which receiver for an HD a2 to get truehd?

[Needbass]

Have a question for the forum. I have been trying to research True HD sound but have not been able to get through the confusing lingo.

I have the Toshiba HD-A2. In the specs and printed on the actual machine it says TrueHD. So I am guessing my hddvd player is all set. I have movies with TrueHD soundtracks, so that is all set.
I am in the market for a new receiver. I want it to be able to be capable of having Truehd. It was my understanding that if the dvd player has the capability of Truehd, then all you need is a receiver that has an HDMI input. So thinking that, I picked up a Sony - 630W 6.1-Ch STR-DG710. I then found out that I could only get truehd in stereo, not from a surround sound setup. So I returned it.
So now I am in the market for a 300-450 dollar receiver that can either accept at least 5.1 Truehd or help decode it.

Here is one I see now that may get me truehd sound.

Onkyo TX-SR605S 7.1-Channel Receiver

My big question is: If I have a hd dvd player that has Truehd, do I need to spend money on a receiver that advertises Truehd – or will a receiver with just HDMI inputs work?

Also, does the HDMI input on the receiver need to be 1.3?


Warning - I do get easily confused with lingo like “HDMI-switching” and “down-mixing” and things of that nature

Thank you in advance for any help

(Also – I realize hd dvd lost the war and I have a PS3 for blu ray– but the setup in question is in another room and I cant bring the ps3 in there)

 

[Needbass]

sorry - one more thing - i am open to any receiver suggestions. The price range will be around 300-400 (maybe a tad over)

 

[adk highlander]

Check out the Yamaha RX-V661 at the Audioholics store: http://store.audioholics.com/product/1092/69/yamaha-rx-v661-7-1-channel-digital-home-theater-receiver

On sale for $499 with extended warrenty and free shipping.

To get TrueHD from a receiver A2 combo you need a receiver with at least HDMI 1.1 which will accept the LPCM output from the A2. Set your audio on the A2 to the TrueHD setting and you will see most receivers display "multichannel" on the front pannel.

 

[Needbass]

wow - great info

Is it safe to say that most HDMI inputs on most receivers are at least 1.1?

is there a lower type of HDMI input I should avoid or be on the lookout for?

 

[jcPanny]

Yamaha receivers

With the new RX-V663 comming out soon, look for some discounts on the RX-V661 model. A lot of <$300 receivers have HDMI switching but you need the HDMI audio processing available on the Yamaha RX-V661, Onkyo 605 and similar models.

 

[Needbass]

With the new RX-V663 comming out soon, look for some discounts on the RX-V661 model. A lot of <$300 receivers have HDMI switching but you need the HDMI audio processing available on the Yamaha RX-V661, Onkyo 605 and similar models.

A couple of things -

I cant find a definition of HDMI switching – can you or someone else clarify that for me?

I dont know if this is helpful at all, but i will only be using this receiver for audio. I wont need to use it for video at all

 

[adk highlander]

A couple of things -

I cant find a definition of HDMI switching – can you or someone else clarify that for me?

I dont know if this is helpful at all, but i will only be using this receiver for audio. I wont need to use it for video at all

HDMI pass-thru/switching just passes the source video but no audio

HDMI repeating adds the ability to take the audio bitstream from the HDMI source.

If you want true HD you will need the receiver to pass both audio and video. The only way to get TrueHD is via HDMI and if you are trying to use the component for video I don't believe it will output above 480p due to HDCP restrictions of HD material.

Someone please correct me here if I am mistaken.

 

[Needbass]

yeah that was one thing I learned was that only HDMI will do TrueHD

- i have a HDMI cord coming out from my HD-A2

 

[Needbass]

Check out the Yamaha RX-V661 at the Audioholics store: http://store.audioholics.com/product/1092/69/yamaha-rx-v661-7-1-channel-digital-home-theater-receiver

On sale for $499 with extended warrenty and free shipping.

To get TrueHD from a receiver A2 combo you need a receiver with at least HDMI 1.1 which will accept the LPCM output from the A2. Set your audio on the A2 to the TrueHD setting and you will see most receivers display "multichannel" on the front pannel.

