decoding codecs in a bluray player is better than a standalone processor?

[jon1]

What everybodys take on this?I decode the codecs using a bluray player and very happy with the results:eyebrows:Had a few processors from rotel ...tag.and had a lot of one box solutions but for me this is the best






jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Jon, they are certainly a bloody site cheaper than an amplifier or processor :eyebrows:

I refuse to go down that route as it means that every time some new format comes out you need to replace everything, rather than just the BD player ;)

I'm incredibly happy with the way my Panasonic sounds, until recently i was really ashamed to say that it kind of peed all over my Krell transport & dCS kit :rolleyes: However the gap has narrowed & now it's difficult to tell the difference between native 24 bit audio from the BD player & upsampled 16 bit from the CD transport :)

I'll always go for decoding in the player & yes it's very good indeed :cool:

E2A:- I guess what I'm trying to say is if you have an infinately deep wallet then go for the processor as it should be better than the internal decoding in a BD player ;) But as i say, with new formats it means you probably need to replace the decoder & BD player, rather than just the BD player if you rely on the internal decoders. They are very good indeed with 24 bit audio, trust your ears :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Hi Jon, they are certainly a bloody site cheaper than an amplifier or processor :eyebrows:

I refuse to go down that route as it means that every time some new format comes out you need to replace everything, rather than just the BD player ;)

I'm incredibly happy with the way my Panasonic sounds, until recently i was really ashamed to say that it kind of peed all over my Krell transport & dCS kit :rolleyes: However the gap has narrowed & now it's difficult to tell the difference between native 24 bit audio from the BD player & upsampled 16 bit from the CD transport :)

I'll always go for decoding in the player & yes it's very good indeed :cool:

E2A:- I guess what I'm trying to say is if you have an infinately deep wallet then go for the processor as it should be better than the internal decoding in a BD player ;) But as i say, with new formats it means you probably need to replace the decoder & BD player, rather than just the BD player if you rely on the internal decoders. They are very good indeed with 24 bit audio, trust your ears :eyebrows:






Hi mark i had a panny bd80 cracking good bluray player sound and pic wise it was excellent;)...but needs must i upgraded to a pioneer lx91..using the analogues this player is first class in the sound and pic department i will be using these interconnects from MG this week http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=43_1&products_id=368 looking forward running these in the system...like you my preference is the bluray doing the decoding:eyebrows:





jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Jesus :eek: You are going to buy 6 channels (5.1) of that are you, or are you going for the full 7.1 :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Jesus :eek: You are going to buy 6 channels (5.1) of that are you, or are you going for the full 7.1 :eyebrows:





Steady:lolsign:Yes i am getting 5 single 1m lengths an 5 single 05m lengths no sub i have these interconnects in my music setup so i know have they perform;)
top notch;)so just applying to my ht system


jon

[Reid Malenfant]

I don't recall ever seeing your system in the gallery Jon :scratch: Please point it out to me if it's in there ;)

So it looks like you are running some kind of 5 channel pre & power? :scratch:

:)

[jon1]

I don't recall ever seeing your system in the gallery Jon :scratch: Please point it out to me if it's in there ;)

So it looks like you are running some kind of 5 channel pre & power? :scratch:

:)





It is not in the gallery mark and yes i am running a 5 channel pre & power..most of my system is custom built:eyebrows: including the 5 channel pre;)my amp is a 6 channel gain clone amp:)Hifi quality


jon

[jon1]

Mark if you click on my avatar go in bis and that's how it was then... but completely different now



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

It's about time you graced us with some piccies then :ner:

:lolsign: Seriously though I'd love to see what you have done there, defo the custom built power amps ;)

Nah, stuff that - the whole system if you are about to blow that much on cables :eek:

TV, monitor, whatever - the whole lot ;)

Pretty please :eyebrows:

[Reid Malenfant]

Mark if you click on my avatar go in bis and that's how it was then... but completely different now



jon
Interesting, that centre speaker certainly was ;) Nice looking amps & nice to see another panny DMP-BD80 :)

Well i'd love to see how things are when you install the new cables! If it's completely different then you really should update things innit :lol:

[jon1]

It's about time you graced us with some pictures then :new:

:lol sign: Seriously though I'd love to see what you have done there, defoe the custom built power amps ;)

Nah, stuff that - the whole system if you are about to blow that much on cables :eek:

TV, monitor, whatever - the whole lot ;)

Pretty please :eyebrows:






I will do that just for you mark:eyebrows: their i two gain clone amps for got to add both with regulated power supply 6ch and 2 ch..all the mono blocks not being used and the active crossovers the same.



