which method did you go with? Anyone try all 3?

I've tried the 2 that doesn't involve the HDMI since I don't have a capable receiver. I tried using the digital connection, but I get a distorted sound sometimes. Not sure if it's the receiver or the player. So, I use the 5.1 analog connections, which sound incredible. I believe this method gives you uncompressed DD+ or something along those lines.

My current receiver doesn't support 6 (or 7) channel analog input or HDMI, so I am still limited to "only" digital optical.

i have it through optical now. my receiver will pass HDMI audio but not video, so I'm waiting for a y-cable splitter to arrive that will send HDMI to my receiver and to my TV.

Optical.

I'm using the optical for now, but will switch to the 5.1 analog connections soon to compare.

Hey digitalfreak, did you get my e-mail?

6 channel analog. There is no comparison between it and the digital connection.

I wonder if we will see dual-HDMI output players in the future? Even if your pre/pro supports HDMI video, I imagine many users will want to keep the video and audio processing separate.

Really? I just hooked it up via that method and it sounded kinda like crap. I only have 5.1 analog inputs so that means I'd never be able to take advantage of the 6.1 movies I have on DVD. It really didn't sound better to me.

There must be some set up problem. The analog outputs should be giving you full high-res audio, while the digital outs will only give you DD/DTS.

To those who aren't hearing a difference with the 5.1 analog outs vs. digital:

What receiver and speakers are you using?

Only?

And again...why would i want to give up the 6.1 movies I have?

Does playing back in DTS or DD even matter when you're using analog?

And what is the disc title being sampled?

Using the 5.1 outputs (I'm still baffled why the Tosh doesn't have 7.1 outputs) will allow you to hear the high-res soundtracks. The digital connection can only pass the DD or DTS bitstream.

All three of them?

The player has built-in Dolby Digital Plus and DTS decoders that convert the original digital signal to analog, which is then sent to the receiver for amplification. Your receiver would do the exact same thing if you sent it a digital signal. The only difference is that the D-to-A conversion takes place a little earlier in the chain.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but coax/optical connections don't have the bandwidth to pass DD+, not to mention the fact that no receivers can decode DD+. The only way to get DD+ is to use the analog outputs of the HD-DVD player.

Nothing fancy. Old Onkyo TX-676 with Infinity Speakers on all 6 channels. Definitely a lower mid range set up. When I switch between the digital and the analog I can immediately hear the difference in separation. The surround seems to jump a lot more in DD+.

You're correct. I was speaking hypothetically.

Any time you want to get the digital audio from a disc to come out of your speakers in a listenable form, that digital signal first must be converted to analog. If you send a digital signal over coax/Toslink/HDMI to the receiver, the receiver does D-to-A conversion and amplification. In the case of using the 5.1 analog outputs on the HD-A1, the HD-A1 does the D-to-A conversion itself and the receiver only does the amplification. This is the same process that DVD-Audio and SACD players use for their audio formats.

You can also get DD+ over HDMI. The HD-DVD player converts the signal to uncompressed multi-channel PCM which is sent over HDMI to the receiver for D/A conversion and amplification. There should be no loss in quality using this approach.

BTW, I tried to do a comparison between the HD DVD of Phantom and the SACD of the same soundtrack. However, they are mixed differently so trying to pick a preference was impossible. The HD DVD seems to have a more active surround mix during the music, but that doesn't mean it sounds better.

Thanks for the advice, ya'll. I was able to tweak a bit last night and methinks it sounds a bit better. Of course, it was midnight and I live in an apt complex so I'll have to see if I can fiddle some more today. I guess just not seeing dd 5.1 or DTS popping up on my receiver psychologically feels really weird. Plus, now I have a 6th speaker sitting on my back wall for nothing.

The HDDVD claims TrueHD, according to the pics I've seen, which would be about equivalent to SACD in quality. But the Toshes will only output 2 channel for this codec. Perhaps if you listened to this in stereo from both you could do a decent comparison. But I would expect both to be about the same, unless there was a very different mixing job done.

Ditto....my setup is HDMI to Sammy 61in DLP HLP6163W for video and 6ch analog to HK AVR430 for audio. Its excellent.

I have been trying to get the 5.1 analog to work but its just not happening for me. I just can't get my sub to match the output that I get using the digital coax. I like the analog for everything but the sub. if I could get this to match the digital I would be in heaven.

I noticed a similar problem with my setup.

Does your sub have a control on the back of it? Thats how I got around this issue with mine.

The internal controls in the A1 are virtually useless.

That's the biggest difference I heard. My sub was very much alive after I did the analog hook-up.