Sorry guys I am starting to get confused - Highlander, thank you for the recommendation. I looked at a view for the receiver you recomeneded (the RX-V661) and found the below sentence in it:

"It does not have some of the more-advanced functionality of HDMI 1.3, which includes the ability to receive Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-Master soundtracks via HDMI (from Blu-ray and HD DVD players). "


So if i have a HD-a2 with an HDMI cable, will this receiver let me get TrueHD

 

[adk highlander]

There are two ways to decode TrueHD:

1) The player decodes (way your a2 works) the track and sends it via LPCM to your receiver and it accepts it as multchannel audio.

2) The player sends the raw bitstream (a2 cannot do this) to the receiver and it decodes the track.

The statement you are asking about is just letting you know if you have a player that can output bistream the receiver can decode the raw signal. So it would work with either example above.

How are you sending video to your display if you are only using the HDMI connection for audio? I may not have formed this question well earlier.

 

[Needbass]

There are two ways to decode TrueHD:

1) The player decodes (way your a2 works) the track and sends it via LPCM to your receiver and it accepts it as multchannel audio.

2) The player sends the raw bitstream (a2 cannot do this) to the receiver and it decodes the track.

The statement you are asking about is just letting you know if you have a player that can output bistream the receiver can decode the raw signal. So it would work with either example above.

How are you sending video to your display if you are only using the HDMI connection for audio? I may not have formed this question well earlier.

No problem Hghlander - I have component video going out to a projector
And i want to have HDMI out from the HD-a2 to a receiver

 

[Needbass]

I think I am getting the hang of this now. I just read the following about HDMI 1.3:

"Supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams for external decoding by AV receivers. TrueHD and DTS-HD are lossless audio codec formats used on HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. If the disc player can decode these streams into uncompressed audio, then HDMI 1.3 is not necessary, as all versions of HDMI can transport uncompressed audio."

So as i see it now - this is what i have gathered

1. my HD a2 outputs Truehd through HDMI

2. I do not need to get a receiver that advertises a truehd decoder - as long as it has hdmi 1.1 or 1.2, it should give me truehd (because my player is doing the work)

Can anyone please verify that these statements are correct

 

[adk highlander]

You are correct sir Now go collect your prize.....

!insert one of mazers cool photo's here!

 

[Needbass]

thank you to everyone who help me mentally think this thing through

Now I was completely sideswiped by the Sony - 630W 6.1-Ch STR-DG710 only doing stereo truehd - is that commom? do many receivers do this?

anymore reccomendations for receivers that will give at least 5.1 true hd

 

[S.R. Johnson]

thank you to everyone who help me mentally think this thing through

Now I was completely sideswiped by the Sony - 630W 6.1-Ch STR-DG710 only doing stereo truehd - is that commom? do many receivers do this?

anymore reccomendations for receivers that will give at least 5.1 true hd

well the onkyo 605 and up receivers does the new formats as well as the yamaha rx-v663 and the 863 and the the sony 820 and the 920 does the new formats as well the sony str-dgx10 series receivers does not have the dolby true hd and dts-hd ma decoders built inside of it.

 

[Seth=L]

The RX-V661 can handle up to 5.1 LPCM, which is what the HD-A2 converts Dolby Digital TrueHD into for output over HDMI. Since the HD-A2 cannot bitstream TrueHD it has to decode it internally and send it out as lossless (uncompressed) multichannel LPCM. This process would occur in a receiver that can decode TrueHD if a player was able to send the bitstream TrueHD. Since this is not the case you don't need to have a receiver such as the RX-V663, or Onkyo TX-SR605. The Sony you mentioned is probably not a very good receiver choice, it's cheap, but that's about it.

The RX-V661 is one of your better bets for your application. If you can find a Marantz SR-4001 that would be fine too.

(note: this will be the same for the PS3, as it cannot send bitstream TrueHD. The PS3 can decode it internally and send it out as lossless multichannel LPCM for the same fidelity as it would be if the decoding occured in the receiver.)