Panasonic BD30 and BD50 - HD Audio decoding ?

[admin_exported]

In the review for the Panasonic BD50 it compares it to the
BD30 and states.....

Another key difference is that the DMP-BD50 now features on-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. This means that those of you who don't have a receiver equipped to decode these formats can still enjoy high-definition audio via HDMI or the player's 5.1 multichannel analogue output."

However looking at the review for the BD30 in the spec it states decoding
for Dolby trueHD and DTS-HD

So do they both have on board decoding or not?
Or am I missing something here?

 

[beater]

No the bd30 does'nt do its own on board decoding,but i believe the bd50 does.

 

[Anonymous]

Although You can get HD Audio on the BD30 via 5.1 analogue.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the BD30 and Denon 3808. To get HD sound I set the output to bitstream on the BD30 and then the Denon decodes the HD formats via HDMI (1.3).

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

The BD30 will decode everything(inc. Dolby TrueHD) EXCEPT DTS-HD MA on board. You enjoy everything but DTS-HD MA with a receiver with analog inputs or one that accepts LPCM over HDMI. In order to enjoy DTS-HD MA with a BD30, you need a receiver that can decode DTS-HD MA and you need to send the sound bitstream over HDMI (v1.3a) to the receiver.

The BD50 is capable of decoding ALL formats on board. It gives you the choice of sending decoded sound via analog(making it usable with just about every old amp out there for HD sound), via LPCM over HDMI(for those amps that can take it), or via bitstream over HDMI for decoding by the receiver. It basically takes away the need to upgrade in order to get DTS-HD MA.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a Panasonic BD30 so if I were to get one of these...
Sony HTIS100
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4145

or one of these
OnkyoHTX22HD with the speaker upgrade
http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/page/moreinfo.cfm/Product_ID/4162

would I be able to use the HD audio formats
from the BD30

Sorry to be such a newbie in all this stuff

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

With the Onkyo yes, you could enjoy all the audio codecs because the Onkyo has the ability to decode all the codecs via bitstream (raw sound data) over HDMI. If you were to go for the Sony, you'd be better off with the BD50. The Sony will not decode the HD audio in its raw form (bitstream) but will accept HD audio via HDMI if it is decoded at the player end (which the BD50 has the capability to do with all HD audio formats). It would also be fine with the Onkyo too. I can't comment on the performance of either system as I haven't heard them but they both look good.

And no problem. That's what the forums are for.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks FuzzyinLondon

I was confused enough but the thing that threw me totally
was here in the BD30 review tech spec it states

DTS HD decoding - Yes
Dolby TrueHD decoding - Yes

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

It's actually DTS and Dolby who have made everything confusing by have three tiers of codecs. DTS and Dolby Digital are the ones that we know from DVD. The next step up in Dolby Digital Plus and DTS HD which are the middle tier formats but aren't very widely used at the moment - although DD+ was used a lot on HD-DVDs. The top codecs are Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD MA(Master Audio) which both have the ability to offer sound identical to the original studio master. They're both a big step up from the other formats. Happy hunting.

 

[Anonymous]

FuzzyinLondon:The BD30 will decode everything(inc. Dolby TrueHD) EXCEPT DTS-HD MA on board. You enjoy everything but DTS-HD MA with a receiver with analog inputs or one that accepts LPCM over HDMI. In order to enjoy DTS-HD MA with a BD30, you need a receiver that can decode DTS-HD MA and you need to send the sound bitstream over HDMI (v1.3a) to the receiver.

I can't get my head round this. My manual says (I have the BD30)that via analogue audio out a 7.1 channel disc will be down mixed to 5.1, which is fair enough, there are only 5.1 outputs. It doesn't mention this is limited or will not output DTS-HD Master audio.

I would like to see where this information came from as I can't find it.