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Excellent, looking forward to it already! :) It's about time that us AV people or should i say multichannel audio & video showed the two channel fraternity that you don't need to compromise (very much if at all) with either if done right even in the same system ;)

Before anyone goes mad, there is no such thing as perfection. I guess I'll add something in brackets just to calm down the critics :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Excellent, looking forward to it already! :) It's about time that us AV people or should i say multichannel audio & video showed the two channel fraternity that you don't need to compromise (very much if at all) with either if done right even in the same system ;)

Before anyone goes mad, there is no such thing as perfection. I guess I'll add something in brackets just to calm down the critics :eyebrows:






I completely agree;)My ht system was based on the hifi side of things to start with now they completely separate it is very had to get the best of both worlds out of one system..the only one thing in the system that i have to swap is the front speakers .but i got round it by buying in line speakon connectors so i can disconnect from the music setup and plug strait in to the ht system simples:eyebrows:



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

That looks like a hell of a nice BD spinner you have there Jon, i guess it should be at the money :)

If ever i see one or one of similar quality that is multiregion on blu ray i might be tempted ;) I have 2 Panny BD80s & they can play any region BD produced, it's kind of nice buying them for less than £3 delivered (on occasions) & getting films that simply aren't available to region B players.

It depends on which way you want to compromise at the end of the day. As you have owned a BD80 you know what they are capable of & for the money it's very good indeed.

I'd love to see a top end spinner in action though :eyebrows: Here i might add & via my projector...

Bests to you, hope you have a good weekend :cool:

[jon1]

That looks like a hell of a nice BD spinner you have there Jon, i guess it should be at the money :)

If ever i see one or one of similar quality that is multiregion on blu ray i might be tempted ;) I have 2 Panny BD80s & they can play any region BD produced, it's kind of nice buying them for less than £3 delivered (on occasions) & getting films that simply aren't available to region B players.

It depends on which way you want to compromise at the end of the day. As you have owned a BD80 you know what they are capable of & for the money it's very good indeed.

I'd love to see a top end spinner in action though :eyebrows: Here i might add & via my projector...

Bests to you, hope you have a good weekend :cool:



Yes the pioneer is excellent reference player i had the oppo 83 muti region player before the pioneer you do get a lot of region A bluray films coming out a lot earlier than region B my only chance to buy the if they play all regions;)The pioneer up samples dvds superbly the best to date:eyebrows:



jon

[Canetoad]

If ever i see one or one of similar quality that is multiregion on blu ray i might be tempted ;) I have 2 Panny BD80s & they can play any region BD produced, it's kind of nice buying them for less than £3 delivered (on occasions) & getting films that simply aren't available to region B players.

Hi Mark,

Do you know if it is difficult to convert the Panasonic to multi-region?

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Bernie, pretty easy i should think in all honesty as long as you are good at soldering & are careful ;) There is someone selling the ICOS kits for most Panasonic BD players on ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Panasonic-BD60-BD80-BD30-BD50-BD35-BD55-Multiregion-Mod-/230692329667?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_Video_DVDPla yers_Recorders&hash=item35b65598c3). Pretty sure comprehensive instructions will come with them. Looks to be about ten wires that would need to be soldered onto the BD players internals at a guess :scratch:

There is a link to the instructions if you want to take a look, just select the correct machine :)

[Canetoad]

Thanks Mark. Did you buy yours with the modification already done, or have you done this yourself?

[jon1]

Mark ....collected the cables from MG yesterday..and just fitted them to ht this morning ..the result are excellent...It is the detail and clarity that stand out and the bass tight not tried a bluray yet..dvd music and films:eek:well worth the purchase;)




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Thanks Mark. Did you buy yours with the modification already done, or have you done this yourself?
I bought mine ready modified I must admit ;) Every time I look these days though I just don't see them :scratch:

Mark ....collected the cables from MG yesterday..and just fitted them to ht this morning ..the result are excellent...It is the detail and clarity that stand out and the bass tight not tried a bluray yet..dvd music and films:eek:well worth the purchase;)
Good job at the price :eyebrows:

Enjoy Jon, I'm sure you will to :cool:

[Richardl]

I had a Onkyo HD processor, when they first came out.
I've a Lexicon MC12B now, with a Denon 3800 doing the processing, it's been one of my better hifi up/downgrades. I've also separated my AV and 2 channel parts just using a good switchbox.
I might eventually get an HD processor, but it'd have to be a good one, and they're really expensive.

