can i get something extra from this combo?

been out of HT for a while and just purchased a Toshiba HD-A30, which is a HD DVD player. I also have an older AVR Marantz 5600 which plays the usual DD, DTS stuff. I run a 7.1 setup.

With this combo, can i get any of the newer audio signals that come with the HD DVD player...lossless i think it's called?

Can I get 7.1 from these newer formats?


guess i need an education...take a few years off and tech has passed me by

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheel_

been out of HT for a while and just purchased a Toshiba HD-A30, which is a HD DVD player. I also have an older AVR Marantz 5600 which plays the usual DD, DTS stuff. I run a 7.1 setup.

With this combo, can i get any of the newer audio signals that come with the HD DVD player...lossless i think it's called?

Can I get 7.1 from these newer formats?


guess i need an education...take a few years off and tech has passed me by

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With the combo you have, no. The A30 can only decode 2 of the HD formats(DD+&TrueHD) and output it as MC PCM via HDMI. It cannot bitstream. Your AVR would need to have HDMI 1.1 or up and be able to handle MC PCM.

You can get 7.1 from a handful of BR titles. They're slowly starting to show up. I'm not sure about HD DVD though. Most HD DVD tracks are DD+ which is kinda similar to DTS. DD+ is not a lossless format & your probably gonna get a bunch of 640kbps - 1.5mbps tracks going the HD DVD route. I own about 12 HD DVD's and I think only 2 have a lossless TrueHD track.

HD DVD is dead. You may wanna consider going with BR.

yeah, i know HD DVD is dead, but i like legacy pieces...heck, i still have a nice laserdisc. Picked up the A30 for $79 shipped with warranty..plus blockbuster has a ton of them online to rent...

waiting on BR to come down in price...

back to the subject..so a newer receiver that says it can decode lossless formats is what i need?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheel_

yeah, i know HD DVD is dead, but i like legacy pieces...heck, i still have a nice laserdisc. Picked up the A30 for $79 shipped with warranty..plus blockbuster has a ton of them online to rent...

waiting on BR to come down in price...

back to the subject..so a newer receiver that says it can decode lossless formats is what i need?

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In this situation I would say yes. Especially if you plan on getting a BR down the road. May as well cover all bases if your gonna upgrade.

With that said, lossless decoding is not needed for the A30. Your AVR just needs to be able to handle the decoded PCM over HDMI. I'm using a Yammie 2700, which doesn't have HD audio decoding, but it does handle MC PCM via HDMI. My PS3 decodes the HD audio and outputs it to my Yammie via HDMI. My Yammie simply sees a 5.1 PCM signal. Same thing with my A2.

I put some info together awile back that explains the different ways to get HD audio. You may find it useful. There are plenty of links as well.

http://forums.audioreview.com/showpo...87&postcount=1

great information...thanks for the link and time spent putting it together

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tarheel_

yeah, i know HD DVD is dead, but i like legacy pieces...heck, i still have a nice laserdisc. Picked up the A30 for $79 shipped with warranty..plus blockbuster has a ton of them online to rent...

waiting on BR to come down in price...

back to the subject..so a newer receiver that says it can decode lossless formats is what i need?

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NOT familar with your player, does it have 5.1 out that you can hook
into your AVRS 5.1 input? Probably not, considering its tosh.
I just threw out about three grand worths of laserdiscs, got tired of
holdin onto em.
Heres the way its gonna work, Blockbuster and others will have HD titles just long enough for the players to sell out, and then discs
will disapear like leaves in the autume.
ENJOY IT while you can.:1:

this toshiba model doesn't have the analog outs so it looks like a AVR upgrade..or i'm gonna finally get a 7 channel amp

every time i get ready (budget) for a separate amp technology leaves me behind and i find something else to throw the funds to...lol