HDTV newb question (1 Viewer)

[RoyKeane]

Hi everyone - I have an audio setup question (sorry in advance for the length of the post)


I have the following components:


-Panasonic TC-L37U3 HDTV

-Panasonic DMP-BD75 Blu-Ray

-Yamaha RX-V461 receiver (the oldest component...surround sound, DTS decoder, etc, but no HDMI inputs)

-Comcast HD Receiver/DVR



The best video setup seems simple - connect both the cable box and the blu-ray player directly to the TV via HDMI cables


My question is about the audio setup.

I have heard that you should NOT filter the audio from the TV to the receiver and that, instead, you should connect audio directly from the components (in this case, the Cable box and the blu-ray) directly to the receiver.


My receiver does NOT have HDMI inputs.

The receiver DOES have 2 optical inputs, though, and the cable box/dvr has an optical audio out, so I was going to make that connection directly.


The problem is with the Blu-ray. it only has "AV cable" audio output (other than the HDMI, which I have already connected to the TV). This leaves me with two choices:


1) connect blu-ray audio out to receiver via the l/r av cable

2) connect the tv to the receiver via the tv's optical audio output and access the blu-ray's audio that way


Which connection gives me any chance at receiving optimal audio (DTS, etc)?


Thanks, in advance, for your help!

 

[Jason Charlton]

Frankly, I'm shocked the Panasonic BR player has no digital audio outputs! That's very unexpected.


Regardless, chances are that no matter which way you opt to go, the results will be the same. 99% of all TVs out there will downmix any incoming audio stream to 2.0 stereo before it's output via the TV's digital optical output. Some TVs don't pass any audio at all from external sources - only from their internal tuner.


Also, running audio through the TV has been known to introduce lag issues between the audio and video.


It might be worth a TRY to see what happens when you use the optical out from the TV to an optical in on your receiver, but I wouldn't hold your breath. When you try this, make sure you have the receiver set to "Direct" or whatever mode disables all signal processing so you can be sure that you're getting 2.0 or something better.


With a stereo signal, your receiver will use basic Dolby ProLogic to create a simulated surround field..


For simplicity's sake, I would say just stick with analog outs from the BR direct to the receiver and consider upgrading your receiver before too long.


The improvement in sound quality between lossy DD (or in your case, stereo!) and Lossless Dolby HD and DTS-MA was pretty astonishing for me.

 

[RoyKeane]

Ugh...I thought that might be the case. Thank you very much for the input - I really appreciate it