Audio FAQ

This is where you will find audio related questions and answers.

  • I am depricating the subpages for analog, HDMI, and S/PDIF (listed below), since I think they are obfuscatating the issue, instead of clarifying it.
  • Sorry. You can still go to them, but I will not be updating them in the way I am right now.
  • Instead, see the information and the big table on this page.

For maintainability, specific details have been subdivided into the following sections:

General comments will be added here if need be.

Analog Output / Setup

Tell me about the Speaker Setup menu - is it what you would expect?

  • Absolutely not.
  • It is way below normal.
  • It is what is in the manual.
  • Missing are:
    • the normal channel level controls
    • channel distance controls
    • either adjustable or fixed crossover at THX standard 80Hz (it is 100Hz)
    • no option to specify 6.1 (i.e. Left Surround, Center Surround, Right Surround) instead of 7.1 (Left Surround, Left Back, Right Back, Right Surround).

Does it output pink noise?

  • It does cycle pink noise
  • individual channels cannot be selected
  • It just goes a few cycles and stops.

How many connectors are there?

  • 8 for 7.1
  • 2 for Left / Right only (downmixed)

General information about Codec support and digital / analog outputs

What is a codec?

  • Engineering Jargon. Encoder / Decoder. MP3 is a codec, DTS is a codec, PCM is a codec. Some are lossy (audio is degraded), some are lossless (bit for bit perfect)

What are the codecs we care about for HD / BD?

  • Various Dolby Formats, including
    • Dolby Digital 5.1
    • Dolby Digital EX 6.1 (note that this is the same bitstream as Dolby Digital, but with some flags set for an EX aware decoder to handle)
    • Dolby Digital Plus
    • Dolby Digital TrueHD
  • Various DTS formats, including
    • DTS (or "DTS Core" as it is now called)
    • DTS-ES (Matrixed) (note that this is the same bitstream as DTS Core, but with some flags set for an ES aware decoder to handle)
    • DTS-ES (Discrete) (note that this is the same bitstream as DTs Core, but with some flags set for an ES aware decoder to handle)
    • DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
    • DTS-HD Master Audio
  • PCM
    • Various multichannel PCM, generally from 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 channels
    • This is a losseless codec, and is in fact, really just the way audio is stored (no flames - not talking about Sony DSD)
    • It is a bunch of samples for a bunch of channel represented by a bunch of bits, and is pretty much "pure" digital audio
    • It is this that gets sent to DACs to come out as analog.

What does the player mean by Bitstream (audiophile)?

  • Extract the raw audio codec data from the disc
  • Shovel it over some sort of digital interface to another box (receiver / processor)
    • HDMI (various versions) can carry the most amount of data, and therefore can be used to carry the highest bitrate codecs
    • S/PDIF can carry the least amount of data, and therefore is limited to carry the lowest bitrate codecs (like 2 channel PCM, Dolby Digital / EX, DTS Core, DTS Core ES)
  • Decoding is the responsibily of that other box

What is this thing about LPCM (linear PCM)?

  • Extract the raw audio codec data from the disc
  • Using the DSP hardware on the player and firmware which supports that particular codec, decode the audio into pure PCM data for each channel
  • Shovel that PCM data over the HDMI or S/PDIF interface
    • Note that HDMI is required for anything more than 2 channels
  • Note that if the codec data on the disc is "LPCM", then there really isn't any decoding to do, just shovelling.
  • The box on the other end takes that PCM data and outputs it to DACs to become analog.

What is this thing about on-board Analog outputs?

  • Fundamentally the same as sending LPCM over HDMI, but the DACs are in the player, so analog comes out there instead, so:
  • Extract the raw audio codec data from the disc
  • Using the DSP hardware on the player and firmware which supports that particular codec, decode the audio into pure PCM data for each channel
  • Send that PCM data to the DACs in the player to become analog
  • Note that the player needs to be configured for how many channels you have, and ideally their various levels, distances, etc. (see above about Speaker Setup)
  • Note that if the codec data on the disc is "LPCM", then there really isn't any decoding to do, just shovelling to the DACs.
  • Also note that if there are some additional audio streams (like menu noises, or overlaid audio from "in movie experience" type pop-ups", this stuff will get mixed in and shoveled out to the DACs too.
    • Bitstream (audiophile) does not do this

What is this thing about Bitstream (reencode)?

  • It's a lot like on-board analog output and LPCM, but re-encodes to high bitrate DTS on the fly so it can mix in overlaid audio (see above) and send it to the other box.
  • Extract the raw audio codec data from the disc
  • Using the DSP hardware on the player and firmware which supports that particular codec, decode the audio into pure PCM data for each channel
  • Get the menu noises and overlaid audio
  • Mix those in to the main decoded audio
  • Re-encode everything to DTS (High Bitrate and Core)
  • Shovel the DTS over HDMI (High Resolution) and S/PDIF (Core)
  • The box on the other end decodes it and sends it to the DACs for analog out

Audio Codec Support (Bitstream, LPCM, and Analog - oh my!)

