caiman

Since Bluray is now the winner, it's time for me to jump on board. I'll be getting a player soon, but I first want to understand some things about the next-gen audio formats - TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.

Please bear with me, as these are very amateurish questions.

First off, some basic information about these formats would be nice. Any good links to explaining how they're different from my tried and true Dolby Digital/DTS?

I'm not planning to buy a new receiver. So i really just need to know if there's anything I can do outside of that option to get the best sound. My receiver is the Yahama HTR-540. It has no HDMI. Just all the normal inputs, coaxial and optical for digitial, as well as "6 channel input."

So my questions: Firstly, Is it even possible for me to get HD audio out of my receiver? I know some bluray players have "onboard decoding." Does this mean it does the work so the receiver doesn't have to? Are players that accomplish this significantly more expensive?

If the answer to that first question is yes, how do I hook up a bluray player to my receiver to get HD audio? (ie. what cables do I need) I assume it has something to do with that 6 Channel Input I noticed my receiver has.

Lastly, if I'm able to get it all hooked up and ready to go, am I all set? Am I experiencing the full capability of these HD audio formats with my outdated receiver? Or is it even possible to get the full effect without plopping down another $600 on a new receiver?

Thanks for you help.

Deftones

Read this link: http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/1064

If you still have questions, I'm sure we'll all help you out.

caiman

Ok, so if I'm understanding it right, I'll be able to play the formats via the 6-channel analog input, so long as the player decodes it first? So I just need to make sure and get a player that does onboard decoding, correct?

Deftones

Yes.

caiman

Ok, one more question. Looking at the specs for BR players, I don't see any that say they have multi-channel analog outputs. What am I not seeing/understanding?

Deftones

Because there aren't any.....yet.

Sony has one coming out later this year. The S550, IIRC. Look in the HD forum for the Sony thread.

Spiky

Actually, most have the analog outputs, some even 8-channel. But they don't actually decode the HD audio (or, not all the codecs) and send it out the analogs, so.....same difference.

caiman

Is there any difference in sound quality between HD audio that's going from the player to the receiver via analog outputs, and HD audio that's going via HDMI?

Spiky

That would depend on the decoders in the 2 machines. And since barely any players or receivers even have all the decoders yet, it is pretty hard to compare right now.