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Upcoming BD Players and Advanced Audio Codecs
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eatsushi
Senior Member
3 product reviews
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7. September 2006 @ 07:12 |
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I'm trying to research the audio specs of the upcoming BD players from Pioneer, Sony, and Panasonic. Do any of them decode DD+, Dolby TruHD and DTS Master Audio? I can't seem to find any reference to these on the players' websites. I really don't want to upgrade my receiver for these new codecs just now. It will really help if these were decoded by the player and output thru the 5.1 analog connection.
"The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
-Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Home Entertainment Feb 19, 2008
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dblbogey7
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7. September 2006 @ 14:44 |
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There's very little info out there and specs sometimes change prior to release especially if a product is delayed.
Here's what I've seen in sites and forums as of today (release dates are not confirmed):
Sony- October or November release; PCM, DD, DTS only. No advanced audio (DD+, DTS-HD, True-HD) No CD playback, No Ethernet
Pioneer Elite- September or October release; PCM, DD, DTS only. No advanced audio (DD+, DTS-HD, True-HD) No CD playback. Ethernet port included.
Panasonic- Septemeber or October release; PCM, DD+, DTS. Future firmware upgrade for DTS-HD and TrueHD possible. No Ethernet port.
Can't find anything on the LG and Sanyo players.
(Hat tip to bakpakva at avs forums)
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eatsushi
Senior Member
3 product reviews
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8. September 2006 @ 07:43 |
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Thanks for the info dblbogey7. The Panny looks more attractive now if the Sony and Pioneer won't support the advanced codecs.
"The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
-Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Home Entertainment Feb 19, 2008
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diabolos
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8. September 2006 @ 18:33 |
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I don't understand why the Blu-ray CE manudfactures don't have their act together on the ethernet port or advanced audio codecs. There have been arguments stating that MPEG-2 and PCM takes up less system resources than VC-1 and Dolby TrueHD but I still don't understand why most of the up comming players don't plan to support them.
Ced
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dblbogey7
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9. September 2006 @ 04:19 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 9. September 2006 @ 04:33
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dblbogey7
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17. September 2006 @ 13:55 |
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This thread should be in the BluRay area.
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eatsushi
Senior Member
3 product reviews
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18. September 2006 @ 13:56 |
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Ced: Do you have an idea how much disc space is saved by using DolbyTruHD or DTS-Master Audio insted of uncompressed PCM lets say for an average 2-hour movie?
"The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
-Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Home Entertainment Feb 19, 2008
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. September 2006 @ 13:56
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dblbogey7
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21. September 2006 @ 03:55 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. September 2006 @ 05:36
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diabolos
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23. September 2006 @ 07:51 |
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pimpslap
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17. February 2007 @ 07:38 |
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[/quote]"I guess we can use uncompressed PCM if we can. However, players with built-in decoders still make the most sense.[/quote]
uncompressed PCM "is" from players with built in decoders (example PS3). Uncompressed Linear PCM gives you equal if not better High Definition audio than bitstream audio from a reciever...
Bitstream vs. PCM debate
www.meridian-audio.com/ara/bitstrea.htm
"We consider that these advantages of PCM far outweigh the basic advantages of bitstream and we therefore recommend a losslessly-packed linear PCM system to you for formal adoption."
The Departed (review)
www.bluray.highdefdigest.com/departed.html
The Audio: Rating the Sound
'The Departed' comes to Blu-ray with a real rarity for Warner, an uncompressed PCM 5.1 surround track (to my knowledge, the only other title from the studio to support PCM is 'The Sopranos: Season Six, Volume One'). The move is even more welcome, since its HD DVD counterpart features a Dolby TrueHD track, a format which so far has been a no-show on Blu-ray. So what an exciting opportunity -- the first title to allow us a direct, head-to-head comparison between the two high-resolution audio formats.
But first, the "bad" news. In all honesty, 'The Departed' is not as involving a soundtrack as I expected. The film's sound design is surprisingly front-heavy. I even dropped in the DVD side of the HD DVD/DVD combo version, and sure enough, regardless of format, there just isn't much surround action going on. Aside from a few key sequences, most of the whiz-bang effects are restrained. However, to be fair, when the rears do kick in, the accuracy of directional sounds is superb, and other elements of the mix, particularly Howard Shore's score, can really fill up the full 360-degree soundfield. I also was impressed with how pronounced yet organic low bass sounded. The film is often punctuated by low tones, which have a powerful tightness rare even in the best modern surround tracks. Dialogue reproduction is also first-rate, with every word crystal clear.
Now, how do the PCM and TrueHD tracks compare? Given this historic opportunity, I decided to conduct a little experiment. I invited a friend over, who is a big movie and music buff, but not particularly technical. He knows good audio when he hears it, yet doesn't know a PCM from an RPM from R.E.M. In other words, he's Joe Six-Pack with a great ear. Anyway, together we conducted a "blind" audio test -- we select ten short sequences from the film, and listened to a compare of each. We took turns firing up each scene, and selecting which one sounded better, with no knowledge of which sample was the Blu-ray and which the HD DVD.
