in “Bitstream” or “PCM” format.
Bitstream:
Select “Bitstream” when the connected equipment can decode the respective audio format.
–Connect equipment supporting HDMI (High Bit rate Audio) and use a High Speed HDMI Cable in order to output high bit rate audio such as Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio.
PCM:
Select “PCM” when the connected equipment cannot decode the respective audio format.

So should I be set to Bitstream or PCM?

If your home theatre doesn't support DTS or its variants, you will need to configure your player to send 2 channel PCM out the optical cable for any BD with DTS or DTS HD MA audio.