Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater DTS-HD: Master Audio -> Is It Really That Good?

Reason I ask is that I'm looking at the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player and I noticed it will bitstream everything except DTS-HD:MA. My reciever will decode everything internally so I want to feed it as much uncompressed source material as possible.

My understanding is that the PS3 will take DTS-HD:MA and compress it or downconvert it to normal DTS 5.1 and then send it over to the reciever.

Is the DTS-HD:MA really that much better than normal DTS? Is it worth shelling out for a non-videogaming player for?

Can't say for sure as I've never experienced the new high def sound formats yet. From what I've heard on other forums is that it is pretty cool and one guy said he will never go back to standard Dolby or DTS again.

I'm looking at the Panny 30 Bluray player as it does not have an internal decoder, but will pass through all the versions via HDMI to a receiver that will decode those new formats.

My Denon 3-4 years old though, and i would have to get a different receiver.

Omar,

In a word, YES, there is a notable difference to the better. However, there are not that many BR movies out with DTS:HD-Master, or even DTS:HD-High res sound tracks. I suspect we will start seeing more though. So far, the few BR disks I have with DTS:HD tracks have been quite enjoyable and not to pop bubbles for the PS3 users, but the uncompressed DTS tracks are superior than the core tracks you hear when using the PS3.

ah, damnit.
The PS3 does bitstreme TrueHD though rite?

I really only want one PS3 game (Metal Gear Solid 4), so i can probably live with a stand-alone BD player.

No, it doesn't bitstream TrueHD, unless I really wasn't paying attention to one of the system updates.

There is a 3808 with your name on it somewhere.

Yeah also a few more subs, and a 1400. Money is tight right now, and the wife ain't happy. ha ha

No, but it does decode it and output it as Multi Channel PCM. From what I understand, DTS:HD takes a significant amount of processing power over DD-THD, which is why it can not decode it at this time. It may in the future, but that is also suspect due to it using an older chipset that may, or may not be able to EVER decode it.

Not that I think you should trade her in for a richer wife, but would it hurt her to win the lottery for you?

school teachers aren't rich.

Actually, the better strategy would be to just sell the wife outright.

Oh but she is such a great cook, and her kids would miss her dearly and drive me even more nuts.

By the way, never tell her anything that we say.

Don't worry, I learned that lesson a long time ago, when I didn't realize she was looking over my shoulder. lol

damnit...so the PS3 really isn't a viable option as far as movies go then.

followup question: what's the cheapest player out there (new or used) that will bitstream TrueHD and DTS-HD:MA to the reciever without compressing/downgrading it.

I hear ya...more EP500's FTMFW!!!

Actually from what I can gather from the threads at avsforum is that the chipset won't allow the bitstream of DTS HD MA, but there's nothing that would prevent the PS3 from decoding it and sending it as pcm in theory. The question is whether it would be done or not. So while I can't say that the PS3 is the best bluray player out there it's definitely one of the best and one of the most future proof. I've had no glitches or problems with it and it's whisper quiet if I keep the room temperature low enough.

Panasonic BD30 is your best option if you have a audio processor that is HDMI 1.3 and will process HDMI audio (not all will). They can be found for about $425.

450$ is definitly more than i want to spend right now. i think i'm going to get a PS3 and then upgrade to a used BD30 in the future when prices drop. (And after buying a second EP500 )

I think it would be cheaper to upgrade your receiver to one that does all the decoding for you.

I have an HDMI 1.3 reciever that decodes DTS-MA and THD. the problem is getting the data to the reciever (for DTS this requires a bitstreaming player)

Samsung BD-P1400 $299

I do not think the samsung willdecode or bitstream any of the hd formats.

I think dolby true hd and dts HD are downgraded to plain jane dolby and dts sound.

that is why I think that samsung player stinks, it can not play HD sound formats

Thats not ture. I had My sammy 1400 in DTS HD running to my Denon 3808ci.

sorry about that.

I was thinking about the sony s-300

The Pioneer 95 FD also.

I didn't look too hard at the 1400 because there were so many negitive posts at AVS in regards to it. A lot of folks sold both their Pioneer and Samsung and bought the Panasonic.

You may want to wait and pick up the Panasonic BD 50 that will be shipping real soon. It will be profile 2.0, and as a side effect, the BD 30 price will most likely drop.

I can see where there may be some bad things with the sammy 1400. I have had it completely shut it self off when i pressed Pause, and sometimes the screen will flicker for a sec at the begining of the movie. Sometimes the load times are really bad. But I think alot of the complaints were people unaware that you really need to keep up with the firmware updates. The audio and video is excellent. I do think its a kind of buggy player, but I hope with more updates it will be fixed. But for $300 blu-ray its not a bad deal.

Panasonic BD 50......

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/sto...052008065621607

Looks good.

I think *every* Bluray player out there has some problems. I understand Panasonic players have some LFE issues. My 1400 has been pretty much flawless. It did have issues with Live Free or Die Hard at 24FPS, but when I turned that option off, it was fine. Since my TV doesn't officially support 24Hz, that could be an issue as well (and I'm pretty sure Samsung's FW was a bit buggy). I think a lot of people have issues with their receivers to tell you the truth.

I wish I could afford the denon bluray player at $1999. It matches my 3808

However, it has no ethernet port, and I see no reason why it should cost so much... but it looks cool!

http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3749.asp

I want this for my bedroom, to go along with my wifes new iTouch.

clock radio

what happened to the good ol' $10 clock radio?

Now where is the fun in that? Athough the networking capability of this kind of defeats the purpose of the iPod for those with networks.

It works great. I have my PS3 setup to send the Multichannel PCM to my Denon 3808 and it sounds incredible.

You're talking about blu-rays that have pcm tracks on them right? As of right now the ps3 outputs the core of DTS HD:MA. I'm hoping that someday they'll have an upgrade to output itfully as pcm like all the other formats, then it would play everything.

just so i can wrap this up and get the final verdict on it.

PS3 will:
1) Decode TrueHD and output it over LPCM. No quality loss in the process.
2) Will only get the core of DTS:MA and send it over pcm...so missing out there.
3) Hopefully will not catch fire and burn my house down

1)Right
2)It can send it over as bitstream dts too, but no full dts:MA as of yet.
3)Well... Being a Sony product I wouldn't bet on it!!

Talking about cooling, fans and noise I've noticed that my ps3 will stay on low speed and be totally quiet if I keep the temp below 77-78 degrees.