True HD Question?

I own a Yamaha Receiver and no it does not have the True HD decoding. Should I even bother to listen to True HD or just stick with DD. It seemed when I began to watch Matrix Rvelations, and I clicked on True HD to see how it sounded. It seemed as if the sound was alot lower than DD??? So what would be your suggestion???

[Post edited by InvisibleBiker on Oct 26, 2007]

Are you hooked up through HDMI with the audio output of your HD DVD player set to PCM?

So long as your HD player has a built in decoder, you should be able to hear True HD, and it should always be noticably richer than the other audio formats.

I think there's a chart in the owners manual which shows the various audio capabilities based on your connection (A/V, optical, digital coax, HDMI) so take a look through there to be sure your getting the most from it.

Quote:
I own a Yamaha Receiver and no it does not have the True HD decoding. Should I even bother to listen to True HD or just stick with DD. It seemed when I began to watch Matrix Rvelations, and I clicked on True HD to see how it sounded. It seemed as if the sound was alot lower than DD??? So what would be your suggestion???

IB,
By all means, listen to the Dolby TrueHD track. If you have the A2, the only way you can listen to the decoded TrueHD track is through the HDMI connection. I hope your Yamaha Receiver has HDMI input! If you have the A2, then you would select Dolby TrueHD on playback. Make sure your HDMI Digital Out setting on the player is set to AUTO (not bitstream). The decoded TrueHD track is converted into PCM, and sent down to the Yamaha.

If you have other Toshiba HD models (HD-A1, XA1, XA2, etc) with a 5.1 analog output, you'll need to connect 3 pairs of RCA audio cables from the Toshiba to the Yamaha 5.1 audio inputs.

You will not get the TrueHD track via the optical or coaxial digital output from the HD player. It will downcovert the TrueHD track to plain old Dolby Digital before sending the bitstream out to the Yamaha.

Hope this helps.
Geo

[Post edited by luckygeo on Oct 26, 2007]

Do u NEED a receiver that has true HD capabilities to get true hd?
i have an older Yamaha & am looking to upgrade
only Yamahas with true HD are over $1000

looking at Onkyo 605 or Denon's

But im getting the Toshiba A3 for xmas

Will i be able to listen to HD dvds in True HD.....with a new receiver? & if so, do i need to connect that HD dvd player to receiver via hdmi?

i was told to connect hd dvd to TV thru hdmi...........

its a little confusing to me, i want to get a nice new system, but wanna make sure it all works & isnt TOO $$$$$

Thanks
Manny

Manny I have an older Yamaha receiver also that is does NOT have HDMI imputs. However on the back of it there are inputs for 5.1. If you have these you can get an HD XA2 which has the 5.1 output so you can hook it up to the receiver that way and enjoy Dolby TrueHD I'm not sure if that will work for DTS HD also but I think it will.

If your going to get a new reciever that has HDMI make sure it's not pass through because alot of revievers have HDMI but it's only for video and no audio and no upconversion. But if your reciever has multi channel analog inputs than you can recieve all HD audio as long as your player has both decoders and multi channel analog outputs.

if is passthrough, it should say it right? cause the one i was looking into stated hdmi 1.3a ?

To be sure do some research, but it should have the HD audio decoders emblem on the reciever. I have a SONY with HDMI pass through only. Remember when you and I were talking about the ONKYO 605 Kucoloco?

[Post edited by tony1569 on Nov 29, 2007]

Your receiver DOES NOT need the HD decoder if you use one of the following two methods:
1) Analog outputs from your HD DVD to the analog inputs on the receiver.
or
2) (and this is better) output the soundtrack from the HD DVD player to your receiver using PCM. As long as your receiver accepts PCM through HDMI you are good.

There is no advantage to buying a new receiver for the sole purpose of decoding the HD track. The sound quality will not be any better than the HD player decoding and sending over PCM to the receiver. Of course this is a moot point if your receiver does not accept PCM.

The only reason to buy a HD receiver would be to decode DTS HD. As of right now no HD-DVD player can decode the full 24 MBPS only the core track which is 1.5 MBPS. I'm not sure about Blu-Ray being able to decode it but I know Samsung just released and update to the 1400 which would allow DTS HD to be sent bitstream.

Edit: Dolby True HD sounding "lower" is a common complaint. The soundtrack is more spread out and truer to the original master. A lot of the lower bitrate soundtracks on SD were made louder and more agressive to compensate for their lower bitrates. I usually turn up my receiver about 5 decibels higher then I do when I'm listening to DD. Once you get the volume the way you want it Dolby True HD sounds worlds better then DD.

[Post edited by Movielover316 on Nov 29, 2007]