PS3/Receiver Settings for 5.1 Surround

[Tungsten06GT]

Hi,

I've been searching the threads for this issue, and I think I've figured it out, but I just wanted to make sure.

I have the Pioneer 21txh, with hdmi going from ps3 to receiver and cablebox to receiver. When I'm watching a movie on say HBO, the receiver automatically decodes the sound with Dolby Digital on the receiver display. And it sounds awesome. However, with my PS3, I can't get that same setting to come up on the receiver, and any of the surround formats just seem to lack sound (bass definitely isn't there as much). Is this the issue of needing to change the audio settings in the PS3 from bitstream to linear pcm? Will this allow the receiver to decode the audio, rather than the PS3?

Thanks!

 

[Adam]

Is this the issue of needing to change the audio settings in the PS3 from bitstream to linear pcm? Will this allow the receiver to decode the audio, rather than the PS3?

If the output is bitstream, then the receiver will decode it. If the output is LPCM, then the PS3 is decoding it, and the receiver will just play it.

Personally, I prefer bitstream (to let the receiver decode it) unless you're watching something that uses the new lossless codecs (e.g. Dolby TrueHD). For the lossless codecs, I think that you need to use LPCM on the PS3 because it can't send those over bitstream - but I honestly can't remember. There are a number of people here that know that for sure, though.

 

[enrique]

I would say yes.Thats how mine is linear pcm.Try it it only takes a sec to change.Youll get all the codecs this way.

 

[Ares]

If the output is bitstream, then the receiver will decode it. If the output is LPCM, then the PS3 is decoding it, and the receiver will just play it.

Personally, I prefer bitstream (to let the receiver decode it) unless you're watching something that uses the new lossless codecs (e.g. Dolby TrueHD). For the lossless codecs, I think that you need to use LPCM on the PS3 because it can't send those over bitstream - but I honestly can't remember. There are a number of people here that know that for sure, though.

Adam is right on this.

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Someone in another thread had posted this:

"If you set it to bitstream, the player will output the bits as they are read off the disc unaltered and the receiver will have to have a decoder for the format being played. The decoder in the receiver will turn that bitstream into PCM which will then be converted to analog, amplified, and output to the speaker terminals.

If you set the player to output PCM, the player itself will decode the audio into PCM and send it to the receiver and the receiver will once again convert it to analog, amplify it, and output it to the speaker terminals."

So it seems like I would want to bitstream, rather than PCM? I'm at work and really not sure what the PS3 default setting is, but whatever it is, it sounds weaker than the Dolby Digital setting from the cablebox. Am I just confused about what the other formats should sound like??

 

[Ares]

The default setting on the PS3 is LPCM, but like Adam mention if you are watching a blu-ray which uses Dolby True HD it will need to stay on LPCM. 1? do you have PS3 fat or slim.

 

[Tungsten06GT]

It's the fat.

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Isn't that an issue from what I've been reading?

 

[Ares]

Then for Dolby True HD it would be LPCM and for the rest bitstream.

 

[j_garcia]

If it is on LPCM it will never show you what type of stream (TrueHD, dtsHD, etc...) it is either, since it is already decoded and the receiver won't know as a result.

 

[Ares]

For some reason when you try to do Dolby True HD through bitstream it does not work and when you do LPCM it works like a charm but usually what happens is the True HD logo on the receiver doesn't light up but it is True HD leave it to Sony to make things confusing.

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Ah cool. So you can manually change the LPCM/bitstream setting for each type of stream? This is frustrating because I can't access my ps3 at the moment, but I just want to make sure I can get it working properly when I get home..

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Also, what is the best setting for cd's?

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Ok I made it home to check things out... here's what I have found out after messing around:

In the PS3 audio settings menu, remember I've got the latest fat boy, under the Audio Output Settings, there is automatic and manual, but manual says "Select an output format supported by the tv or av amplifer in use. The system will automatically adjust the output to match the selected format." Well, under these formats there is only Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, AAC, and then the rest are Linear PCM 2.1, 5.1, 7.1, all in different frequencies. Everything is selected.

So, when I am playing the Dark Knight, encoded in Dolby TrueHD, right now the receiver shows PCM. In the blu-ray menu, you can see PCM is selected, but you can switch to bitstream. If I switch, DD Digital is displayed on the receiver. The difference: bitstream seems louder and fuller than PCM. And, in either format, I can't change the surround settings on my receiver. Why can I not get Dolby TrueHD?

 

[Ares]

Ok I made it home to check things out... here's what I have found out after messing around:

In the PS3 audio settings menu, remember I've got the latest fat boy, under the Audio Output Settings, there is automatic and manual, but manual says "Select an output format supported by the tv or av amplifer in use. The system will automatically adjust the output to match the selected format." Well, under these formats there is only Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, AAC, and then the rest are Linear PCM 2.1, 5.1, 7.1, all in different frequencies. Everything is selected.

So, when I am playing the Dark Knight, encoded in Dolby TrueHD, right now the receiver shows PCM. In the blu-ray menu, you can see PCM is selected, but you can switch to bitstream. If I switch, DD Digital is displayed on the receiver. The difference: bitstream seems louder and fuller than PCM. And, in either format, I can't change the surround settings on my receiver. Why can I not get Dolby TrueHD?

Are you asking why the True HD logo won't light up

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Um, kind of. I mean... In selecting PCM, does that mean that the PS3 is actually decoding the Dolby TrueHD and then sending that over to the receiver? Because PCM sounds a bit quieter than Bitstream. I'm just not sure what is the optimal setting here for the best sound (the way the BD was intended to sound).

 

[Ares]

Short answer yes,the PS3 is doing the decoding then sending it to the receiver, the only way to get the True HD logo to light up while using an HDMI cable from the PS3 would be to use the PS3 slim and not the fat one. But this doesn't mean the fat can't decode True HD just requires a different method in order to achieve it.

 

[Tungsten06GT]

Just watched the new Star Trek on Blu-ray with the Linear PCM setting on. Wow, just wow... It was seriously a totally new experience for me. Thanks for the help; Linear PCM is definitely the setting for the PC3 to be on (in my case anyways). I can't wait to watch more!!

 

[Ares]

I am happy to help in any way that I can. Enjoy

 

[Slater]

Tungsten thanks for the post & observation on the poor sound quailty using bitsream. Quincidentally I too am in the process of attempting to dial in all my components & probably would have never stumbled onto the 2 options on my own.
Thanks Ares for your help & knowledge!