PS3 to get DTS HD (Official) 17th of April

[admin_exported]

Firmware update 2.30 out on the 17th April 2008

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/04/10/firmware-v230-details-and-store-walkthrough/#comment-53258

 

[professorhat]

Fantastic news!

 

[Anonymous]

The PS3 is offically the greatest all-rounder lol

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

Cheers Bullseye. You've just made my day. Cue all the questions about whether it's bitstream or not so we can all make our Onkyos light up.

 

[Anonymous]

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the next system software update for PLAYSTATION©3 (PS3T) system, slated for release next week, will add DTS-HD Master AudioT and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, enabling consumers to enjoy Blu-ray movies with studio-quality, high-definition audio. The technologies, from DTS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTSI), provide PS3 users with the complete high-definition Blu-ray movie experience, matching the format's crisp visuals with rich, lifelike sound. In addition to the new audio capabilities, the free system software update (v. 2.30) will allow PS3 owners to access the revamped PLAYSTATION©Store, as previously announced.
DTS-HD Master Audio brings Blu-ray movies on PS3 to life, delivering everything from explosive sound effects to intricate orchestral scores with pure, high-quality audio that is bit-for-bit identical to the original studio master. DTS-HD Master Audio has the capacity to deliver audio at the incredibly high variable rate of 24.5 mega-bits per second (Mbps) on Blu-ray disc, a rate significantly higher than standard DVDs. DTS-HD Master Audio also offers 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths. More than 100 Blu-ray movies and concert videos featuring premium DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks are available.

Additionally, the DTS-HD High Resolution Audio codec allows content creators to deliver uncompromised, high-definition audio on Blu-ray, while requiring less disc space than DTS-HD Master Audio. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio streams audio at a high constant bit rate of 6.0 Mbps on Blu-ray discs, and is also capable of up to 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depth resolution, thereby producing outstanding sound quality.

Beyond enhancing PS3's audio capabilities, installing the latest system software update will also enable users to seamlessly access the new, more dynamic interface and enhanced navigation of the PLAYSTATION Store. As part of a revamp, the PLAYSTATION Store will transition from an integrated online storefront to an application living natively on PS3, enabling customers to more easily and quickly locate and purchase games, and download demos, game videos, Blu-ray movie trailers and other game-related content for PS3."

 

[Anonymous]

dts ma is on thw next firmware upgrade for the ps3. internal decoding so all you onkyo fans still won't see the light, light up on your amps, but then why did you buy a gamesmachine for films instead of waiting? good news either way as dts ma discs sound brilliant and more dynamic than dolby true hd

 

[Anonymous]

Shhhh! it's a secret!

 

[Anonymous]

That's great news. Time to get a HD receiver

 

[Anonymous]

And i said it would never come! i'll hang my head in shame. Although this is one occasion when im glad to be wrong

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="garethwd"]And i said it would never come! i'll hang my head in shame. Although this is one occasion when im glad to be wrong[/quote]

Apology accepted from you and all the other naysayers who kept having a pop at us for reporting it was on its way

 

[Anonymous]

and here i am stuck with my non hd yamaha amp

 

[Clare Newsome]

Don't fret - you're still well-equipped to enjoy Blu-ray discs' PCM soundtracks (which, being uncompressed, are preferable to any Dolby or DTS mix, regardless of fancy 'HD' titles).

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="darkside82"]and here i am stuck with my non hd yamaha amp[/quote]

Does it matter, TrueHD and DTS-HD MA are both decoded internally with the PS3 and sent out as PCM.

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="No1fan"]Does it matter, TrueHD and DTS-HD MA are both decoded internally with the PS3 and sent out as PCM.[/quote]

Nope

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]

Don't fret - you're still well-equipped to enjoy Blu-ray discs' PCM soundtracks (which, being uncompressed, are preferable to any Dolby or DTS mix, regardless of fancy 'HD' titles).

[/quote]

I think the point is each studio/disc offers different audio options. Fox and New Line only offer a DTS-HD MA soundtrack, other titles, such as Warners I am Legend, only offer a TrueHD soundtrack.

PS3's internal decoding to PCM will mean all HD audio options are available to those without a HD amp.

 

[professorhat]

[quote user="Andrew Everard"]
[quote user="No1fan"]Does it matter, TrueHD and DTS-HD MA are both decoded internally with the PS3 and sent out as PCM.[/quote]

Nope
[/quote]
Am I missing something? I thought DTS HD MA wasn't decoded internally but bitstreamed... in which case, you need the amp to decode it.

 

[Anonymous]

It's decoded internally, it's impossible for the PS3 to bitstream any of the HD formats, something to do with it not being HDMI 1.3.

 

[professorhat]

Erm, okay, if that's true, then why does the main article on WHF Latest say:

The free update will enable the PS3 to output 'native' DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio content from Blu-ray discs. Previously, the console had only been able to decode audio streams of this quality on board, before transmitting them to your AV receiver as PCM audio.

