Surround for my PS3 - Please HELP!!!

[professorhat]

Okay, I was busy earlier on and only saw the post before mine which said PS3 could not decode HD formats which wasn't true. However, Octopo is absolutely correct from what I can see in that the Onkyo system being talked about cannot accept the Linear PCM signal from the PS3. This isn't about decoding, it's about being able to accept Linear PCM signal from the PS3 over HDMI and, from what I can see, there's no indication the HT-S5105 can do this I'm afraid. There are many AV amps with HDMI inputs that can, but from all I can tell from the documentation available, this isn't one of them.
So spot on Octopo for advice - sorry I didn't investigate further when I posted but I was a little busy at the time and felt I had to. But you're absolutely right in what you say in your latest post.

 

[Anonymous]

Go for the Sony HT SS1300 or SF1300, they can accept LPCM over HDMI from the PS3. Find a sony shop and have a listen.

 

[Liam19]

professorhat:Okay, I was busy earlier on and only saw the post before mine which said PS3 could not decode HD formats which wasn't true. However, Octopo is absolutely correct from what I can see in that the Onkyo system being talked about cannot accept the Linear PCM signal from the PS3. This isn't about decoding, it's about being able to accept Linear PCM signal from the PS3 over HDMI and, from what I can see, there's no indication the HT-S5105 can do this I'm afraid. There are many AV amps with HDMI inputs that can, but from all I can tell from the documentation available, this isn't one of them.

So spot on Octopo for advice - sorry I didn't investigate further when I posted but I was a little busy at the time and felt I had to. But you're absolutely right in what you say in your latest post.

Thank you professorhat (and Octopo) for helping to try and clear this up for me!!! Sorry to argue for so long, I just really thought I was right there for a while!

So if I were to purchase the Onkyo HT-S5105 receiver and speaker package, connect my PS3 with HDMI, play Casino Royale with 5.1 PCM Uncompressed turned on, then I would receive no sound whatsoever? Would the receiver reject the signal completely or convert it into another format?

I'm still pretty tempted by the system though TBH (especially for the price), and surely I can use an optical cable instead to receive the basic (non-HD) DD / DTS soundtracks instead (still an improvement over my current system!), if the HDMI does not work?

 

[professorhat]

Liam19:So if I were to purchase the Onkyo HT-S5105 receiver and speaker package, connect my PS3 with HDMI, play Casino Royale with 5.1 PCM Uncompressed turned on, then I would receive no sound whatsoever? Would the receiver reject the signal completely or convert it into another format?
In all honesty, I'm not sure! However, since it definitely can't accept the full signal, if the PS3 recognised this during the HDMI handshake, and therefore it did play sound, it wouldn't be in the lossless HD format, but some downconverted format.

Liam19:I'm still pretty tempted by the system though TBH (especially for the price), and surely I can use an optical cable instead to receive the basic (non-HD) DD / DTS soundtracks instead (still an improvement over my current system!), if the HDMI does not work?
Yup, that definitely won't be a problem.

 

[Liam19]

OK, thanks again for all the advice everyone, I think this about clears the matter up for me!!! Now it's just a matter of handing over the £££s!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Liam,

I've been reading this thread (and countless others) today as part of my own research into what surround sound system to go for. Do let us know what you've bought and how you have found it once it's arrived/installed.

Thanks.

Rog

 

[Liam19]

rogueelement:

Hi Liam,

I've been reading this thread (and countless others) today as part of my own research into what surround sound system to go for. Do let us know what you've bought and how you have found it once it's arrived/installed.

Thanks.

Rog

Just thought I'd give you an update - I took delivery of my Onkyo HT-S5105 AV receiver/speaker system this morning, which I ordered two weeks ago from www.soundandvision.co.uk for £314.99. After reading the user's manuals online at the Onkyo website, I finally accepted that the system can't accept LPCM via HDMI (sorry about all the hassle Octopo and professorhat, you were right all along!!!

). But I'd already ordered the package by the time I'd accepted this, so I decided to just hope that it would sound decent outputting simple Dolby Digital / DTS with a plain old digital optical cable...

Oh boy, was I impressed when I fired it up this morning! Fair enough, I'm no expert when it comes to these things, but to my ears, the sound quality from the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of the Casino Royale Blu-ray was nothing short of BRILLIANT. When I first heard it, I couldn't quite believe that this wasn't a HD audio track - after using the Audyssey EQ setup to scan my room, and after a few other tweaks, I was hugely impressed by this system's performance (even more amazing when you consider it cost me a mere £300!)

I set my PS3 to send bitstream audio over optical digital, so the Onkyo receiver could decode and output it. After checking to make sure the right sound setting was chosen on the receiver, I was away... or should I say blown away?

All in all, on the evidence of just one day's ownership, I can wholeheartedly recommend this system for those on a strict budget. I'm sure there's much better out there (for much more money), but this system has surpassed my expectations. I am thrilled with this purchase.

Who needs HD audio when good old Dolby Digital / DTS can sound this good???