Onkyo SR606 / Panasonic BD35 Audio Settings

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I have just added a BD35 Blu Ray Player to my existing system. The BD35 is connected to the Onkyo via a HDMI lead. I know the DVD I'm playing supports DolbyTrue HD - which symbols should I see illuminated on teh Onkyo to indicate that it is receiving TrueHD rather than conventional Dolby 5.1?
 

Pistol Pete1

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Hi PMTHOMAS,

I assume you mean the blu ray disc supports Dolby True HD, and not DVD, as I think I'm right in saying no DVD's can support true HD.

Two things can happen depending on whether you have set up the Panasonic to decode or just send to the amp for it to decode the sound.

I currently have the Sony BDP-S350 blu ray player, and bitstream the sound for the amp to decode it. With this set up, the amp (same as yours) says true HD on the display.

I can set up the player to decode and then send info to amp. With this set up, if my memory serves me well, I get 'multich' on the display.

I chose the amp to do the decoding purely because, to my ears, it sounds much better.

Hope that helps.......
 
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Anonymous

Guest
First of all, you are right, I did mean teh Blu Ray Disk and not the DVD.

I have bit stream set on teh BD35 but have noticed that I can change the sound track used during playback. Choosing English from the menu says it will play back in TrueHD, Choosing any other language says it will play back it 5.1. However, no matter which one I choose, and it would normally be English TrueHD, the 606 always illuminates the orange Dolby symbol. I've played around with the listenening modes but this does nothing either.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Hello PMThomas

I have the exact same problem with My BD35 and my Onkyo 806. I originally had an Onkyo 705, and found that it would not display TrueHD or DTS Master Audio on the receiver screen. I thought the problem was with the Onkyo, so I bought a new 806, and still have the same issue. I took the BD35 into my dealer and they weren't able to get TrueHD to display, even using a $5000.00 Pioneer Elite receiver. When I press the audio button on the BD35's remote, it shows Eng1 TrueHD. The only other selections are, depending on the disc, 5.1 French and Spanish. The BD35 works perfectly in all other respects, and maybe I am getting the TrueHD sound, but until I am able to see it on the receiver, I won't believe it. I have the option to send the unit into a local repair shop, but in visiting, the facility, I don't have much faith in their ability with this technology. They don't have the proper testing equpment, etc. Therefore, I am hoping that I can find a fix for this on my own.

Panasonic's tech support is also useless. I have corresponded with them via email, and it takes weeks for them to reply. The last time they responded with "make sure you have the BD35 plugged into your receiver with an 1.3 HDMI cable". In my original request to them, I detailed my entire system hookup, and setting on both the BD35 and the Onkyo, and state that I am using 1.3a certified HDMI cables. I wrote back to them asking them for a more indepth analysis of my problem, and never heard back from them.

I have tried every conceivable setup in both the Onkyo and the BD35, but still no luck. There have been some postings were others have similar problems and were able to find some kind of a solution. I am wondering if you found a solution for your BD35/Onkyo issues.

Any help would be appreciated.

Brian
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Take a look at my posts on this a it relates to the pana 35bd + denon 2309 combo which I have.

There'll be some reference in your Onkyo guide as to what to look on the fascia of the avr. You just have to command the pana via the remote to output in hi def. Go to the pana remote when the blu ray is playing select audio ( that's the middle audio button ) and then on the soundtrack option click on True HD or equivalent when playoing other hi def format and y ou should hear the difference and see it indicated on your amp.

At least that's what happens to mine !
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Providing you have selected the True HD option on the disk that is what your onkyo should display, as long as your audio settings are correctly set on the BD35.
I also have the bd35 and onkyo 606 my BD35 is set as follows, under audio menu in the digital audio output menu - dolbly, dts and mpeg audio all set to bitstream and make sure BD Video Secondary Audio set to off.

Hope that helps

Stu
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Thanks for the input so far. I have tried all the options that you have suggested. When I press the audio button on the BC35 remote, it says Eng 1 True HD. There are no other English selections available, just 5.1 French & Spanish. Even though the TrueHd is selected, the Onkyo still shows Dolby Digital. Also, all of the output defaults have been setup on the Onkyo, to represent the output. Example Dolby TrueHD = Dolby TrueHD.

Thanks

Brian
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Hello all. I'm new to this forum but am experiencing the exact same problem with my Onkyo 606 and Panasonic BD35. All settings are correct. Player is set to bitstream to receiver and I choose Dolby TrueHD from disc menu but receiver only displays Dolby Digital 5.1. I have worn myself out trying to talk to techs at both companies. They are truly useless. Is there any way we can get some info on this issue as it is very annoying to say the least.

