Sony BDP S-350 Sound settings

[admin_exported]

Can anyone advise on the best way to set up sound on the Sony BDP S-350 ?

I currently have it connected simply by QED HDMI to a Sony STR DG-820 of which connects to the Sony TV via QED HDMI. I wondering if this is the best way? To be fair it does sound really good already but I want to maximise the sound quality of course.

Would I receive better sound if I additionally connected a digital optical lead between the AVR and BD player? I have a similar digital coax connection that I run from Sky HD to obtain Dolby Digital.

With regard to audio settings on the BD player, I've not really changed these so they must be default settings. Currently in Dolby Digital Mode this is outputting 'downmix PCM'. Not sure what this is? Should it be changed to Dolby Digital? Likewise the DTD setting is set to 'downmix PCM' too. Depending on the disc will it automatically choose DD or DTS.

I'd be really grateful if anyone can help!

 

[Anonymous]

I've done some research and it looks like to get Dolby Digital 5.1 you need to direct the sound through a digital optical or coax. Is this the case, so many people say hdmi can also carry the sound too? Will I receive any sound improvement by using a digital optical?

 

[tvmog]

Not sure about your reciever and HDMI settings, but to get Dolby 5.1 from my BD350 I have indeed used an optical cable from the player to my decoder. The output setting needs to be changed from "PCM downmix" to "Dolby Digital" otherwise the 5.1 is mixed down to a basic stereo track. Likewise the DTS signal. If a disc has a DTS soundtrack as well as Dolby Digital you should be able to select your preferred choice from the disc menu.

It is a bit of a pain at the moment as my decoder only has 1 optical input so I have to keep swappiong it with the Sky HD box.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi markbestwick.

You cannot get the high definition soundtrack through either coax or optical digital - so ditch this option, except for your sky box.

This is due to the limited bandwidth (capacity to transmit data) of this type of electrical connector; it can handle ordinary Dolby Digital and DTS surround soundtracks (up to 6.1) so is ok for DVD and sky.

HDMI carries digital picture and all types of digital sound including the Dolby Tue HD and DTS HD Master Audio. Your Sony amp can decode the latter two types of high def sound - you should get a light or screen confirmation. If either of these are lacking on a bluray disc, you should still get a superior version (higher bitrate) of Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 surround compared to that of the equivalent DVD version - one of bluray's and HDMI's spin-offs of higher storage capacity and improved bandwidth.

Lastly, (L)PCM are the channels of digital data which form a soundtrack i.e. after decoding takes place; so stereo is 2 channels of PCM and Dolby Digital 5.1 once decoded will become 5 channels of PCM and 1 PCM subwoofer channel.

If you want the player to decode and send it to the amp, you set to (L)PCM. If you want the amp to handle the decoding of Dolby Digital or DTS, you select Dolby D or DTS or sometimes 'Bitstream' and not PCM. This of course depends on whether the player can internally decode. In your case do not choose PCM, choose bitstreams i.e. the undecoded Dolby Digital or DTS 'packet' for the amp to handle.

Hope this helps and remember to look at your amp for confrimation of what is coming in and what decoding is taking place.