What Is Required To Play Dolby True HD?

[goodman]

Let's say you own a Sony PS3 and that you also have a couple of Blu-ray discs that have soundtracks in Dolby True HD. Now, you are contemplating the purchase of one of the new-generation receivers that process Dolby True HD. Will you be able to pass a bitstream from the PS3, through either the HDMI or optical audio output, in to the new receiver to process into Dolby True HD, or will you have to buy a new B-D player that outputs Dolby True HD?

Second Question: It used to be the generally accepted opinion that the PS3 supported HDMI 1.3. However, I have never seen such a claim made by Sony. So, what are the true facts?

 

[Seth=L]

The PS3 can support all of the HDMI 1.3 requirements, but I don't think many of them are activated at the moment. Future firmware upgrades should unlock or add those features of HDMI 1.3.

Dolby TrueHD is not supported via SPDIF (optical or coaxial digital connectors). The PS3 can decode Dolby TrueHD internally and send it out via HDMI only as multichannel LPCM to an HDMI 1.1 or higher receiver that can process audio from HDMI sources. The receiver does not need to have HDMI 1.3 or Dolby TrueHD decoders to enjoy Dolby TrueHD sound. At this time only a few new Blu-ray and HD DVD players can output HD audio bitstreams to HDMI 1.3 compliant gear, and the PS3 with current firmware is not one of them.

That said,...

What is your receiver budget? What speakers will you be driving. What are your room dimensions?

Answering those questions can be a guide to selecting an appropriate receiver or pre/pro amplifier combination, depending on your tastes and budget.

I hope this was helpful.

Edit: I found your room dimensions and speakers.

It is a family room that is 13 x 20 x 8. It opens to a kitchen 12 x 28 x 8 that is one step up. The speakers are on the short wall that is covered in brick. The side walls are dry-wall covered with wooden paneling covered with several coats of paint. The ceiling is painted dry-wall. The floor is padded and carpeted. The left side wall has a sliding glass door that is covered with a vertical blind. The right side wall has three large framed movie posters covered with non-glare material. The front l & r speakers sit 3 feet from the front wall and two feet from the side walls. The center speaker sits slightly behind the l & r. The best seats are 10' away from the front speakers. When I had the Ref 3s, I put them in the same position as my current M60s. They did not seem to be fussy with placement. Although there is probably some bass bloat in the room, overall I think the acousitics are quite good.

 

[goodman]

Thanks for your input, Seth. The room description you located is still accurate. My receiver is a Denon 5308, a fine piece, but alas, no HDMI connectors. My projector is a Sharp XV9000U, a fine 720p product, with, sob, no HDMI connectivity. The price of being an early adopter, sniffle, is early obsolescence. Now that you know about the room and my stuff, I will be happy to receive your recommendations.

Have you heard Dolby True HD yet?

 

[Seth=L]

Thanks for your input, Seth. The room description you located is still accurate. My receiver is a Denon 5308, a fine piece, but alas, no HDMI connectors. My projector is a Sharp XV9000U, a fine 720p product, with, sob, no HDMI connectivity. The price of being an early adopter, sniffle, is early obsolescence. Now that you know about the room and my stuff, I will be happy to receive your recommendations.

Have you heard Dolby True HD yet?

I have not had the opportunity to hear Dolby TrueHD.

It seems almost worth it to just purchase a standalone like the Samsung dual format player for $800 (when it becomes available) as it decodes all the formats internally and can send them out over 7.1 analog outputs. And if you get that player no matter which format wins you win. Upgrading from that receiver now would suck. In order to get that amount of power and features you would need to spend much more than what the Dual format player costs.

 

[goodman]

The Samsung player sounds like a great idea, since I would not need to replace my receiver. I forgot to answer your question about what I am driving: a pair of Gallo Ref 3s as mains, Axiom QS8 surrounds, the largest Axiom center, and maybe my Axiom M60s as surround backs.

 

[Seth=L]

The Samsung player sounds like a great idea, since I would not need to replace my receiver. I forgot to answer your question about what I am driving: a pair of Gallo Ref 3s as mains, Axiom QS8 surrounds, the largest Axiom center, and maybe my Axiom M60s as surround backs.

I found them from digging through your old posts, and then not to long after you posted on another thread saying what speakers you had.

 

[tcm5]

Another Question

I've been monitoring this thread and was wondering if Dolby TrueHD can be run in 5.1 mode through analog out jacks into my receiver. Given that the HD player can decode internally.

 

[GlocksRock]

I've been monitoring this thread and was wondering if Dolby TrueHD can be run in 5.1 mode through analog out jacks into my receiver. Given that the HD player can decode internally.

Yes, that would be possible.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've been monitoring this thread and was wondering if Dolby TrueHD can be run in 5.1 mode through analog out jacks into my receiver. Given that the HD player can decode internally.

That's exactly what I've been doing all along.
Let the HD player decode (5.1 TrueHD/DTS-HD/PCM) & send to your receiver.

 

[toon12]

The PS3 can decode Dolby TrueHD internally and send it out via HDMI only as multichannel LPCM to an HDMI 1.1 or higher receiver that can process audio from HDMI sources. i]

So does that mean I should set my PS3 output set to bitstream or to PCM?
Or does it matter for blu-ray discs?
Thanks.

 

[GlocksRock]

You should leave your PS3 set to output PCM, it won't output TrueHD via bitstream. Any HDMI 1.1 or higher equipped receiver will handle the PCM no problem and you should be able to use your EX/ES or PLIIx decoders if you have a 7.1 setup. That's how I run my system and it sounds awesome.

 

[toon12]

You should leave your PS3 set to output PCM, it won't output TrueHD via bitstream. Any HDMI 1.1 or higher equipped receiver will handle the PCM no problem and you should be able to use your EX/ES or PLIIx decoders if you have a 7.1 setup. That's how I run my system and it sounds awesome.

Thanks, I have my PS3 hooked up to my Denon AVR-888 with a HDMI cable. If I set the PS3 to PCM, what happens to the sound on regular dvds, that may have DTS soundtracks, will it put out all the channels in PCM?
(or will it mix it down to stereo?) It seems like the unlocking of the PS3 for bitstream output via HDMI for the new audio outputs will be a big deal.

 

[GlocksRock]

Regular dvds will be output as PCM as well, but the PS3 will decode the standard Dolby Digital or DTS track and output it as PCM, it will sound the same as if your receiver did the decoding. It's all digital, so there will be no difference it sound quality, the only difference is which component does the decoding.

 

[toon12]

Regular dvds will be output as PCM as well, but the PS3 will decode the standard Dolby Digital or DTS track and output it as PCM, it will sound the same as if your receiver did the decoding. It's all digital, so there will be no difference it sound quality, the only difference is which component does the decoding.

Great, thanks, I guess there is no downside then to just leave it at PCM output. More complicated then I would have thought when I started!

 

[GlocksRock]

Great, thanks, I guess there is no downside then to just leave it at PCM output. More complicated then I would have thought when I started!

I agree. If the PS3 could just decode DTS HD-MA and output that, as well as Dolby TrueHD via bitstream, it would make things much easier for everyone and it wouldn't really matter what you set it to. If it could output everything via bitstream, I would let it do that, just so I could see Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD-MA or whatever on my receivers display instead of MPCM all the time. But in reality it all sounds the same.