Is the HD format war a good thing? IMDB poll says no ...

[Woochifer]

I've been playing SACD for a while now on my PS3. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I'm assuming the PS3 decodes and outputs as MC PCM. I'm playing something right now and my Yammy shows a signal info of 5.1 PCM, 176.4 sampling.

Thanks for the correction, that's really good to know. If that's what your receiver indicates, then the PS3 is obviously transcoding the SACD's DSD signal for high res PCM output.

[PeruvianSkies]

Yes, very interesting.

[nightflier]

I've been playing SACD for a while now on my PS3. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I'm assuming the PS3 decodes and outputs as MC PCM. I'm playing something right now and my Yammy shows a signal info of 5.1 PCM, 176.4 sampling.

...there is no reason a BR player can't play SACD.

[Groundbeef]

Ok, I'm no PS3 fan, but I did a little research about the SACD format playback on the PS3. It appears to be able to process the audio, but in order to enjoy the format to its fullest, you need a HDMI connection on your reciever. Otherwise its not the full monty.

Quote : "The PlayStation 3 manual says that "Audio from Super Audio CDs cannot be output from the system's digital out (optical) connector. Multi-channel content from Super Audio CDs can only be output from the HDMI OUT connector." So it appears that while Mono and Stereo SACD audio may be available from the Multi AV connector, 5.1 Surround Sound SACD audio along with Mono and Stereo SACD and Mono and Stereo CD audio is only available via HDMI. "

Although it pained me to actually read the article, you can also read it here:

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/ne...umber=19489827

[musicman1999]

Thats normal,no player can output SACD via optical.Also many people prefer SACD in stereo,not 5.1,so for some that is not an issue.

bill

[L.J.]

Thanks for the correction, that's really good to know. If that's what your receiver indicates, then the PS3 is obviously transcoding the SACD's DSD signal for high res PCM output.

Yeah I looked it up out of curiousity and support for DSD playback was made available with the v1.60 update a couple of months ago. I'm hoping that DTS-MA will be supported with a similar update.

[bobsticks]

Lemme get this straight, you are in fact, getting full hi-rez multi-channel from the PS3's HDMI output? Seriously?

Did you try the same HDMI passthrough with the Onkyo receiver and, if so, was it successful? I'm hearing rumours that the speaker popping issues you experienced are mitigated when using external amps. My setup already includes a six channel external, so when you combine that with the upscaling on normal media and BB DACS...

...why do I feel a spending spree on the horizon?

[L.J.]

Lemme get this straight, you are in fact, getting full hi-rez multi-channel from the PS3's HDMI output? Seriously?

Yup. The DSD is ouput as MC PCM.

Did you try the same HDMI passthrough with the Onkyo receiver and, if so, was it successful? I'm hearing rumours that the speaker popping issues you experienced are mitigated when using external amps. My setup already includes a six channel external, so when you combine that with the upscaling on normal media and BB DACS...

...why do I feel a spending spree on the horizon?

Yeah any HDMI 1.1 or up AVR should be able to handle it. That's interesting news about the Onkyo. I really wish things would have worked out with it.