0dBFS & Bass Management of DVD / Blu-ray Players

[admin]

We've recently bench tested the HDMI and analog outputs of several Blu-ray players and noticed not all DVD/BD source devices handle 0dBFS in a similar matter. Our research thus far has revealed that there really is no standard 0dBFS reference level used in DVD / BD players. Some players will scale a 0dBFS signal back before summing it so the subwoofer output will not distort under this test condition while others will not. According to THX there does seem to be more care taken with multi channel movie mixes than music mixes to avoid this problem. At this point, we will adhere to the Dolby recommendation of testing at -20dBFS levels when evaluating the multi channel performance of DVD / BD players analog outputs. We do plan on investigating this topic further both with recording engineers and our own empirical measurements of source material to get a better picture on how this affects real world applications.

Discuss "0dBFS & Bass Management of DVD / Blu-ray Players" here. Read the article.

 

[NanoEtch599GTB]

What should BDP-83SE config settings be then?

I am having some difficulty figuring out what I should have my BDP-83SE player speaker configuration settings set to given these current findings and what the previous supplemental data show. I am currently using a Yamaha Rx-v1800 as a preamplifier and I do not believe that it can do bass management using the multichannel analog input. There is also no option to boost the LFE signal independently. Currently I am running all channel trims at 0db, LCR = large and rear speakers set to small. Please help.

 

[TLS Guy]

I am having some difficulty figuring out what I should have my BDP-83SE player speaker configuration settings set to given these current findings and what the previous supplemental data show. I am currently using a Yamaha Rx-v1800 as a preamplifier and I do not believe that it can do bass management using the multichannel analog input. There is also no option to boost the LFE signal independently. Currently I am running all channel trims at 0db, LCR = large and rear speakers set to small. Please help.

This is a difficult one.

I faced the same dilemma. I was considering keeping my Rotel pre/pro and using the analog inputs for BD. Because of all these issues and more I decided to replace my pre/pro with the current Marantz model.

If you are going to use analog connection, I think you need to be prepared to do some channel balancing in the analog domain, via DIY solutions. I have to do this to still optimize SACD play back.

I have the impression that the industry regard analog BD connections as interim technology, and I think they will devote less R & D and production costs to this.

I hate to have to say this, but the best solution is receiver pr pre/pro upgrade.

I came to this conclusion after carefully examining the issues. I even stated designing a device round a multichannel mux chip. However I decided the expense and effort were not warranted. So yes, I caved and negotiated a good deal on the Marantz unit.

 

[NanoEtch599GTB]

Thanks...I was actually considering upgrading the pre/pro (although the most cost effective solution). It's funny you mentioned the Rotel because it was on my list, but it looked like it lacked a lot of features for the cash. I also looked into the Marantz,and the Integra, but not sure if these have the features that I would need.