Connecting a HD DVD player to a home theatre system

[Bman212121]

Originally Posted by GamerGuyX

The receiver doesn't need to support the decoding of TrueHD. The HD DVD player decodes it and sends it out as raw PCM.

Okay, didn't know that.

[rany1977]

The more expensive one is the one I was leaning towards in thr first place. I'll have to go out purchase it.

Thanks again for all your help, guys! much appreciated.

[nrdstrm]

Another question for you guys, and it kinda fits this thread...What is the difference between "TrueHD" and "PCM" in terms of quality? Below is how my system is set up, and I want to know if it's the best way possible for the products I have. Basically though, what I want to know is, would it be worth me getting a new reciever/speakers just for "TrueHD" audio? I'm pretty damn happy with the way it is now...

TV : Vizio 42" 1080P LCD - Out Via Toslink to Logitech Z5500's
Speakers : (above, Z5500's)
Wii : Component to TV
PS3 : HDMI to TV
Verizon Hi Def DVR : HDMI to TV
Logitech Harmony 720 controlling it all except the wii/ps3...

So, to sum up...Is there a better way to connect what I have? Would it be worth it to buy a new reciever with better speakers? (Keep in mind I'm a bit budget limited atm after the TV, PS3 + 5 games, Wii, etc. so it would be a few months....)

@ rany1977 - Sorry to Hijack :P

[Bman212121]

Originally Posted by rany1977

The more expensive one is the one I was leaning towards in thr first place. I'll have to go out purchase it.

Thanks again for all your help, guys! much appreciated.

NP, always glad to help. Let us know how it goes. I'm sure that setup is going to rock.

[Bman212121]

Originally Posted by nrdstrm

Another question for you guys, and it kinda fits this thread...What is the difference between "TrueHD" and "PCM" in terms of quality? Below is how my system is set up, and I want to know if it's the best way possible for the products I have. Basically though, what I want to know is, would it be worth me getting a new reciever/speakers just for "TrueHD" audio? I'm pretty damn happy with the way it is now...

TV : Vizio 42" 1080P LCD - Out Via Toslink to Logitech Z5500's
Speakers : (above, Z5500's)
Wii : Component to TV
PS3 : HDMI to TV
Verizon Hi Def DVR : HDMI to TV
Logitech Harmony 720 controlling it all except the wii/ps3...

So, to sum up...Is there a better way to connect what I have? Would it be worth it to buy a new reciever with better speakers? (Keep in mind I'm a bit budget limited atm after the TV, PS3 + 5 games, Wii, etc. so it would be a few months....)

@ rany1977 - Sorry to Hijack :P

I'm not even sure about the TrueHD part, but IMO if you are happy with what you have, it probably isn't worth it to spend a boat load of cash for a small gain. TrueHD probably does sound a little better, but I doubt it would be worth redoing your setup and spending another $600 or more. I also use the Z5500's as my HT speakers and I have been really happy with that setup. They are a great set of speakers. I have the PS3 hooked up to the optical, but I also have an HD-Tuner box, so I ended up buying an optical to coax converter that way I can hook the tuner box up as well.

[GamerGuyX]

Originally Posted by nrdstrm

What is the difference between "TrueHD" and "PCM" in terms of quality?

TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are just lossless compression. For all intents are purposes they are both equal in quality to each other and to PCM. PCM is just raw audio data with no compression. The benefits to TrueHD and DTS-HD MA is that they take up less space on disc.

Now the quality can differ if let's say the TrueHD track is encoded in 96kHz/24-bit compared to a PCM track being endoded at 48kHz/16-Bit or vica-versa. Otherwise all three are equal with no discernable sound difference.

[rany1977]

Hey guys, I just went to Best Buy, and found a salesman who actually knew what he was talking about. I purchased the home theatre and an optical cable.

Now I just have to wait for my HDMI to DVI cable to arrive. That's the downside when buying from eBay, cheaper then retail but a long wait to receive it lol. I can't to get it so I can finally watch some HD DVD's.

[smith20]

Guys
Can you help me. I don't have a hd tv but will be buying one. My old toshiba 27" is ready to give out. Do any of you know if you can hook up a panasonic sc-pt750 theater in a box up with a tosiba hd dvd player and get surround sound? All answers will be appreciated. I like the fact that this systems is wireless.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by smith20

Guys
Can you help me. I don't have a hd tv but will be buying one. My old toshiba 27" is ready to give out. Do any of you know if you can hook up a panasonic sc-pt750 theater in a box up with a tosiba hd dvd player and get surround sound? All answers will be appreciated. I like the fact that this systems is wireless.

Yes you can. It has an HDMI input, and you can try that to see if it accepts PCM 5.1. If it does not, simply use the optical input.

As for the OP, you actually could have gotten surround sound with your old system, it would have been the same surround sound you got with regular DVD - Dolby Prologic. This of course is matrixed and not as good as true 5.1 DD/DTS, but you would not have been stuck with 2ch.

In short for anyone asking this question, you can hook up your HD DVD player the same way you did your standard DVD player to your system. It has the provisions to be backwards compatible with any type of receiver.