What is decoding and do I need it?

[newone]

This I'm sure has been answered before but what is decoding. I own the panny 30bd30k and I use Onkyo 7.1 receiver that almost two years old( maybe the 505 or 305 or something). Should I upgrade to an onkyo with true hd decoding.

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

I'm not very technical with this electronic stuff but someone from one of these forums will elaborate everything for you.

[kpkelley]

I'm assuming you meant the Panasonic DMP-BD30. This player does not internally decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA, but can bitstream both to a compatible receiver. If you upgrade to an Onkyo 605 or above or another brand of reciever with capabilities similar to or above and beyond the onkyo then you will be able to playback these advanced audio codecs.

[SkullPhyre]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

I'm assuming you meant the Panasonic DMP-BD30. This player does not internally decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA, but can bitstream both to a compatible receiver. If you upgrade to an Onkyo 605 or above or another brand of reciever with capabilities similar to or above and beyond the onkyo then you will be able to playback these advanced audio codecs.

kpkelley is correct upgrading your receiver will allow you to decode lossless.Or buy a ps3 or other Blu-ray player to decode for you. The choice is yours.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by SkullPhyre

Or buy a ps3 or other Blu-ray player to decode for you.

if he's using an Onkyo 305 or 505, the PS3 will not benefit him. Those receivers are passthrough.

[Newbie_in_Phoenix]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

if he's using an Onkyo 305 or 505, the PS3 will not benefit him. Those receivers are passthrough.

How would you know if the receiver is a 'passthrough' - I have a Yamaha HTR-5890 and don't see a reference to passthrough in the user manual. Equally important, what is a passthrough?

Sorry, I am a newbie with all of the advanced componets. I did google pass through and bit stream and received mostly non-related info. Sorry to say but the internet is becoming a vast junkyard for out of date, off topic or sales (ad-word) oriented content.

Thanks!

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Newbie_in_Phoenix

what is a passthrough?

the term passthrough can be used for both audio and video...but when used for audio, it is implying that the receiver will not process hdmi audio. It will simply pass the audio through to the TV speakers. Manufacturers are horrible at describing their products. But most notably you may see it labeled "additional audio cable needed"...meaning you need an optical cable.

[Newbie_in_Phoenix]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

the term passthrough can be used for both audio and video...but when used for audio, it is implying that the receiver will not process hdmi audio. It will simply pass the audio through to the TV speakers. Manufacturers are horrible at describing their products. But most notably you may see it labeled "additional audio cable needed"...meaning you need an optical cable.

Thank you for the quick reply.

My unit has an optical out option which I use for Directv and DVD player. Does this mean the unit which plays the media provides the audio output?

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Newbie_in_Phoenix

My unit has an optical out option which I use for Directv and DVD player. Does this mean the unit which plays the media provides the audio output?

not sure I understand the question?

...If a Receiver is HDMI passthrough, this means that audio will not be passed over the hdmi cable. You would need an optical cable to pass audio.




So lets say you have a PS3.

You want to output both video and audio via HDMI. But with the passthrough Receiver you would still need to connect an optical cable for audio.


So I guess to answer your question, wherever you are getting video is where the audio is coming from. So you would have to connect optical cable for audio.




(I think I just lost myself?! )

[Newbie_in_Phoenix]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

not sure I understand the question?

...If a Receiver is HDMI passthrough, this means that audio will not be passed over the hdmi cable. You would need an optical cable to pass audio.




So lets say you have a PS3.

You want to output both video and audio via HDMI. But with the passthrough Receiver you would still need to connect an optical cable for audio.


So I guess to answer your question, wherever you are getting video is where the audio is coming from. So you would have to connect optical cable for audio.




(I think I just lost myself?! )

Ha - no worries. My fault for posting such a poorly worded question.

I'll try again. As I understand it, passthrough type receivers will not process the audio signal sent from a dvd player. Is that correct? What I'm really trying to determine here is which Blu-ray player I need to maximize my home theatre experience. If my receiver is a passthrough type, then I need a blu-ray which has its own codec for conversion. Hopefully this is a more thoughtful posting.

[Stephan.klose]

Originally Posted by newone

This I'm sure has been answered before but what is decoding. I own the panny 30bd30k and I use Onkyo 7.1 receiver that almost two years old( maybe the 505 or 305 or something). Should I upgrade to an onkyo with true hd decoding.

As said before the 505 only has an HDMI switch. That means you can hook up a few HDMI devices but they player can only pass the sound through. But I can't co anything with the signal. So you would have to connect it via and optical or coaxial cable. That means you won't get HD Sound.

So just buy the Onkyo 606 and all your worries will be gone.