 

[Anonymous]

I know, I double checked and it's incorrect.

Unless PS3 hardware is changed, it will always be decoded to PCM.

 

[professorhat]

Hmmm, not that I distrust you, but given that the announcement WHF made was after they spoke to Sony, I'm going to wait for their reply before I rely completely on your response...

Hopefully you understand why!

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="professorhat"][quote user="Andrew Everard"]
[quote user="No1fan"]Does it matter, TrueHD and DTS-HD MA are both decoded internally with the PS3 and sent out as PCM.[/quote]

Nope

[/quote]
Am I missing something? I thought DTS HD MA wasn't decoded internally but bitstreamed... in which case, you need the amp to decode it.[/quote]

The Linear PCM route was my understanding at the time I posted the reply - but this latest story seems to contradict that.

 

[Anonymous]

The PS3 doesn't have an HDMI 1.3 socket? Someone should tell Sony.
The following is from a press release in June 2006. Google it, you'll find it's genuine. Alternatively, go directly to the official HDMI website (www.hdmi.org) and check out their press release archive:
"PLAYSTATION©3 will be the most advanced computer platform for enjoying a wide range of entertainment content, including the latest games and HD movies, in the home," said Ken Kutaragi, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. "By introducing the next-generation HDMI 1.3 technology, with its high speed and deep color capabilities, PS3 will push the boundaries of audiovisual quality to the next level of more natural and smoother expression on the latest large flat panel displays."

 

[Andrew Everard]

Mr K!

Point I was trying to make earlier was that people are - again - getting too hung up on a specification. Whether all these audio codecs are decoded inside the player and streamed out as Linear PCM, which is actually four transport streams capable of carrying up to eight channels, or streamed out in native form to an offboard decoder, is irrelevant provided the decoding in the player is of a sufficiently high quality.

In fact, there are acrguments suggesting it's preferable to 'unzip' the audio as close to the disc as possible, leaving the transmission between player and amplification to the very robust LPCM format, which seems to work extremely well and will sound at least every bit as good as a native stream into an offboard decoder.

Are the decoders in players as good as those in the receivers? Chances are they're exactly the same - the few comparisons I've heard of direct datastream to receiver vs conversion in the player and then LPCM to a receiver have shown the differences, if any there are, to be inaudible.

And yet we remain obsessed with the right lights popping up on our receivers when we play discs, ignoring the fact that they make no difference to the sound.

Don't sweat all these specifications - just enjoy the amazing sound on offer.

 

[Anonymous]

You have to remember that while the HDMI 1.3 spec includes support for HD audio codec transmission, it is only optional and doesn't necessarily mean that every HDMI 1.3 device will definitely support it (as the PS3 quite clearly demonstrates, as do many other HDMI 1.3 devices like my Denon 1908 amp). Crazy, yes - but that is the way it is.

Quite what the capabilities of the HDMI chip in the PS3 are is notoriously unclear. What is known is that the PS3 uses a custom version of a chip called the Silicon Image 9132, and while the non-custom chip is believed not to support HD audio transport (while the next chip up in the range, the 9134 does), the manufacturer is under an NDA with Sony with regards the PS3 version of the 9132 so can't say exactly what it does or doesn't support - and in fact even details on the normal 9132 are difficult to nail down too. So it may possibly include potential to support HD audio bitstreaming, but it is pretty unlikely (especially when silly excuses for why it doesn't bitsream are made like: "Sony's argument is that the PS3's decoding for said formats is so
powerful, it's better to crack them on board the player and send audio
out as Linear PCM").

If you want to read a bit more about it then do a google for silicon 9132 bitstream and follow the top link; if you read that whole thread you will see quite why it is such a mystery with seemingly conflicting information!

It might be that Sony think they are keeping things simpler by just offering the one way of doing it, but to be honest that doesn't really wash with me as I think many more people get confused when they are told they are getting HD audio but the dtsHD or TrueHD indicators don't light up on their shiny Onkyo 605 or whatever - and it's not like the PS3 isn't drenched with many options already anyway so why would adding support for bitstreaming for those that want it be a bad thing? To me all signs point to simply the hardware not supporting it.

Not that it particularly bothers me - I'm just happy that it will now be able to decode it and pass it to my PCM-capable amp! In short, I agree with Andrew 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Good points bothÿ- I'm increasingly inclined to believe that even Sony itself is unsure about what's going on. For example, here's an interesting comment from Eric Lempel, Director of PlayStation Network Operations for SCEA:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/04/10/firmware-v230-details-and-store-walkthrough/

He explicitly states "The system software update will add DTS-HD Master Audio output for Blu-ray".

Yet follow through the comments on the same thread, and another poster (possibly an admin) suggests that in fact, the PS3 will still be constrained to decoding DTS-HD onboard and outputting to PCM. As Andrew and Simon point out, that's not necessarily a bad thing - but some clarity would be beneficial!

I'm going to go back to SCE and see if I can dig up a definitive response. More as soon as possible.