It could be that we are still getting the TrueHD soundtrack but the receiver is not lighting up that indicator but I can't confirm this and I feel Onkyo should admit this is an ongoing issue.

Laurie
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Hello Laurie:

This is not the fault of your Onkyo. I had an Onkyo TX SR705 receiver, and TrueHD and DTS Master Audio, would not show up on the Onkyo display. It would show the core audio of Dolby Digital, or DTS, depending on the blu-ray disc format. When I would press the audio on the BD35 remote, it would show 1 Eng TrueHD multi. I thought the problem was my Onkyo, so I bought a new TX SR806, and guess what, the same problem. I then took the BD35 back to the dealer, and he hooked it up to a $5000.00 Pioneer Elite receiver, it would not display either. I have changed HDMI cable, checked, and rechecked the settings in both the BD35 and the Onkyo, and still have no luck. I have also tried all the advise from other members on this forum, for which I am very grateful, however, none of these solved the problem.

I truly believe that the BD35 is the problem, simply because I have eliminated everything else. After a long telephone wait this morning, I contacted Panasonic, and they are going to refer the problem to one of their blu-ray experts and get back to me. Here is my theory on the issue, and it may be off the wall, but here goes. The BD55 has the ability to send analogue 7.1 via 7 audio cables to the analogue input on receivers that are so equipped. The BD35 does not have this capability. Perhaps the software for the BD55 was mistakenly put into my BD35. The reason for my theory is the display that comes up on the screen when you press the audio button on the BD35 that shows 1 Eng TrueHD multi. The multi means multi channel, and is sometimes used to describe the 7.1 analogue output on the BD55. It may be a ridiculous theory, but its worthy of some thought.

I will keep everyone posted on the response I get from Panasonic.

Buy the way, I guess everyone knows by now that the BD35 and BD55 have been discontinued by Panasonic, at least here in Canada. These models will be replaced in the spring with BD60 and BD70. The BD35 in particular was a hot seller in Canada, mainly because it is rated the best in class, and apart from my problems, is a great performer. You have got to wonder why Panasonic would discontinue such a great seller before a new model is released!

Thanks all for your help, and I will keep you posted.

Brian
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Brian, thanks for your input. I have been as frustrated as you and have concluded that my Panasonic BD35 is the culprit. It is useless to talk to Panasonic or Onkyo (Onkyo was actually much worse). I just tried another BD35 today, same issue -- won't show Dolby TrueHD, etc. on the Onkyo. Question is are we getting the TrueHD even though the receiver just shows DD? Onkyo says yes but they have no basis for saying this and I can't check it out in any way.

Here is my theory --- I think that the BD35 will not shut off the secondary audio track even though you select off in the menu settings! I think the player is then converting all Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master to DD and DTS! That's my theory but the fact that Panasonic tells me they are unaware of any problems is disgraceful. Please keep me posted. We can't be the only one's plagued by this issue. Laurie.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Settings on the blu ray are bitstream and secondary audio off (supposedly)

Settings on Onkyo (606) are Dolby TrueHD set in the listening mode preset menu and same for DTS-Master

I've tried 4 discs and although I select Dolby TrueHD from the disc menu, the Onkyo display only lights up Dolby digital, never TrueHD.

Any help would be most welcome. Laurie.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Sorry I missed your post where you say the settings are not correct. What do you mean? Laurie.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Hi Laurie:

That is very interesting that you were able to try another BD35 and it had the same problem. I am going to see if I can borrow someones Sony or Samsung and see how they work with the Onkyo. Your theory about the secondary audio could well be the problem, and I am going to explore this with Panasonic when I hear back from them. I know that some members believe that the problem is all in the settings, but I have studied this thing in depth, and tried every conceivable setting on both the Onkyo and the BD35 in an effort to solve this problem, as I am sure you have. On another forum, a fellow who had no issue with an Onkyo and BD35, tried various screen resolutions for me, from 720P to 1080i, and 1080P, and his showed the appropriate lossless audio output on his Onkyo screen. So it looks like it doesn't matter what resolution you set.

I usually use the pass through mode on my Onkyo, and I thought that perhaps this was causing the problem. However, I tried the auto setting on both the BD35, and the Onkyo, as well as set resolutions of 720P and 1080i, and nothing changed.

I am sure we will find a solution eventually. I will keep you posted.

