663 Question????

[speakerman39]

Hello people I have a quick question. I own a Toshiba A-3 and have it connected to my Yamaha RX-V663 via hdmi. The, the hdmi out of 663 to the hdmi in of my 42" LCD. So, when watching dvds or hdvds what should I set my settings to? Should it be "bitstreem" or "PCM"??? Are there any other settings that I need to make sure are set? Sorry, but I still get a bit confused with all of this stuff. Oh, what about when I listen to cds? I do that with the A-3 as well. I do NOT listen to SACDs or DVD-Audio. Can any of you offer me some advice?

 

[Nomo]

The A3 will not bitstream the HD formats. To get those it you need to let the player do the decoding. It will bitstream the older Dolby and DTS formats but considering I can't tell any difference between the player or receiver doing the decoding, I just set my A2 to PCM to avoid the need to switch it back and forth.

FYI, forget about DVD-A and SACD on that player anyway. It will not recognize them.

 

[PENG]

For reasons Nomo cited, set the A3 to PCM for HD sound and bitstream for regular DD and DTS.

 

[speakerman39]

For reasons Nomo cited, set the A3 to PCM for HD sound and bitstream for regular DD and DTS.

So, unless I am playing an HD DVD disc keep it set to bitstream right? So, basically hdmi running to my 663 and then to my LCD is really not benefiting me. And, the A-3 will only support the newer codecs in 2.0 NOT 5.1-am I correct? No worries as I plan to buy a BR player in the very near future anyways.

 

[speakerman39]

The A3 will not bitstream the HD formats. To get those it you need to let the player do the decoding. It will bitstream the older Dolby and DTS formats but considering I can't tell any difference between the player or receiver doing the decoding, I just set my A2 to PCM to avoid the need to switch it back and forth.

FYI, forget about DVD-A and SACD on that player anyway. It will not recognize them.

I really dont listen to SACD/DVDA anyways. So, no real loss there. Thanks for the info.

 

[GlocksRock]

Not sure about the A3, but if you set the A2 to auto it will bitstream the Dolby Digital and DTS formats, and send out Dolby Digital + and TrueHD as PCM.

 

[Nomo]

Not sure about the A3, but if you set the A2 to auto it will bitstream the Dolby Digital and DTS formats, and send out Dolby Digital + and TrueHD as PCM.

That is true. I just checked the settings on my A2. Sure enough mine is set that way.

 

[speakerman39]

Not sure about the A3, but if you set the A2 to auto it will bitstream the Dolby Digital and DTS formats, and send out Dolby Digital + and TrueHD as PCM.

Not sure if the A-3 does but will look into it tomorrow. Kinda tired tonight. Thanks for mentioning this as it would simplify things. One thing is for sure-I love simplicity!!!!!!

 

[speakerman39]

I checked my A-3 today and it also has an "auto" feature. This makes it much easier than switching back and forth. One thing I did notice today was that the 663 sure gets much warmer when watching a movie on my A-3. Is this because of running the A-3 to the 663 and then on to my LCD? Since, I am mainly getting only dd I might as well just connect straight to my LCD. After all, I do have (3) hdmi inputs on my LCD. Would this allow for the 663 to operate a bit cooler?

 

[GlocksRock]

No, it wouldn't run any cooler. My 663 gets pretty warm to, and right now I only have a composite video out to my little tv until I can get a new flat panel. It must just be a warm running receiver. I don't think the video processing really generates the heat, it's the amps that do that. No sense in running HDMI to your tv, since you would then only be able to get standard dolby digital and dts, as toslink and spdif don't have the bandwidth for dolby digital + and TrueHD.

 

[speakerman39]

No, it wouldn't run any cooler. My 663 gets pretty warm to, and right now I only have a composite video out to my little tv until I can get a new flat panel. It must just be a warm running receiver. I don't think the video processing really generates the heat, it's the amps that do that. No sense in running HDMI to your tv, since you would then only be able to get standard dolby digital and dts, as toslink and spdif don't have the bandwidth for dolby digital + and TrueHD.

Thanks Glock. My 663 does run noticeably warmer when running the A-3 through it. I did, however, turn the levels up a bit too though which may have in turn added to the heat. I was barely getting anything out of my rears, so I had to increase the levels some. When watching regular dvds all I will get anyways is dd/dts right? I really don't watch HD DVD very much. Even when I do, doesn't the A-3 only process the new codecs in stereo? Sorry, for all of the questions but I am NOT a videophile in the least.

 

[PENG]

So, unless I am playing an HD DVD disc keep it set to bitstream right? So, basically hdmi running to my 663 and then to my LCD is really not benefiting me. And, the A-3 will only support the newer codecs in 2.0 NOT 5.1-am I correct? No worries as I plan to buy a BR player in the very near future anyways.

That is not correct, the A-3 does support the new codecs in 5.1. By the way, regarding the auto setting, I read from another forum that it does not always work so you may want to keep an eye on it. Obviously that was just a claim by one user. If it works, then you are all set. Unfortunately I cannot find out for myself until I upgrade my receiver.

 

[speakerman39]

That is not correct, the A-3 does support the new codecs in 5.1. By the way, regarding the auto setting, I read from another forum that it does not always work so you may want to keep an eye on it. Obviously that was just a claim by one user. If it works, then you are all set. Unfortunately I cannot find out for myself until I upgrade my receiver.

Thanks for the info Peng. Guess, I am all set for now anyways.