panny DMP BD 55 arriving soon, hdmi question?

[npeckio]

hi, i have read the threads but remain confused. here is my system:
pio elite 1140 hd plasma display w HDMI version 1.1, 1080p/24hz
pio elite 82txs av recvr w 7.1, HDMI version 1.2, ddex,dts-es,DTS 96/24.
speakers 7.1 set up w sub

i guess i would use the decoder in the BD55 7.1 outs to the tuner 7.1 analog in's. ??
the hdmi cable from the BD55 to the tuner hdmi in as well? to carry the video??
or hdmi from the bd55 directly yo the back of the plasma to get a better picture or use the tuner hdmi input?

how would i set up the bd55 for the above scenario??
i have read the manual for the BD55 on line, multiple threads here and at the avs forums and i still dont get it. i also tried panny and pio phone support to no avail. any help greatly appreciated.thanks nick

[MrBoylan]

hi, i have read the threads but remain confused. here is my system:
pio elite 1140 hd plasma display w HDMI version 1.1, 1080p/24hz
pio elite 82txs av recvr w 7.1, HDMI version 1.2, ddex,dts-es,DTS 96/24.
speakers 7.1 set up w sub

i guess i would use the decoder in the BD55 7.1 outs to the tuner 7.1 analog in's. ??
the hdmi cable from the BD55 to the tuner hdmi in as well? to carry the video??
or hdmi from the bd55 directly yo the back of the plasma to get a better picture or use the tuner hdmi input?

how would i set up the bd55 for the above scenario??
i have read the manual for the BD55 on line, multiple threads here and at the avs forums and i still dont get it. i also tried panny and pio phone support to no avail. any help greatly appreciated.thanks nick

Well your situation is a little bit tricky actually, because your receiver does not support the new codecs (DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD) directly but it *does* support HDMI audio. You could get excellent sound and picture, with really simple hook-up if you simply use HDMI from player to receiver, and then HDMI output from receiver to display.

Set the Digital Audio Output on the BD55 to PCM (not bitstream), and set BD Secondary Audio to OFF. This will ensure that the player decodes the new codecs to multi-channel PCM, which your receiver can then happily convert to analog sound. And this will be the simplest set-up because your receiver's bass management, EQ, etc. (everything applied in the MCACC audo-calibration procedure) will all be respected on the digital audio inputs (they wouldn't be used if you connected via multi-channel analog).

The *ONLY* thing you won't get in this specific configuration is support for the legacy DTS extensions on regular DVDs, like DTS 96/24 and DTS-ES 6.1. These are not decoded on the BD55 as the BD55 adheres to the "DTS-HD Master Audio Essential" spec. Do you have any DVDs in your collection that use these extensions? If you do, then simply go into the BD55 Digital Audio output menu and CHANGE the DTS output from "PCM" to "bitstream" while watching these specific DVDs, and change it back to PCM when you're done.

If you want to make your life more complicated, then use the multi-channel analog outputs on the BD55 connected to your receiver, and also use the fiber-optic or coax digital outputs (with the BD55's digital audio outputs set to bitstream). With this configuration, you'll need to do all of the level settings and bass management in the BD55, instead of the receiver, which is time-consuming. But then you could switch over (on your receiver) to the fiberoptic or coax digital input for standard DVDs which are bitsreamed out via the fiber optic or coax outputs (and then you'd support DTS-ES and DTS 96/24).

Honestly, considering how few DTS 96/24 and DTS-ES titles are available, and the relative ease of making this change in the set-up menu on the player, I think the all-HDMI hookup option is a better idea.

Regards,

-Chris

[npeckio]

thanks very much. but if i use the "simple" hdmi method my av receiver is not capable of the new codec's,ie dolby hd etc.the hdmi versions are not current enough on the receiver i am told by pio/panny support. i can give up the dts as most of the movies have dolby as an option as well.i was under the impression that this player will bring these new codec's through my receiver via analog 7.1, is that what you ment by multi channel pcm? i have trouble with the terminology as you can see. i own many dvd's but when this player came out i got excited because i have a 7.1 seaker set up and it has not been utilized enough. i dont mind setting up the multichannel as i have to do this with the dvd player i have as it can play sacd's and i use the anologs for that...but i would give that up for better sound with the movies both dvd and blue ray. maybe you can reply again to me and explain one more time about the 7.1 analog out from the player to the receiver as i want to here the new codec's and if possible not lose the ability to hear my regular dvd collection in dolby dig 5.1/7.1 disc format. thanks for your patience and time, regards , nick

[BADuHamel]

thanks very much. but if i use the "simple" hdmi method my av receiver is not capable of the new codec's,ie dolby hd etc.the hdmi versions are not current enough on the receiver i am told by pio/panny support. i can give up the dts as most of the movies have dolby as an option as well.i was under the impression that this player will bring these new codec's through my receiver via analog 7.1, is that what you ment by multi channel pcm? i have trouble with the terminology as you can see. i own many dvd's but when this player came out i got excited because i have a 7.1 seaker set up and it has not been utilized enough. i dont mind setting up the multichannel as i have to do this with the dvd player i have as it can play sacd's and i use the anologs for that...but i would give that up for better sound with the movies both dvd and blue ray. maybe you can reply again to me and explain one more time about the 7.1 analog out from the player to the receiver as i want to here the new codec's and if possible not lose the ability to hear my regular dvd collection in dolby dig 5.1/7.1 disc format. thanks for your patience and time, regards , nick

Not to speak for Chris, but to clarify, what he is saying is that you will need to set the BD55 to decode the advanced codecs and send them to your receiver as multichannel PCM via HDMI, rather than bitstream the codecs. Your receiver supports multichannel PCM over HDMI, but not bitstreaming/decoding of the advanced audio codecs (DTS-HD HR/MA, TrueHD, etc.)