General comments

  • Current Firmware (071108, version 2) has minimal HD / Bluray codec support.
  • Minimal means bare minimum required codecs for HD and Bluray compliance.
  • These are not equivalent, so it is a bit more than the minimum for each because they do not completely overlap
  • Here's a nice table comparison of HD / BD with mandatory items noted for your information
  • Articles and 3rd level tech support report that increased codec support is on the way and being worked on
  • 2nd level tech support did not confirm that work was happening on codec support.
  • 3rd level trumps 2nd level, so I consider this incomplete and erroneous information on the part of the 2nd level tech (conjecture)

The Rhyme and Reason of it all (Conjecture)

  • Based on how it all works internally, I believe the only raw audio data getting extracted from the discs are the streams of data which can be fed into the current codec firmwares on the player.
  • This means that if the codec cannot be decoded on the player for either LPCM output, analog output, or bitstream reencode (all basically the same thing), then there is nothing in the system bothering to pull the data of the disc in the first place.
  • Note that in the case of Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES, both of those are the same bitstream as the normal 5.1 versions, but are backwards compatible.
    • This means that even if the Dolby Digital and DTS Core decoders can't handle the EX and ES flags, they still had to extract the bitstream for backward compatible 5.1 decoding
    • So, the bitstream with the EX and ES flags are there, so it is no extra work to pass those bitstreams, in which case an external box can see the flags and do EX or ES.

So, what works, and what doesn't?

How this table is (and was) constructed

  • Codec formats are listed, and various levels of support are shown
  • Table constructed using reports from users and conjecture based on above.
  • Meanings of things in the table
    • "Supported?" - What is the support in the player. This is predicted support based on assumptions above until a confirmation is provided, then this will be updated with confirmed operation.
    • "Confirmed?" - Was the Predicted support level confirmed or is it To Be Determined?
  • Note that the first two columns (extraction and on-board decoding) are I believe to be the reduced logic set which is most important to understand, so those are listed first.

The Big Table of Support

  • This is as of December 19, 2007 at 3:35PM PST
  • Firmware 071108, revision 2
Support Bitstream Extraction Onboard Decoding Bitstream (audiophile) HDMI LPCM out Analog Out Bitstream (reencode)
Format (logic assumption) (logic assumption) Supported? Confirmed? Supported? Confirmed? Supported? Confirmed? Supported? Confirmed?
Dolby Formats
Dolby Digital 5.1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes TBD
Dolby Digital EX 6.1 Yes No HDMI / SPDIF Yes No support / 5.1 only Yes No support / 5.1 only Yes No support / 5.1 only TBD
Dolby Digital Plus Yes Yes No support. Dolby Digital sent instead Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes TBD
Dolby TrueHD 2 Channel Yes Yes HDMI only Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Dolby TrueHD Multichannel No No No Support Yes No Support Yes No Support Yes No Support TBD
DTS Formats
DTS Core Yes Yes HDMI / SPDIF Yes HDMI Yes Yes Yes Yes TBD
DTS Core ES Matrixed Yes No HDMI / SPDIF Yes No support / core only Yes No support / core only Yes No support / core only TBD
DTS Core ES Discreet Yes No HDMI / SPDIF Yes No support / core only Yes No support / core only Yes No support / core only TBD
DTS-HD High Resolution No No No Support Yes No Support Yes No Support Yes No Support TBD
DTS-HD Master Audio No No No Support Yes No Support Yes No Support Yes No Support TBD
LPCM Formats
LPCM 2.0 Yes Yes HDMI / SPDIF Yes <— See Left <— See Left Yes Yes Yes TBD
LPCM 5.1 Yes Yes HDMI only Yes / reports of 7.1 flagged <— See Left <— See Left Yes Yes Yes TBD
LPCM 6.1 Yes Yes HDMI only Yes / reports of 7.1 flagged <— See Left <— See Left Yes Yes Yes TBD
LPCM 7.1 Yes Yes HDMI only Yes / reports of 7.1 flagged <— See Left <— See Left Yes TBD Yes TBD

Are there onboard decoding of audio issues found so far?

Intermittent Motorboating

  • What is it?
    • On startup from off, going into a chapter, or resuming from pause, "motorboating" of the audio occurs, and is generally cleared by ff/rr or stop then start.
    • This is very rare and not yet repeatable.
      • Pursuit of Happyness menu left going for many cycles will do it every once in awhile, and then will clear on the next cycle.
  • Stop / play, rewind, chapter forward / back, or power cycle seem to clear it.
  • Pause / play, fast forward, and step do not seem to clear it.
  • What formats has it been heard with?
    • LPCM
    • Dolby Digital Plus
  • What is motorboating?
    • sing a note and flap your lips with your finger - in private, lest you be thought odd by coworkers, friends, and family.
    • Motorboating. Audio as modulated by a motorboat engine.
  • We hope this will get fixed, but reproducing it is tough.
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