Brian
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Brian, you are certainly more patient than I am concerning this issue. It's driving me crazy. I, too, have tried EVERYTHING. I don't think I can even talk to the reps anymore as they are absolutely clueless. Maybe you can put forth both of our theories to them but I don't really expect much of anything from them. We are on our own and I have tried everything inside out with no luck whatsoever. There is a firmware update 1.5 that I am getting but by its description, it does not seem it addresses this issue at all.

I am interested in what result you get from trying another make and model player. I truly think the problem is with the player and not with the reciever. I don't know anyone who can loan me a different player so maybe you can do that end of it. I don't want to gripe about it, just want to find a fix BUT it is not a good feeling to be out of luck with nowhere to turn and that seems to be exactly where we are. Laurie.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Your BD35 wants to be set on 720p, Bitstream connected HDMI to the Onkyo.

Your Amp will then upscale it to 1080P and should, provided you have it set up corectly on the THX speaker settings offer full decoding.

Anyway, how does it sound?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
It sounds great, really great, but not seeing the panel light up the Dolby TrueHD is unnerving to say the least. I'm curious, though, as to why you reference 720p. My display is 1080i so have all settings to that with the 35 going to the receiver using HDMI. Bitstream is on and secondary audio is off (supposedly) as that is what I have selected in the player's menu. I have a feeling there may be a glitch somewhere and perhaps the menu is not allowing me to acutally select off for secondary audio which is causing me to continue to see DD and DTS instead of DTrueHD and Master. Laurie.
 

True Blue

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Had a similar problem with my BD35 hooked up to a Denon 1909. In the end it turned out that the BD35 didnt see the Reciever as a HD device and therefore, set its output settings (video) to 480/576. Go into the video settings and manually set 720p / 1080i or 1080p it may work!!
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Well, thanks to all who contributed ideas to help with this problem. All ideas were good but the solution was a bit different. Bottom line- receiver now lights up for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD! Here's the solution I found:

For some reason (which I still need to investigate), my BD 35 intermittently changes its resolution from 1080i back to 480p or 480i. Therefore, when I power up the player, I get those wavy lines and could not see or read the settings in the setup menu to change the resolution back. The way I had been fixing that issue was to press the stop and play buttons simultaneously on the unit for over 5 seconds. This is listed on page 39 of the manual for fixing a distorted picture or screen. It shifts the unit to a "more compatible mode with HDMI equipment" so you get a stable picture and can go normally back into the menu settings and reset the resolution. Fine. BUT---the next sentence in the manual states, "However, DD plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD are not output in bitstream." What? Why is this? So, even though my subsequent menu settings looked correct and indicated bitstream was on and secondary audio was off, it was not passing the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD.

Therefore, I can not use the "press stop and play method" to get to a better resolution so that I could see the setup screens. I have to find a way around that but what I did for now was intuit the menu screens even though I couldn't actually see them. I remembered what they were and also used the manual to count down on the screens. I was able to reset the resolution to 1080i directly and when I popped in a disc, on popped the Dolby TrueHD indicator on the Onkyo!!!

Thanks to all who gave their time to help and I hope some of you out there who might have the same or similar issues will be helped by this. It would be nice if Onkyo and Panasonic took an interest in this issue. I'll try my best to get this info to them but I'm not exactly sure of how to best do that.

BTW, if anyone knows a reason for or a fix for the intermittent change in my resolution setting, please let me know.

Thanks to all, Laurie
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Hey Laurie:

I am happy you found a solution to the sound display problem, and I also found a solution. Panasonic agreed to authorize my dealer to give me my money back. I have done considerable research on the Samsung BD-P2550 blu-ray player, and decided to buy one to replaced the BD35. This player is amazing!! It has a Reon chip that upscales regular DVDs, making it very difficult to tell them apart from Blu-Ray. It also does an excellent job with Blu-Ray discs, maybe slightly better than the BD35. The bonus here though is that TrueHD and DTS Master Audio now display on my Onkyo screen, and the sound is amazing!!!

With regard to your screen resolution problem, try this solution. Hook up the component video out on the BD35 to your auxiliary or other unused input on the Onkyo, and leave the HDMI plugged in as normal. When you turn your system on and if the picture doesen't appear on HDMI hookup, simply select the auxillary input on your Onkyo, and you will be able to see your setup menu and make the appropriate resolution adjustments for your HDMI output, and then switch back to HDMI. You can leave it setup this way and access it when ever you need it. Hope this helps, and good luck.

Thanks to all the other members for your help in trying to solve my audio problem.

Brian
 

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