Limitation of Sony Blu-ray Players
Robert Harley -- Fri, 12/26/2008 - 16:00
I''ve just learned that Sony's BDP-S350, BDP-S550, and BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray players are limited to outputing 48kHz PCM on the HDMI output. This means that playing a Dolby TrueHD disc encoded at 96kHz will result in 48kHz PCM coming over HDMI if you decode the TrueHD bitstream to HDMI in the player. If you send the TrueHD bitstream over HDMI for decoding in the AV receiver or controller, you'll get the full 96kHz signal.
I apolgize if this is a triple post (I had javascript blocked). Thanks for the info. What does it do to the signal if you use the 7.1 outputs? Thanks again.
The BDP-S350 doesn't offer 7.1-channel analog outputs, but the other two players do. Because the Dolby TrueHD bitstream must be converted to PCM for conversion to analog, I suspect that the analog outputs are limited to 48kHz as well.
I'll check on this with Sony after they return from the holiday break on January 5.
Any word from Sony on if the 7.1 channel analog outputs are limited to 48kHz?
Thanks.
I'm still waiting to hear back from Sony on this question. It is possible that because the decoder converts 96kHz TrueHD signals to 48kHz for output on the HDMI port, it will use this 48kHz datastream to feed the digital-to-analog converters.
I just heard from Sony. The Sony Blu-ray players will output analog audio decoded from the original resolution with no down-conversion. That means that Dolby TrueHD soundtracks at 96kHz are converted to analog at 96kHz for output on the analog audio jacks.
Thank you!
Robert,
I can only speak for the 5000ES and what you first asserted is not the case, even on the HDMI output. Ran into precisely this problem with the Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds Live at Radio City Blu-Ray disc that has a wonderful 24 bit / 96kHz audio option. If you read the manual carefully ( I had to review it twice before noticing this caveat), you will see that one of the audio default settings on the player allows for multiple audio streams (MIX setting) and when enabled, the limit is 48kHz. Turned that off and the 96kHz flowed into my Lexicon MC-12HD no problem.
Matt:
The Dave Matthews disc is the one I experiemented with, and the one that I discussed with Sony technical people when I could get only 48kHz. They confirmed that the output is limited to 48kHz, and mentioned this disc specifically (which was released by Sony). I hope that they were wrong and that you're right; I'm going to try that setting and see if it will output 96kHz. I was surprised by their latest report that the analog outputs are derived from the 96kHz datastream; if it can decode TrueHD at 96kHz to PCM for conversion to analog, it should be able to convert TrueHD at 96kHz to 96kHz PCM for output on HDMI.
Thanks for the tip; I'll let you know if it works on the BDP-S350.
Some have reported on the 5000ES sound as being bass-heavy through the multichannel analog outs, as opposed to the dedicated 2-channel outs which seem more music-friendly. Has anyone else heard this? the 5000 is on my list of players, along with the Marantz 8002, Denon 1800, Oppo 83 and (perhaps) Pioneer Elite 09 and NAD T-587. But the 96kHz question is a good one, and I'd like to know if it's available through the 2-channel outs for all formats.
It has been a while since this thread was started and I see mention of Sony's BDP-S350.
Now that it has been replaced by the BDP-S360 and I'm considering getting a Blu-Ray player, I'm wondering if the issue of decimating the audio output has been resolved.
I currently use my DVD player's SPDIF output to feed an external DAC. The DVD player, also a Sony, has a menu setting that allows 24/96 PCM from its digital outputs (as opposed to the machine decimating to 16/48, etc.). In this way, I can feed 24/96 PCM from DVD's that have it (like Soundkeeper DVD-Rs or other "DAD"s) to my outboard DAC.
Does anyone know if the same capability is in the BDP-S360?
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com
To add to the above, I'd like to know if the BDP-S360 can output 24/192 PCM from its SPDIF output.
Thanks.
Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com
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