Older AV amp without HD audio formats - can it play Blueray discs with latest HD audio formats?

[admin_exported]

My Denon AVR 2803 (circa 2002) plays all my DVD's in Dolby Digital which it defaults to when in Auto mode. Having just bought a Panasonic BD60 Blue Ray I note that the BlueRay discs are all HD audio of one format or another. Can my Denon cope or am I missing out on valuable soundtrack signals.

Also, many of the Blue Ray discs default to DTS on the Denon, not Dolby Digital as per my DVD discs and DTS format doesn't seem to produce much sound at the two surrounds and the one rear.

Any ideas on both points please?

Kind regards.

 

[matengawhat]

can the blu-ray player decode hd audio internally and does it have a full set of audio outputs? Does the amp have a full set of audio inputs if so i think you can actually receive the hd audio - not sure for def as not up to spev with both pieces of kit!

depends what the discs ar set to default to and if they have both audio tracks - change it in the settings menu on each disc i think

 

[matengawhat]

just checked some pics and from what i can see the bd doesn't the amp does - you should have bought the bd 80 and then you would be enjoying all the latest hd audio codecs

 

[nads]

so from this i guess you are conected by coax or optical Digi?

No HD sound posible. you will just get the core DTS or DD tracks.

either change the player or the amp.

 

[Anonymous]

The BD60 feeds the Denon via optical so as you say I won't get the HD sound. Is the difference worth investing the cost of a new amp - can anyone speak from experience of non HD audio vs HD audio please?

What I didn't understand was the connections if I'd bought the BD80 with it's HD codecs as detailed in one of the replies - can you elaborate please?

Many thanks

 

[Big Chris]

developer215:
The BD60 feeds the Denon via optical so as you say I won't get the HD sound. Is the difference worth investing the cost of a new amp - can anyone speak from experience of non HD audio vs HD audio please?

What I didn't understand was the connections if I'd bought the BD80 with it's HD codecs as detailed in one of the replies - can you elaborate please?

Many thanks

IMO. The sound on Blu-ray is better than the picture quality. If you're getting one and not the other, you're not getting the full story.

The BD80 has a full set of analogue outputs (Don't know if its 6 or 8 though, hopefully 8), so the player can decode the audio itself into its component parts of 'Front Left', 'Centre', 'Front Right', 'Subwoofer', etc. And send the seperate channels of sound via regular interconnects to your amp, which will send the audio from the input to the correct speaker. ***PROVIDING YOUR AMP HAS A FULL SET OF ANALOGUE INPUTS*** but 'Matengawhat' has said it does, so that's one less problem to contend with.

The BD60 doesn't have these analogue outputs, so it requires an amp that can take the information from the HDMI and separate it into the individual channels of sound.

 

[professorhat]

I can also speak from experience - when produced properly, HD audio is a vast improvement over the older formats on my system. I went from a Denon AVC-A1SE to an Onkyo TX-NR905 - the sound is phenomenal on some releases (thinking of The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace and the Kill Bill films which immediately come to mind).

 

[laserman16]

professorhat:

I can also speak from experience - when produced properly, HD audio is a vast improvement over the older formats on my system. I went from a Denon AVC-A1SE to an Onkyo TX-NR905 - the sound is phenomenal on some releases (thinking of The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace and the Kill Bill films which immediately come to mind).

My next step when I have the funds, so envious of you guys when you go on about HD audio formats.

I'll get there eventually.

 

[Big Chris]

laserman16:professorhat:

I can also speak from experience - when produced properly, HD audio is a vast improvement over the older formats on my system. I went from a Denon AVC-A1SE to an Onkyo TX-NR905 - the sound is phenomenal on some releases (thinking of The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace and the Kill Bill films which immediately come to mind).

My next step when I have the funds, so envious of you guys when you go on about HD audio formats.

I'll get there eventually.

There's no rush. I haven't got a full HD TV, so I've got something to look forward to in future.

 

[matengawhat]

i checked on a really old pic that was a bit blurred but sure they are all there in the bottom left hand corner if looking at back of the amp and there is a full 7.1 set - the bd80 from memory was only about £30 more that the bd60 so think that would have been the cheapest way - how long have you had the bd60 is it really recent can you still swap it?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice fellas. What I decided to do was swap the BD60 for the BD80, buy some interconnects and hey presto - HD sound. You were all correct - it's head and shoulders above my Dolby Digital thru optical. Very many thanks to you all. Commendations go to Richer Sounds Birmingham who not only swapped the BD60 for the BD80 six weeks after the purchase date but didn't charge me an "open box" fee and then knocked £20 off the BD80.

 

[laserman16]

Big Chris:laserman16:professorhat:

I can also speak from experience - when produced properly, HD audio is a vast improvement over the older formats on my system. I went from a Denon AVC-A1SE to an Onkyo TX-NR905 - the sound is phenomenal on some releases (thinking of The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace and the Kill Bill films which immediately come to mind).

My next step when I have the funds, so envious of you guys when you go on about HD audio formats.

I'll get there eventually.

There's no rush. I haven't got a full HD TV, so I've got something to look forward to in future.

I've got the full HD TV so I suppose we are both halfway there.