CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[WanMan]

Up until this year I had been enjoying what I had. I had been buying DVDs and especially focused on DVDs with DTS tracks and Sony Superbit releases. With this setup I fed the audio by S/PDIF into my Pioneer Elite for 5.1 processing in either Dolby Digital DPL2 or for DTS processing. The combination suited my needs.

Along comes the ability to get the video into a higher category via the introduction of Blu-ray and HD DVD into my home. I bought the Sony PS3 and the Toshiba HD-A2. Unfortunately for me the higher category video also meant a lower category of audio. Why? Because I cannot transport audio via HDMI. And it is damned silly to penalized consumers on this front.

Its not like I am complaining of not being able to process Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD, but plain Jane 5.1 Dolby or DTS, and to do so via S/PDIF. As such, I have to wonder what my options are. One penalty is that I am forced to upgrade to a new processor and degrade the video by transporting HDMI into an unnecessary device, and the other penalty is that I skirt the additional and unnecessary device and have all but two channels taken await from me.

Hmm, maybe I should quit while I am ahead. But what bothers me more is that I could have sworn I read the manuals for the purchased products and they said nothing of this. Yet, the audio is about as flat as yesterday's half-drank beer.

Hopefully I am missing something.

[beun]

My HD-A1 transcodes the audio to high bitrate DTS over SPDIF on the fly. I would expect the A2 to at least do the same.

[ecrabb]

I think you *are* missing something. My SPDIF-based connection from both Toshiba XA1 and now a PS3 both sound incredible. Extremely dynamic, powerful, full... Better than anything else I've had in my theater.

When you play something on the A2, the DD or DTS lights should be on on your receiver/processor... Is it? I think if you play an HD-DVD with a TrueHD track on it, the player will on-the-fly convert to 1.5 Mbps DTS - which should sound excellent - certainly as good or better than any SuperBit disc ever sounded on your system..

SC

[oliverg]

Routing your video via your AVR isn't a big deal. It wont degrade your PQ.

Alot of people with VPs have to do this (myself included) as alot of VPs will only do 2 channel PCM not LPCM.

The DTS and Dolby are also maxed out bitrate wise from those sources. Both sound pretty damn good to me!

Merry Christmas

[papalek]

In the menu on the HD-A2 you can choose between 2 channel output or the converted 5.1 channel output on the S/PDIF. Page 53 of the manual.

[WanMan]

I would much rather be the one missing something.