EP30 TrueHD On Onkyo 605

[admin_exported]

HI Everyone, Quick query. I have an EP30 and an Onkyo 605 and they're hooked up by HDMI. I watched the matrix today which has dolby truehd so i changed the sound to output trueHD on the player but the amplifier Truehd sign still doesn't light up. Am i doing something wrong on the amplifier side of things. Its just showing up as Multichannel PCM. Will i ever get it to light up. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[VoodooDoctor]

I believe it needs to send Bitstream, otherwise the player does the decoding and you get PCM, which is what your are seeing with "Multichannel" on the amp.

I think the EP35 does this but not the EP30.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi thanks for your reply,
So there's no chance of truehd lighting up at all then unless i get the ep35. What about a firmware update in the future maybe??

 

[VoodooDoctor]

I believe this is the fundamental difference between the two models so probably won't be changed by a firmware upgrade.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your help.

Looks like its time to start saving again LOL.

 

[VoodooDoctor]

Did you buy it online? Can you not send it back under Distance selling regulations?

 

[Anonymous]

To be honest i'm really happy with the player and the sound as it is. Will there be much difference in sound if i upgraded the player. The missus already said i could get the ep35 in january sales if i'm a good boy over xmas ha ha ha.

 

[VoodooDoctor]

According to the people that got the EP-35 last week (only became available on Friday) the HD sound via the Onkyo is a big step up I guess it depends if you want to see that HD light turn on.

 

[FoxJA]

I just got an e-mail from Play.com saying my EP35 has been dispatched, I will have it connected to my Onkyo 875, so can let you know what it sounds like soon.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi FoxJA, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the sound. I ordered my EP35 on Sunday, also from Play.com. It will also be running through my Onkyo 875. Just waiting for that email telling me its been dispatched!

 

[FoxJA]

At £269.99 it was a bit hard to resist, and I got a 5% discount which brought it down to £256.49, on top of that theres 7 free HD DVD's.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, i look forward to your thoughts too. Was the 5 percent discount a code or something else cos the cheaper i could get the EP-35 the less pressure it is on me to behave over xmas ha ha ha.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi ChalkyWhyte.

It appears we're in the exact same boat. I also have the Onkyo 605 and the toshiba EP30. I too am having this problem, going through all the settings on both to try and get the truehd logo to light up on the amp to no aveil. I've been in contact with onkyo and toshiba. Onkyo confirms its not a problem with the amp and toshiba have told me this is a known issue and is a problem with the firmware on the EP30. I'm running firmware version 1.3. They said they will be releasing a fix shortly.

Technically the EP30 should output the truehd signal via hdmi to the onkyo to be decoded, aswell as DD+ & DTS-HD (core). The difference between the EP30 and the EP35 is that the EP35 has a built in decoder for the new HD sound formats so you can connect to a standard 5.1 amp via analogue connectors for hd sound. It also has a higher bandwidth hdmi socket to give you upto 7.1 hd audio signal such as DTS- Master Audio 7.1, and also 48 bit colour definition (Deep colour) for compatible displays.

The reasons I went for the EP30 over the EP35 are a) I have an amp that already decodes the new HD audio soundtracks b) My tv doesn't support Deep colour and I'm not thinking about upgrading anytime soon. c) Discs that use DTS-MA 7.1 are as rare as rocking horse *** d) Saved myself 70 quid and bought another 4 Hd-dvd's.

So, I'm going to give Toshiba a chance, after all its new tech and the player has only been out a couple of months.
Hopefully they will come through with the firmware update that we're eagerly awaiting.

 

[FoxJA]

[quote user="ChalkyWhyte"]Hi, i look forward to your thoughts too. Was the 5 percent discount a code or something else .[/quote]

It is a discount code but is locked to my account - Sorry

[quote user="PorkchopXprs"]

Technically the EP30 should output the truehd signal via hdmi to the onkyo to be decoded, aswell as DD+ & DTS-HD (core).

[/quote]

From what I have read, the EP30 does not support bitstream audio via HDMI, therfore can not output the new HD audio formats for the Onkyo to decode, where as the EP35 does.

I have just watched my first film on my HD-EP35/Onkyo 875 set-up, unfortunately it was Transformers which doesn't have TrueHD audio. But it still sounds good in Dolby Digital +, and looked great.

I tried 300 just to see the TrueHD lights on my Onkyo, it worked and it sounded great - didn't watch it all though as I've already seen it on Blu ray.