Onkyo 605 Display Question

[Croweyes1121]

Hey, guys. I just got my Onkyo 605 hooked up and it works great...just one question. It always says "PCM Multi-Channel HDMI", no matter what I feed it from the PS3. Shouldn't it say something else if, say, I'm NOT giving it a hi-def audio codec? There's just something not quite as satisfying about not *seeing* that it's receiving the correct input, know what I mean? My old Pioneer Elite VSX-24TX at least changed its onscreen display if I was feeding it a Pro-Logic signal (vs a DTS or DD signal), so I always KNEW what I was hearing...anyway, does the Onkyo not ever show you what you're hearing? Thanks, guys. Lossless sounds amazing, BTW, so I'm not complaining at all...just curious.

[crackinhedz]

in order for the display to read "TrueHD" or "Dts-HD MA" you need a Bluray player that can bitstream these codecs.

The PS3 internally decodes and sends these codecs as Linear PCM, and is why it will always display "PCM". It is the same thing, and you can hit the select button on the PS3 remote to see what audio you are hearing.



...of course, you can set the PS3 to bitstream, but it will only bitstream the standard dolby and dts, not the Lossless versions. This is a limitation of the hardware, but since the PS3 can decode inside first its not an issue...just a mental one not being able to see the receiver display it.

[Croweyes1121]

Yeah, I understand about setting the PS3 to Linear PCM, etc., I was just making sure it was normal that the Onkyo only displayed PCM no matter what I sent it. For example, it still says PCM even if I send it a standard, stereo mp3 file from the PS3. I know that's not PCM, but it still reads it as such. This is normal?

[Zaphod]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Yeah, I understand about setting the PS3 to Linear PCM, etc., I was just making sure it was normal that the Onkyo only displayed PCM no matter what I sent it. For example, it still says PCM even if I send it a standard, stereo mp3 file from the PS3. I know that's not PCM, but it still reads it as such. This is normal?

It is correct, because that is how the PS3 sends it out (based on what your audio settings are set up for, i.e. LPCM.) Now if you had the PS3 audio set for bitstream then those displays would change. The PS3 decodes everything internally if you select LPCM as the audio out, hense the "Multichannel" on your receiver display. If you select bitstream then the PS3 doesn't do the decoding and sends out the raw bitstream. Then your receiver would show Stereo, Dolby Digital or DTS.