Help with Blu-ray

[admin_exported]

Dear all,

I wonder if you can help, this is my first post here so be gentle!

I have some kit that is getting a bit long in the tooth now - currnetly Pioneer 43 inch plasma (HD ready), Denon 2800 DVD player, Denon 2805 Amp and Sky+ HD with Monitor Audio speakers and a rel sub.

I want to upgrade my DVD to blu ray and would like to know how to get the best out of it - i do not want to change my tv but am happy to upgrade the amp if needed. (potentially sony 350 blu ray and denon 1909 on onkyo 606 amp - woudl these amps be an upgrade from my current in terms of sound?)

If I get a blu ray player can I keep my existing amp and just output the sound with a coaxial cable to get hd sound and send the picture to my tv via hdmi or do i need a new amp with dedicated HDMI inputs for this to work?

Also my tv only has one hdmi input which is taken up with sky+ so i would have to keep swapping the cables over? Final question, with sky+ HD should i be outputting the sound through an optical cable to the amp to get HD sound?

Please help! Been out of the game for a few years and things have changed a bit!

Many thanks,

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Thorny, welcome to the site,

Unable to comment on the sound as i've not heard the Denon, but you will only get the latest hd sound (dd hd & dts ma) via hdmi not opitical, although you can only get surround sound from sky hd via opitical not hdmi.

You can either get 1 of the recievers in your post to take both hdmi's from sky & blu-ray player then one hdmi to your tv or you could get a hdmi switcher and use your Denon.

Hope this helps

Alan

 

[professorhat]

Hi there,
Just been reading about your amp, looks like a good one. You basically have two options - one, you can get a new amp which will accept the HD audio formats via HDMI or two, you can keep your amp and get a Blu-Ray player which can decode all the HD formats onboard and send them out via analogue multi-channel connectors (which your current amp can accept). Something like the Panasonic DMP-BD50. Whichever you choose, you can't get the HD audio formats from a digital optical or coaxial cable I'm afraid.
AV amps have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years though, so I would definitely take the time to do some auditioning before making your choice.
Finally, on the Sky HD question, you do need an optical cable to get 5.1 sound through this due a limitation in the way the box outputs sound over HDMI.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick response Alan, if I were to get a blu ray player with on board decoding could i just output the sound via multichannel cables into my existing amp and get hd sound that way?

 

[Anonymous]

Sure, professerhat has it spot on.

 

[Anonymous]

Brill - thanks Prof - you answered my question before I asked it!

 

[professorhat]

You're very welcome.

 

[Anonymous]

ok - just nipped in to richer sounds on my lunch break do ask about the Panasonic blu ray player - they have it for £400 - they phoned panasonic to ask my question about decoding on board (I was just reconfirming it would all work) and were told that it would only output normal dolby sound unless you use HDMI - is that right do you think? So they said to get true dolby hd i would have to change my amp as well?

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

Well that's wrong according to the review on this very site. Maybe one of them team who tested it can pitch in or, even better, an owner who uses the multichannel outs with an old amp. The cynic in me suspects foul play from the salesman or a lack of knowledge from Panasonic about their own products. Maybe the person on the phone mistakenly thought you were asking about bitstreaming.

 

[Anonymous]

They also said I would need a 7.1 set up to hear a difference anyway - is that true?

 

[aliEnRIK]

You can (for now) only get HD sound down a HDMI

As for the 7.1 thats NOT tue. Hi Def sound is simply using more information to store the sound (Less compressed). So as long as you have a hi def decoding av amp then it (theoretically) should sound better.

 

[Anonymous]

I have just read this thread with real interest 'cos I picked on the original question first. I wonder if any of you guys can help and maybe a word of warning to the original questioner?!

I have just bought the Panasonic DMP-BD50 blu-ray player and connected it by Chord Company Silver Plus 1.3 HDMI to my Pioneer PDP-436XDE plasma player and it don't work! I picked up on this thread beacuse of the comment of an 'older Pioneer 43" plasma' and wanted to leap straight in and perhaps make you think first.

Firstly, does anybody know what settings to use on the blu-ray or the plasma? The blu-ray keeps resetting back to the 'hello' display and my reaction is that there is an HDMI incompatibility. I think I have the settings correct but there seems to be a constant dialogue between the separate media unit of the plasma and the BD player which causes the reset. As you can imagine I'm a little upset and I'm not getting much help from Panasonic!

Any ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Hi there,

Just been reading about your amp, looks like a good one. You basically have two options - one, you can get a new amp which will accept the HD audio formats via HDMI or two, you can keep your amp and get a Blu-Ray player which can decode all the HD formats onboard and send them out via analogue multi-channel connectors (which your current amp can accept). Something like the Panasonic DMP-BD50. Whichever you choose, you can't get the HD audio formats from a digital optical or coaxial cable I'm afraid.
AV amps have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years though, so I would definitely take the time to do some auditioning before making your choice.
Finally, on the Sky HD question, you do need an optical cable to get 5.1 sound through this due a limitation in the way the box outputs sound over HDMI.

Does the cheaper Panasonic DMP 30 also decode on board or is it worther spending the extra on a 50? The panasonic website is a bit confusing on this point!

Still can't decide whether to get a new amp or not!

 

[aliEnRIK]

pncook:I have just read this thread with real interest 'cos I picked on the original question first. I wonder if any of you guys can help and maybe a word of warning to the original questioner?!

I have just bought the Panasonic DMP-BD50 blu-ray player and connected it by Chord Company Silver Plus 1.3 HDMI to my Pioneer PDP-436XDE plasma player and it don't work! I picked up on this thread beacuse of the comment of an 'older Pioneer 43" plasma' and wanted to leap straight in and perhaps make you think first.