[MrBoylan]

Not to speak for Chris, but to clarify, what he is saying is that you will need to set the BD55 to decode the advanced codecs and send them to your receiver as multichannel PCM via HDMI, rather than bitstream the codecs. Your receiver supports multichannel PCM over HDMI, but not bitstreaming/decoding of the advanced audido codecs (DTS-HD HR/MA, TrueHD, etc.)

What he said.

From looking at your receiver's specs, it DOES seem to support multi-channel PCM over HDMI so if you set your player as I noted (set Dolby and DTS output to *PCM* in the Digital Audio Output instead of "Bitstream"), then you will be able to take advantage of the lossless codecs by letting the player decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA to PCM and you will NOT have to bother with a multi-channel analog connection.

This will be not only simpler, but also the best quality connection for your specific gear. Also, make sure to set BD Secondary Audio to OFF (also in the player's digital audio output settings), otherwise the player may need to mix in secondary audio or menu sound effects and this will drop it down to the lossy track. You'll need to set BD Secondary Audio back to ON if you want to hear sound from any BonusView commentary tracks.

Regards,

-Chris

[npeckio]

thanks alot, but the funny thing if i understand you correctly, is that i could have gotten the lower end player without the 7.1 analogs..is that right? when i first started on this quest I thought the receiver would be passive and it would be easy via hdmi. how do i make the receiver passive or shut off the receiver decoding ,by using the "pure direct" mode of my receiver??
the player should be delivered soon. i will gather all the data, get the appropriate disc's and try like heck to get it right.I thank both of you for your help. i will let you know how i do.if you need any medical advice, I am an R.N. i would be glad to help, use my e mail.take care and thanks again, nick

[MrBoylan]

thanks alot, but the funny thing if i understand you correctly, is that i could have gotten the lower end player without the 7.1 analogs..is that right? when i first started on this quest I thought the receiver would be passive and it would be easy via hdmi. how do i make the receiver passive or shut off the receiver decoding ,by using the "pure direct" mode of my receiver??
the player should be delivered soon. i will gather all the data, get the appropriate disc's and try like heck to get it right.I thank both of you for your help. i will let you know how i do.if you need any medical advice, I am an R.N. i would be glad to help, use my e mail.take care and thanks again, nick

Hi, Nick,

Yes, you actually could have saved yourself some money and gotten the BD35 since your receiver does support HDMI audio (multi-channel L-PCM). But hey, the BD55 has those cool feet! In terms of video processing, your receiver does upconvert material to 720p or 1080i over HDMI but it also has a 1080p "pass-through" mode. As far as I know you don't need to set anything on the receiver to use this. Just plug the player into the receiver and it will pass the signal through at 1080p/24 or 1080p/60 to the TV.

Your receiver is a couple of years old though, released when Blu-ray players were just starting to be made, so it's possible that it may have trouble passing a 1080p/24 signal through from player to display. If this happens, you'll probably get a black screen or "no signal" on the display. If this does occur, then you'll have to plug the player directly into the TV via HDMI and then you will need to use the multi-channel analog outputs after all (which is an option with the BD55 but not the BD35).

Hopefully you'll be OK with HDMI all the way from player to receiver to TV - the specs say it should work but really it's hard to know in advance until you try it as HDMI connections can be tricky when different components are in the mix.

Try it out and drop another us another post if you have any problems.

Good luck!

-CB

[npeckio]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi
hi, according to chapter 4 and 5, i should be able to send 8 channel LCPM 192/24 from the blue ray player to my receiver which has version 1.2 hdmi. i think that reinforces what you have told me to stick w the simple hdmi method. did i read the article correctly? thanks nick

[BADuHamel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi
hi, according to chapter 4 and 5, i should be able to send 8 channel LCPM 192/24 from the blue ray player to my receiver which has version 1.2 hdmi. i think that reinforces what you have told me to stick w the simple hdmi method. did i read the artical correctly? thanks nick

As long as the receiver itself supports multichannel PCM over HDMI at 192/24, then HDMI 1.2 is all that is required. Some early HDMI receivers had HDMI but did not support multichannel PCM. From what I can tell, your Denon does support multichannel PCM over HDMi, so that will be your best option. You'll still be getting the benefit of the advanced audio codecs on Blu-ray, but instead of bitsreaming them and decoding them in the receiver, the player will decode them and send them as PCM at up to 192/24, depending on the program material. Most films are recorded and/or transferred at only 48/24. There are a couple of independent releases like Chronos and Baraka that have 96/24 STS-HD Master Audio soundtracks on Blu-ray. Then there are, of course, some Blu-ray Audio Discs that have 192/24 PCM and/or 192/24 DTS-HD Master Audio, like Divertmenti, from 2L.

[npeckio]

i have a pio 82TXS receiverand hpefully it does multi -channel PCM over hdmi, i am gonna find out. thanks , nick