Blu-ray audio questions

[EddieG]

Since my receiver does not have HDMI audio I will have to use the 6 channel analog audio.

I read about bitstreaming and decoding and want to know if there is really a difference, and if so what is it? Does it matter if the player or the receiver decodes the audio, and does it matter if it bitstreams or not?

Thanks!

Eddie G

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Since my receiver does not have HDMI audio I will have to use the 6 channel analog audio.

I read about bitstreaming and decoding and want to know if there is really a difference, and if so what is it? Does it matter if the player or the receiver decodes the audio, and does it matter if it bitstreams or not?

Thanks!

Eddie G

Bitstream means that you are letting the receiver or pre-pros do all the decoding.

Analog 5.1 (PCM) means that you are letting the player do all the decoding.

Thus, it all depends on the actual decoders. If the receiver/pre-pros has a better decoder, than theoretically the Bitstream will sound better. If the player has a better decoder, then theoretically 5.1 Analog (PCM) will sound better.

So if I owned a $2,000 Denon Blu-ray player, you bet I'm going to use the 5.1 Analog (PCM) output and let the player do all the decoding.

And if I owned the $7,000 Denon pre-pros, you bet I'm going to use Bitstream, unless I also own the $2,000 Denon blu-ray, which would then be a toss-up.

But for most of us lowly people, Bitstream or 5.1 Analog PCM won't matter very much.

 

[adk highlander]

AcuEmoDefTechGuy is right on. My only comment is that I do notice a output level is higher with the bitstream material over LPCM. All this means is that with the bitstream I don't have to turn the volume knob up as much with bitstream over LPCM. Some of this must have to do with the mastering of the disk. Dave Mathews Live at Radio City has the highest levels of anything I have heard.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

AcuEmoDefTechGuy is right on. My only comment is that I do notice a output level is higher with the bitstream material over LPCM. All this means is that with the bitstream I don't have to turn the volume knob up as much with bitstream over LPCM. Some of this must have to do with the mastering of the disk. Dave Mathews Live at Radio City has the highest levels of anything I have heard.

I noticed the same thing when I was using my Toshiba HD DVD player with the Harman Kardon 247. The Bitstream had higher gain/output level than PCM.
I was comparing the TrueHD of the Matrix HD DVD (PCM) vs the Dolby Digital (Optical Bitstream). The DD soundtrack sounded LOUDER than the TrueHD! Without volume level matching, some people could have said, "Wow, the DD sounds better than TrueHD!"

However, I did not notice this volume level difference (Bitstream vs PCM) when I had the PS3 + HK247.

 

[EddieG]

Bitstream means that you are letting the receiver or pre-pros do all the decoding.

Analog 5.1 (PCM) means that you are letting the player do all the decoding.

Thus, it all depends on the actual decoders. If the receiver/pre-pros has a better decoder, than theoretically the Bitstream will sound better. If the player has a better decoder, then theoretically 5.1 Analog (PCM) will sound better.

So if I owned a $2,000 Denon Blu-ray player, you bet I'm going to use the 5.1 Analog (PCM) output and let the player do all the decoding.

And if I owned the $7,000 Denon pre-pros, you bet I'm going to use Bitstream, unless I also own the $2,000 Denon blu-ray, which would then be a toss-up.

But for most of us lowly people, Bitstream or 5.1 Analog PCM won't matter very much.

One thing I just thought of...is bitstreaming using the HDMI for audio? Since my receiver does not have HDMI audio than I don't have to worry about it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

One thing I just thought of...is bitstreaming using the HDMI for audio? Since my receiver does not have HDMI audio than I don't have to worry about it.

Bitstream for DD+, TrueHD, DTS-HR, & DTS-MA are HDMI Audio.

But Bitstream for plain DD or DTS can be either HDMI or Optical or Coaxial Audio.

 

[jostenmeat]

Bitstream means that you are letting the receiver or pre-pros do all the decoding.

Analog 5.1 (PCM) means that you are letting the player do all the decoding.

Thus, it all depends on the actual decoders. If the receiver/pre-pros has a better decoder, than theoretically the Bitstream will sound better. If the player has a better decoder, then theoretically 5.1 Analog (PCM) will sound better.

So if I owned a $2,000 Denon Blu-ray player, you bet I'm going to use the 5.1 Analog (PCM) output and let the player do all the decoding.

And if I owned the $7,000 Denon pre-pros, you bet I'm going to use Bitstream, unless I also own the $2,000 Denon blu-ray, which would then be a toss-up.

But for most of us lowly people, Bitstream or 5.1 Analog PCM won't matter very much.

There is no "better" or "worse" hi-def audio decoder. It either successfully "unpacks" or "unzips", or it does not. The reported improvements with "decoding" in the receiver seem to point to other things. I've read that such differences may also be attributed to digital clock timing synchronization and jitter management.

Other little bonuses to bitstream are that issues with bass management are a lot more rare (though still exist), you cannot matrix the PCM into 7.1 (if you had that setup), and no cool, fancy looking logo light up on the receiver.

That all being said, I wouldn't fret over it too much. If analogs are all you can easily do now, so be it. The longer you wait to bitstream via HDMI, the better and cheaper the products will probably become. Greater selection too.

Cheers.

 

[Geno]

I recently bought a Panny BD-10 and let it decode and output via its 7.1 analogs to my Denon 4306. Sounds superb.