There seems to be some confusion about the ability to transport 7 and 8 channel PCM over HDMI v1.1 and v1.2 using HD-DVD and Blue-ray players. I did some research about the issue and found this paragraph at the
HDMI FAQ site
HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel, 192kHz, uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new lossless digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.
The way I read this, all HDMI versions support 8 channel PCM, so the limiting factors will be the players and/or receivers
Toshiba HD-XE1(I'm not sure what firmware version these specs refer to or wheather a firmware upgrade will add support for 8 channel output over HDMI)
AUDIO SPECIFICATIONS
Dolby Digital...................yes (up to 5.1ch)
Dolby Digital Plus............yes (up to 5.1ch)
Dolby TRUE HD................yes (up to 5.1ch)
DTS................................yes (up to 5.1ch)
DTS-HD (core only)...........yes (up to 5.1ch)
MPEG Audio.....................yes
PCM................................yes (up to 5.1ch)
According to the manual the only way to get 8 channel output over HDMI of the Sony BDPS1 is to play a 7.1LPCM track.
I cant find literature to confirm receivers acceptance of input 8 channel PCM over HDMI.
So what I want to do in this thread is to confirm what receivers can accept 7/8 channel PCM, either by literature or better yet by first hand experience.
cheers
