PS3 and Dolby TrueHD

[PKS17]

Will sony ever release a update that would allow the PS3 to decode truehd and dts hd?
At the moment, i have a pioneer true hd/dts hd reciever, but for movies i only have the ps3. So really, i only get dolby digital at best.
Im thinking about getting a dedicated blu ray player, but money is tight at the moment.

So can sony actually release a update like this? Or will i need to bite the bullet and go for the bluray player.

 

[Davemcc]

AFAIK, the PS3 will decode HD audio but it sends it out as LPCM. Your receiver won't recognize it as HD audio, but it will be the same as if the receiver were doing the decoding.

 

[mdavis007]

I second that. The PS3 does decode true hd and dtshd. For example I run my ps3 into a pioneer vsx-91txh via hdmi. I have to set my hdmi setting in the ps3 to pcm NOT bitstream. This allows the PS3 to decode the signal and send it LPCM. My reciever shows PCM but it is outputting the dolby true hd or DTS that the blue ray is sending.

 

[fast1]

I second that. The PS3 does decode true hd and dtshd. For example I run my ps3 into a pioneer vsx-91txh via hdmi. I have to set my hdmi setting in the ps3 to pcm NOT bitstream. This allows the PS3 to decode the signal and send it LPCM. My reciever shows PCM but it is outputting the dolby true hd or DTS that the blue ray is sending.

how did you figure that out? anyway i hope a much simpler way exists

 

[Seth=L]

how did you figure that out? anyway i hope a much simpler way exists

Unfortunately that is as simple as it gets.

The Playstation 3's hardware doesn't allow for it to bitstream Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD, or DTS-HD. Instead the PS3 decodes the bitstream algorithm internally converting it to LPCM (which the receiver would have to do if it was receiving a bitstream). All that changes is where certain processes are taking place, no fidelity will be loss because the end result is the same.

 

[mdavis007]

how did you figure that out? anyway i hope a much simpler way exists

Well i'll be honest I am still pretty new to home theater and learning everyday. One of the reasons I bought my reciever was for the new audio formats. So upon hooking everything up I pop in a BD that I know has true hd however the true hd light never lit up on the reciever. Needless to say i was like wtf! So I started googling like a mad man. Eventually to find that the PS3 will do the decoding instead of my reciever. I also discovered during that process that hdmi should be set to PCM and Digital Optical should be set to bitstream in the PS3 settings.

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

Just wanted to note - you don't need to set your digital optical output to either of those options specifically if you're only looking to process True HD or DTS HD over an HDMI cable... Those sound formats cannot be passed over a digital optical connection.

However, if you still watch DVD's this obviously presents a need.

Good luck in your configuration.

 

[MatthewB.]

It should be note that there is no discernable difference in sound quality between having the reciever or the PS3 decode the new audio formats. The only way you will notice a difference is your reciever will either say DTS-HD or PCM Multichannel, the sound will be the same either way. as mentioned the PS3 will not allow bitstreaming (Sony says it is a hardware issue and would increase the price of the player to allow it to bitstream, so they left it out)

 

[Scarriere]

When I watch a Blu Ray, I will hit 'select' on the PS3's contoller after the movie has started. On the upper right of the screen it will say dts-ma or Dolby True. If it doesn't, I go back to the disc menu and change it to the proper HD soundtrack. There's lots of movies that will start out in Dolby Digital so I got into the habit of making sure.
Hope that helps.