decoding Hi def audio

[timwileman]

Hi, Quick question, i read some where that both HD DVD and Blu Ray specs require that the new hi def audio formats are decoded on board the player....not in an av reciever/amp?........................... if this is true then is there any reason to pay the extra to get an av amp that can decode true hd or dts master at all? or should i just make sure that any av amp i buy can handle the LPCM output that results from the dcoding done by the player?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Not quite - it's possible for the disc to mandate that the soundtrack is decoded in the player - I guess as an anti-piracy measure -, but it's by no means a requirement.

That said, we have to dispel the oft-quoted myth that Linear PCM is a poor relation of having a direct Dolby Digital/DTS HD stream out of the player to a decoder in a receiver - either method is equally valid, provided the decoding is done properly, and as I have said elsewhere there's a good case for having the soundtracks unizipped or decoded as close to source as possible.

So the answer to your question is that in general, LPCM capability will do you very nicely, but these days most new receivers come ready to handle all the formats anyway.

 

[professorhat]

It's not true, the Panasonic BD-30 doesn't do any onboard decoding so you would need an amp / processor to get hi-def sounds if you were using this player. Some other players have the option of both.

Edit - pipped to the post again!

 

[timwileman]

so if your both correct, its possible for a disc to mandate that the decode is done in the player............but if its the pana BD30 it cannot do this........would the disc play at all??

 

[professorhat]

Sorry, bit misleading saying it can't decode anything, it can't decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD MA. In this case, if your amp can't do it either, you can output Dolby TrueHD as Dolby Digital downmix and DTS HD as core DTS 5.1 mix i.e. it wouldn't be lossless.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, the DMP-DB30 is a bit of an odd one in this respect, in that it behaves as the Prof says, but can also output LPCM in its native form when that is the soundtrack on the disc, or output True HD/DTS-HD as downmixed PCM, but not LPCM.

 

[timwileman]

so the question leaps to mind,,,,,,why pay more for an av amp that decodes all the new formats if you dont have to??? sorry just am confused as to why i should shell out more for one that is a super fancy whatsit decoder when the chances are the player will decode (unless you have the dmp-db30!)................

confusion rule!

 

[Andrew Everard]

You don't have to pay more - most of the amps able to handle LPCM also do all the other HD formats, with the exception of some Sonys and the Audiolab 8000AP processor, AFAIK.

 

[professorhat]

Also (and this is a contentious issue and I can't be handling getting into another one of those tonight!), but, it is said that the decoders in some amps provide better results than the decoders in some players. Not having any amp capable of doing this, or any HD player capable of bitstreaming HD audio though, I cannot comment on whether this is true or not.

There, I've said it and qualified it, please don't shoot the messenger!