HD Audio and Older Receivers

[admin_exported]

I have an older receiver with no HDMI inputs, and have always thought that I wouldn't be able to make use of the new HD audio formats when I purchased a Blu-Ray player. But, the What Hi Fi review of the Panasonic DMP-BD35 gave me some hope when I read:

There is however, one slight drawback compared to its predecessor. Panasonic has seen fit to do away with the 5.1 multichannel analogue output. We know that this is a cheaper player, but it would have been nice to have – owners of old-school receivers that don't have any HDMI inputs would then be able to enjoy the benefits of HD audio too.

It's a real shame, especially when you consider that the new player can decode all the latest HD audio formats onboard – something that the older player couldn't do.

What this passage seems to imply is that owners of older receivers with no HDMI inputs, but that do have multichannel analogue inputs should be able to enjoy the new HD audio formats if they purchase a Blu-Ray player with onboard decoders and multichannel analogue outputs. Now, I realise the Panasonic DMP-BD35 doesn't have both these features but the Panasonic DMP-BD50 and Sony BDP-S550 do. So, for a moment I thought great, problem solved, I will be able to enjoy the new HD audio formats without needing to purchase a new receiver. But, then other people I have spoken to in the industry (who admittedly haven't got their hands on one of these players yet) have said no, it won't work. They claim the new HD audio formats require too much bandwidth and that these players won't be able to send Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio via their analogue outputs even when decoded onboard. So, who is right? Can anyone shed some light on this issue.

NB: The What Hi Fi review of the Panasonic DMP-BD50 also implys that the HD audio formats can be sent via the multichannel analogue outputs when decoded onboard.

 

[Anonymous]

From my understanding, I wouldn't have thought bandwidth has anything to do with it, if the decoding is done onboard at source and sent out as separate 5-7 analogue outs...? I thought this is EXACTLY how legacy amps/receivers that couldn't decode HD could be used, regardless of HDMI...?

 

[Anonymous]

The onboard decoding by the player at source is more or less the same as we would send the bitstream signal directly to a HD sound processor which then decode the signal to analogue 5.1 to 7.1signals. It is the quality of the onbord decoder and DAC in the player that matters. The better the decoder and DAC the better the quality of the analogue HD sound will be

 

[clearer_audio]

Hello Steve,

If a blu-ray player has onboard decoding of the hi-def audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and also has multichannel analogue outputs then you will be able to enjoy hi-def audio.

Hi-def audio is usually transmitted through HDMI in a digital bitstream and due to the large amounts of data requires a lot of bandwidth. The receiver then decodes this digital signal into an analogue one which is what you ultimately hear through your speakers. With onboard decoding bandwidth is not a significant issue since the digital data is not transmitted through the limitations of a cable. The hi-def analogue signal which is output through the multichannel analogue outputs will obviously be of a high quality but any good quality analogue interconnect will carry the signal without any problems (unlike HDMI, bandwidth is not a significant issue here).

So if you go for a blu-ray player with onboard decoding of hi-def audio with multichannel analogue outputs then you will be ok. I currently have a Sony BDP-S550 set up and it outputs hi-def audio through the multichannel outputs without any problems and to quote Sony:

"7.1ch Analog Outputs allow to have connectability with your current AV receiver which has 7.1ch input and upgrade your home theatre system to Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD capabability with player built-in decoder."

I hope this helps clarify.

Kind regards,
Darren

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your answers everyone.