analog outputs from blu-ray?

[manofsteel2397]

is there any difference in sound using the anolog 5.1 outputs vs hdmi for the newest dolby lossless surround. im asking this because i have an older receiver with no hdmi and wanting to upgrade to blu ray soon but not sure if i should just use optical or try the anolog outputs for the 5.1 sound. i thought i read some where that using the anolog out puts reduces the bass somewhat any insights to this. (yes i know that optical won't give me dolby lossless just regular dd)

 

[jinjuku]

is there any difference in sound using the anolog 5.1 outputs vs hdmi for the newest dolby lossless surround. im asking this because i have an older receiver with no hdmi and wanting to upgrade to blu ray soon but not sure if i should just use optical or try the anolog outputs for the 5.1 sound. i thought i read some where that using the anolog out puts reduces the bass somewhat any insights to this. (yes i know that optical won't give me dolby lossless just regular dd)

That is a 'It depends'. It depends on the BR player you have and the quality of the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) that is in the player.

I know some earlier Panasonic players had a firmware bug that negatively affected the LFE output over analog outs.

You will most likely be fine though.

 

[sptrout]

I agree with jinjuku, it depends. Having had both an old AVR and using its analog 5.1 input vs. the AVR I have now that has HDMI inputs, I would never want to go back.

The "it depends" IMO really comes down to how the player handles bass management. I am not familiar with your AVR, but it is almost a sure bet that it does NOT have not bass management (or any other digital processing for that matter) for its 5.1 analog input. Therefore, it is up to the player to provide this function. Most new Blu-ray players do provide bass management, but older players do not, or they "appear to have it" but really do not (the Samsung P1400 that I have is a good example of that).

If you decide to go down the analog road, be very sure that you know exactly how the player and your AVR will handle bass management.

 

[j_garcia]

The multichannel analog intputs are intended for already processed signals, which is why almost no receivers or pre/pros process those inputs. All of the players that have multichannel analog outs have bass management, but few are good at it.

 

[manofsteel2397]

well i was looking at the panny bd80 it has bass management but the crossover is fixed at 100hz which is about where my seetings are on my receiver anyway so would the anolog outputs sound better than just using optical and getting regular dd i guess that is the goal here since i dont plan on upgrading a new avr anytime soon just dont want to loose bass in the process.

 

[j_garcia]

well i was looking at the panny bd80 it has bass management but the crossover is fixed at 100hz which is about where my seetings are on my receiver anyway so would the anolog outputs sound better than just using optical and getting regular dd i guess that is the goal here since i dont plan on upgrading a new avr anytime soon just dont want to loose bass in the process.

Yes, the analog outputs will sound better because you will actually get the new formats properly decoded which you cannot do via optical. I'm pretty sure they fixed the LFE issue on the previous models, so you shouldn't have a problem with the BD-80.

 

[Lordoftherings]

^ I fully agree with j_garcia from the above post.

 

[manofsteel2397]

thanks for all your advice looks like the panasonic bd80 will be on my christmas list

 

[gtche]

For what its worth I found that the Pioneer BDP-320 had the best bass/speaker management for my system. It has variable crossover settings (50, 80, 1XX), and each speaker distance is independent (something the Oppo lacked). Why compormise on the crossover setting if you do not have too. It might be worth reading the owners manual of the player you want to make sure it has the functionality that you need.

 

[Lordoftherings]

thanks for all your advice looks like the panasonic bd80 will be on my christmas list

That's a very nice blu-ray player indeed (I own his predecessor, the BD55).

For what its worth I found that the Pioneer BDP-320 had the best bass/speaker management for my system. It has variable crossover settings (50, 80, 1XX), and each speaker distance is independent (something the Oppo lacked). Why compormise on the crossover setting if you do not have too. It might be worth reading the owners manual of the player you want to make sure it has the functionality that you need.

That's a great idea; about checking the manual on line from the various manufacturers on their blu-ray players, to see their bass management features in a more profound approach of capabilities for suiting our needs.
-> But this affect only people using an older receiver (or legacy, as it's called).

* Still, it's usually up to the receiver (through the HDMI input) to take this task at hand.

Give it another few years, and this point will be moot by then.

 

[manofsteel2397]

For what its worth I found that the Pioneer BDP-320 had the best bass/speaker management for my system. It has variable crossover settings (50, 80, 1XX), and each speaker distance is independent (something the Oppo lacked). Why compormise on the crossover setting if you do not have too. It might be worth reading the owners manual of the player you want to make sure it has the functionality that you need.

thanks i was aware of that model but as it stands right now the panasonic is fixed at 100 for bass crossover but my receiver is currently at about 120hz for crosser over i know its not optimal and i could go a little lower with the speakers i have but it sounds good to me and the sub cuts in and out at any lower of a setting due to a bad auto/on design so in order to keep it on i just keep the crossover setting a little higher. i think the 100hz will be fine for blue ray cause when playing dvd i never had a problem with sub cutting in and out unless there was a real lack of lfe in soundtrack...

 

[manofsteel2397]

That's a very nice blu-ray player indeed (I own his predecessor, the BD55).


Give it another few years, and this point will be moot by then.

what do you mean by that in a few years this will be a moot point

 

[Lordoftherings]

what do you mean by that in a few years this will be a moot point

Meaning that less people will own a legacy receiver,
and more people will be using the bass management
of their receivers from the HDMI connection,
which is much more complete and precise.
That's what I meant.