After writing down our answers on little scraps of paper (note that we didn't throw them into a hat -- we aren't that dorky), the results were interesting. Out of the twenty comparisons (ten for him, ten for me), we could only detect differences on four scenes total. But of those four, we both always preferred the PCM track, if only a smidgeon. For example, there is a scene in involving an attempted trade bust between the Costello character and a Chinese gang. There is a sound of a gun firing that we went back over a few times, and as silly as it sounds, the force and impact of the sounds was a shade more realistic in PCM. Also a beneficiary of the uncompressed mix is the music, as this is a film brimming with rock songs. The first scene we picked featured the Rolling Stone's "Gimme Shelter," and again the PCM track boasted a slightly more spacious feel to the music in all channels -- as if the very highest end of the frequency range was more palpable.
Granted, these are very slight differences and subjective preferences. Had we not blindfolded each other (figuratively speaking, of course) and been flipping back and forth between discs like one of those old Coke-Pepsi commercials, such deviations likely would have been imperceptible. It is also certain that the average listener wouldn't be able to tell the difference without possessing the ears of a dog. Still, in this case I give a slight edge to the PCM track, though a comparison between a single title hardly qualifies as the final word. If nothing else, it made me realize that if all the studios dumped this dueling audio format business and went all-PCM, I can't say I would be likely to complain...
www.whatreallyhappened.com
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error5
Senior Member
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17. February 2007 @ 08:12 |
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Sadly, my PS3 still can't decode the DTS HD Master Lossless Audio from a few discs like X-Men The Last Stand and Fantastic Four. Hopefully a firmware update will fix this THEN I'll have more reason to upgrade to an HDMI receiver.
Panasonic PT-AE3000 1080p Projector//Carada 110" Criterion High Contrast Grey 16:9 Screen//Oppo BDP-83SE//Toshiba HD-XA2
Classe SSP800 Processor//Classe CA-5200 5 Channel Amplifier//Classe CA-2200 2 Channel Amplifier
Bowers & Wilkins 802D L-R/HTM 1D Center/SCMS Surrounds/JL Audio Fathom f113 x 2
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. February 2007 @ 08:16
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pimpslap
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17. February 2007 @ 08:33 |
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Originally posted by error5:
Sadly, my PS3 still can't decode the DTS HD Master Lossless Audio from a few discs like X-Men The Last Stand and Fantastic Four. Hopefully a firmware update will fix this THEN I'll have more reason to upgrade to an HDMI receiver.
Supposedly a March firware update will upgrade the PS3 to decode DTS-MA...
at the moment I dont think ANY players can decode DTS-MA... which is why I believe the update is in the works...why have it on disc, but no players to utilize it??? it will happen...give it time.
www.whatreallyhappened.com
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eatsushi
Senior Member
3 product reviews
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20. February 2007 @ 06:49 |
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Just to add to all this confusion: Lions Gate BD titles have a DTS-HD High Resolution Audio track at 6.0 MBps which is different from DTS-MA (Master Audio) which is lossless and I think can go as high as 24.5MBps. The PS3 can decode the DTS-HD track and "extract" the core DTS track which is 1.5MBps. This is still an improvement over the "regular" DTS track in some DVD's which comes in at around 768 Kbps.
http://www.dtsonline.com/dts-hd/dts-on-bluray-and-hddvd.php
"The emergence of a single, high-definition format is cause for consumers, as well as the entire entertainment industry, to celebrate."
-Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Home Entertainment Feb 19, 2008
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Rob423
Junior Member
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25. February 2007 @ 11:09 |
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Ethernet port on a DVD player? Just wondering what would be the main use for this? Thanks,
Rob.
You gotta love technology. :)
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error5
Senior Member
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25. February 2007 @ 11:34 |
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The ethernet port on the Pioneer BDP-HD1 BluRay player is for online firmware updates and for media streaming:
http://www.ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/1206piobdphd1/
Quote:
The Ethernet connectivity will allow system updates to be completed easily and at some point may be used for enhanced interactivity on Blu-ray Disc titles. On top of that, it allows Pioneer's Home Media Gallery feature to stream music, photos and videos from PCs on your home network to the BDP-HD1, and thus into your home theater. Supported file formats include a broad variety of popular music formats, as well as standard and high-definition video files. But, the catch is, according to the user manual, that the files must be stored on a Windows XP computer with Windows Media Connect and a DLNA-compatible media server.
Panasonic PT-AE3000 1080p Projector//Carada 110" Criterion High Contrast Grey 16:9 Screen//Oppo BDP-83SE//Toshiba HD-XA2
Classe SSP800 Processor//Classe CA-5200 5 Channel Amplifier//Classe CA-2200 2 Channel Amplifier
Bowers & Wilkins 802D L-R/HTM 1D Center/SCMS Surrounds/JL Audio Fathom f113 x 2
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