Firstly, does anybody know what settings to use on the blu-ray or the plasma? The blu-ray keeps resetting back to the 'hello' display and my reaction is that there is an HDMI incompatibility. I think I have the settings correct but there seems to be a constant dialogue between the separate media unit of the plasma and the BD player which causes the reset. As you can imagine I'm a little upset and I'm not getting much help from Panasonic!

Any ideas?

Ive tried to find the 'specs' for your tv but struggling a bit. But judging from the 'pixels' it has im guessing that full 1080 simply isnt possible. Set the blu ray for 720p output. If that works set to 1080i then finally 1080p. Im thinking it will only work on 720p or perhaps 1080i as well.

 

[professorhat]

Thorny:professorhat:Hi there,

Just been reading about your amp, looks like a good one. You basically have two options - one, you can get a new amp which will accept the HD audio formats via HDMI or two, you can keep your amp and get a Blu-Ray player which can decode all the HD formats onboard and send them out via analogue multi-channel connectors (which your current amp can accept). Something like the Panasonic DMP-BD50. Whichever you choose, you can't get the HD audio formats from a digital optical or coaxial cable I'm afraid.
AV amps have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years though, so I would definitely take the time to do some auditioning before making your choice.
Finally, on the Sky HD question, you do need an optical cable to get 5.1 sound through this due a limitation in the way the box outputs sound over HDMI.

Does the cheaper Panasonic DMP 30 also decode on board or is it worther spending the extra on a 50? The panasonic website is a bit confusing on this point!

Still can't decide whether to get a new amp or not!

BD30 can't decode DTS HD Master Audio soundtracks onboard so best to go for the BD50 to ensure full compatibility with any soundtrack. Or, you could get the BD30 and buy an amp which can decode all the formats as the BD30 can bitstream all formats for an amp to decode - this will give you the same result in terms of sound.

 

[Anonymous]

The Plasma definitely accepts 720p and 1080i and won't accept 1080p. I've set the BD50 to output 720p and then 1080i but the screen still seems to 'process' the video request and causes the BD player to reset. I literally can't see anything on the screen after say 10 seconds.

I've tried disconnecting the HDMI cable from Input 3 and connecting to Input 5 with a composite to see if I can work the setup menu but without luck. I turn off HDMI video output on the BD50 so the only way that physically video is connected to the Plasma is by composite and it still resets after so many seconds!

My son has a Sony KDL-32P3020 in his room and the BD50 works great so it's not the player but the settings or a compatibility problem with the older Pioneer PDP-436XDE. Still desparate for help!

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Thorny:professorhat:Hi there,

Just been reading about your amp, looks like a good one. You basically have two options - one, you can get a new amp which will accept the HD audio formats via HDMI or two, you can keep your amp and get a Blu-Ray player which can decode all the HD formats onboard and send them out via analogue multi-channel connectors (which your current amp can accept). Something like the Panasonic DMP-BD50. Whichever you choose, you can't get the HD audio formats from a digital optical or coaxial cable I'm afraid.
AV amps have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years though, so I would definitely take the time to do some auditioning before making your choice.
Finally, on the Sky HD question, you do need an optical cable to get 5.1 sound through this due a limitation in the way the box outputs sound over HDMI.

Does the cheaper Panasonic DMP 30 also decode on board or is it worther spending the extra on a 50? The panasonic website is a bit confusing on this point!

Still can't decide whether to get a new amp or not!

BD30 can't decode DTS HD Master Audio soundtracks onboard so best to go for the BD50 to ensure full compatibility with any soundtrack. Or, you could get the BD30 and buy an amp which can decode all the formats as the BD30 can bitstream all formats for an amp to decode - this will give you the same result in terms of sound.

Thanks once again professor! I am tempted to get a new amp as it seems much easier to do that - problem is i do not want to spend a fortune, if i got something like the sony 350 blue ray and then the new sony dg820 , which i could get together for £530, would that be a drop in sound quality from my Denon 2805? The BD50 is £400 on its own so am I better off getting a new amp/blu ray combo or keeping my amp?

 

[professorhat]

Unfortunately, I can't really tell you as I've heard neither the Denon nor the Sony. I'd recommend finding a dealer with one, taking your amp along and doing a side by side comparison.

 

[Anonymous]

Just to close this off. The Plasma DOES accept 1080p / 24fps, my problems with the BD50 resetting were due to being unable to connect to the router via ethernet and nothing to do with the Pioneer. My viewing now has a new lease of life due to the BD50 on the Pioneer!

 

[Anonymous]

I have just purchased a Panasonic DMP BD50 connected to a Panasonic PT-AE500E (great picture). My AV amp is a Sony STR- DB925, I appreciate this is quite a old amp but to me it gives great sound and I don't want to replace it, hence I opted for the more expensive BD50 over the BD30 so I could get the True HD sound (albeit downscaled to 5,1), via the 5.1 analogue phono outputs. The question I want to put to the experts is to me the sound seems to be better in normal dolby digital via the optical connection - punchier more base although admittedly slightly less clarity than the 5,1 connection).

The phono connection from my player to the amp is via fairly bog standard phono to phono cables (£4.99 per pair but thrown in free by the dealer). The question is should I just stick to the optical connection for now and upgrade my amp in time or would better phono cables give me NOTICABLY better sound. I don't want to spend more than £50 on new interconnects otherwise I might as well buy a new amp.

Also I am unable to make any adjustments to the sound on my amp through 5,1 unputs (except volume), is this normal

Thank you for any advice - I am not a technophile so go easy on me!

 

[Anonymous]

Again Thorny, this is exactly my dilemma! Would be interested to hear if you resolved the question re the 2 Panasonic BR players? And did you keep your old amp and, if so, does it work well with the analogue connectors?

Many thanks