Sony STRDA-1200E with Panasonic BDP-30

[admin_exported]

Having read your review of the Panasonic BDP-30 Blu-Ray player I am keen to buy one.

The question I have is how to connect the audio to get all of the features, the Sony does not handle the HDMI Audio, so how to I connect it to still get the codecs on offer with the Panasonic, or is it not possible?

My current Sony RDR-HX900 DVD Recorder connects via a Co-Axial cable, will it be the same for the Panasonic?

Also, I have a Sony KDL40V-2000U TV, (Just my luck, bought a week before the W came out). This only supports 1080i, will it work OK with the Panasonic?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

I'm not sure about your first question to be honest, the Sony definitely won't play HD audio though. Ideally you would connect your BD player using hdmi to a receiver that can decode the HD audio formats and you would get sound and vision through the hdmi cable. With the Sony, you would have to use coaxial I would have thought. The LCD screen that you have is a bit more easy to understand. You have bought a player that plays 1080p discs and your screen will have to downscale the images to 1080i or 720p. This is almost a waste of the BD player. Ideally I would sell both receiver and screen but you don't get much for second hand screens. The annoying thing is (I have the 40W2000) that you would have paid a price for your LCD that would now buy you an unbelievable screen. That's life I suppose.

 

[professorhat]

Whoa... I wouldn't say 720p / 1080i is a waste of a Blu-Ray player! It looks fantastic on my HD ready set - far better than standard def broadcasts and still very much noticeably better than upscaled DVD...

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Ok professor, maybe I worded it badly. If I were to buy a bluray player, I would want to take advantage of it's full capacity - 1080p and HD audio. If you can't do either, I would personally wait until you can.

 

[Anonymous]

If I use a co-Axial Cable will I not get at least some of the audio formats, or is that via the HDMI only? My current SONY player using Coaxial connection works OK for surround sound but i don't know what codecs this supports?

 

[professorhat]

With coaxial you'll get the same audio formats as you get currently i.e. Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. I don't think there's any way of getting the new HD sound formats with the BDP-30 without an amp with an HDMI connection as it's not able to decode these formats onboard...

 

[Anonymous]

Wish I had known that before I bought it, that is a serious limitation on an amplifier that has won so many awards.

Do you know which Receivers have this feature? I am a SONY fan so will look at their web site.

I will still buy the Blu-Ray player and wait to upgrade the TV and Amp later.

Technology is moving so fast it seems to be a never ending money pit!!!

Thanks for your help

 

[Andrew Everard]

[quote user="SheilaL"]Wish I had known that before I bought it, that is a serious limitation on an amplifier that has won so many awards.[/quote]

Yes, but then the Sony is over two years old, so predates these formats.

 

[Anonymous]

Think I will sit back for a couple of years and let it all settle down, it is all changing so fast at the moment, especially with screen technology.

Thanks everyone.....

(Still buying the Blu-Ray though)

 

[professorhat]

Basically, you need an amp which can accept an HDMI bitstream signal and decode all the formats the BDP-30 can send out i.e. Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio. The Onkyo TX-SR605 can do this and is available for around £325 - £350.

As is always the case though, a new model (the 606) is due out imminently which offers a few new features (see here. The word is this will cost about £400 so up to you if that's worth waiting for or whether to get the existing model on the cheap.

 

[professorhat]

Ah, just seen your reply that you're going to wait! Still worth getting the Blu-Ray player I reckon, I use mine at 720p and it looks great and still need to upgrade my amp as well for the HD sources. The existing Dolby Digital and DTS formats still give you a great movie experience in my opinion.

 

[Anonymous]

Just been looking at the SONY web site, the 1200 supports the following

Decoding Format

openGlossaryPageLinkUrl='/glossary/SearchGlossaryKeywordsAndProductCategory.action?selectedProductCategories=Home+Cinema+Systems&site=odw_en_GB&sectiontype=Search&sections=Glossary&refererUrl=%2Fview%2FShowProduct.action%3Fproduct%3DSTR-DA1200ES%26site%3Dodw_en_GB%26pageType%3DTechnicalSpecs%26imageType%3DMain%26category%3DHFC%2BReceiver';

96k 24Bit PCM

YES

Dolby Digital

YES

Dolby Digital EX

YES

Dolby Digital+

NO

Dolby Dual Mono

YES

Dolby Prologic

YES

Dolby Prologic II

YES

Dolby Prologic IIx

YES

DolbyTruHD

NO

dts

YES

dts 96 24

YES

dts HD

NO

dts NEO6

YES

dts-ES (DISCRETE 6.1)

YES

dts-ES (MATRIX 6.1)

YES

Does this mean that I will get these using the co-axial cable connection?

 

[professorhat]

Hi there, just had a look again at the Panny BDP-30 and it looks like this has 5.1 analogue channel outs. From what I can see, the Sony has 7 analogue channel inputs as well (it's hard to tell as I can't find any pictures of the back of the Sony). If this is the case, this would mean you would be better off hooking the BDP-30 to your Sony using these. In most cases, it will provide you with the same as the coaxial except for when you have a Blu-Ray which has the PCM soundtrack included on the disc. The Panny should be able to send this to your amp and your amp will then play this format resulting in a much improved sound compared to the Dolby Digital / DTS encoded formats.

A lot of this is conjecture on my part as I haven't seen the Panny or the Sony in the flesh, just going by what I've read. Can anyone who knows these devices confirm if this is possible?

 

[Anonymous]

Cool, I will give it a try.

Does the Onkyo support sound and video on its HDMI input, or do I need to go to a whole higher spec of receiver. The Onkyo spec looks the same as the Sony in the Mag?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, the Onkyo models from the TX-SR605 upward do. Only the TX-SR505 doesn't

 

[Anonymous]

Onkyo TX-SR605 it is then, with the Sony relegated to the bedroom and the old Kenwood Receiver on e-bay......

Now I just need to upgrade the TV, although I think it has a superb picture and as SKY HD is only in 1080i I may not bother, especially as I watch more Sky Sport than DVD's.

 

[professorhat]

Agreed, if you're happy with the existing picture for Sky etc. I don't think it's worth upgrading a 40" TV to Full HD just for the odd Blu-Ray. Many argue that at that size, you can't really see the difference between 1080i and 1080p...

 

[Anonymous]

I've just sold my sony amp but i can confirm it has 7.1 analogue inputs at the rear, i would hook the player up with both leads the optical and the 5.1/7.1 analogue this is what i done with my upscaling dvd/sacd player.What suprised me was when i switched between the dvd/multi in settings on the amp the sound seemed far more richer with the analoge leads than it did when coming through the optical lead