[jon1]

I had a Onkyo HD processor, when they first came out.
I've a Lexicon MC12B now, with a Denon 3800 doing the processing, it's been one of my better hifi up/downgrades. I've also separated my AV and 2 channel parts just using a good switchbox.
I might eventually get an HD processor, but it'd have to be a good one, and they're really expensive.






Richard do you think their would a big difference sound department to what you have now?..If you upgraded to a hd processor?BTW are you bitstream or analogue?:)



jon

[Richardl]

Richard do you think their would a big difference sound department to what you have now?..If you upgraded to a hd processor?BTW are you bitstream or analogue?:)



jon

Probably no better at all. But I love box swapping :-)
I have 5 Hitachi analogue cables to link my processor and denon player. The Hitachi cables are a bit of a bargain I think.

Aren't we friends on another forum, where I'm called 'Rich' :-)

Edit......6 cables

[Lodgesound]

Through a lot of research and experimentation I can say that in response to the thread title the answer is no.

The reason without getting needlessly in depth is that very few blu ray players are capable of decoding the full audio spectrum present in Dolby True HD or DTS Master Audio streams as they are present on the discs. They only extract the lossy "core" of the stream which is quite compromised in comparison.

No - I did'nt believe it either but it turns out that the player manufacturers would have to pay licensing rights to Dolby and DTS if they were to decode on board the players and they do not.

The first time I decoded the full bandwidth uncompressed stream from a Blu Ray disc I was staggered at how much better it was. I had to use an outboard decoder fed by HDMI to do it - this is because the full DTS or True HD stream cannot be passed out of the player any other way. If you try then you just end up with the lossy core again.

The players themselves know through HDMI handshake if they are connected to a device capable of resolving the full stream. They then internally report that they are doing so - Sony players will only pass DTS HD Master Audio (and display as such) if connected to such a device.

This is to force you to potentially spend money on outboard AV amps or very expensive decoders. As for mixed down 2 channel stereo through the player's analogue outputs you get into all kinds of losses there coupled with the fact that the subwoofer channel is NOT passed out when performing an internal player mixdown ( as per Dolby and DTS specs).

This is why most films sound so bass light when being listened to via a player's 2 channel mixed down output. This also applies when using a coaxial or SPDIF digital output terminal.

[Reid Malenfant]

Through a lot of research and experimentation I can say that in response to the thread title the answer is no.

The reason without getting needlessly in depth is that very few blu ray players are capable of decoding the full audio spectrum present in Dolby True HD or DTS Master Audio streams as they are present on the discs. They only extract the lossy "core" of the stream which is quite compromised in comparison.

No - I did'nt believe it either but it turns out that the player manufacturers would have to pay licensing rights to Dolby and DTS if they were to decode on board the players and they do not.

The first time I decoded the full bandwidth uncompressed stream from a Blu Ray disc I was staggered at how much better it was. I had to use an outboard decoder fed by HDMI to do it - this is because the full DTS or True HD stream cannot be passed out of the player any other way. If you try then you just end up with the lossy core again.
Hi Stewart, that is rather interesting.

Effectively then what you are also saying is that the manufacturer of the decoder that is used downstream to decode must be paying Dolby & DTS licensing or that won't be able to decode anything but this "lossy core" you mention? :scratch:

I'm finding this a little troublesome :eyebrows: I distinctly remember listening to Billy Idol in concert on BD & getting a tad upset at how much better it sounded quality wise than a £10,000 Krell transport feeding dCS Purcell & Delius :eek: I mentioned this earlier in this very thread I believe..

Perhaps I happen to have a player that fully decodes the Dolby & DTS streams, after all it does seem rather likely if a £250 player can maul such a high end system ;) I struggle to believe that this "lossy core" you speak of could do the same trick, I'd also like to know why I have never read about any of this lossy core business in any of the reviews of the various machines with in built decoders :scratch:

Perhaps I have bypassed that by generally going for a more upmarket (though admittedly still cheapish) BD player..

I think I'll have to do some investigating myself :cool:

[Reid Malenfant]

More interesting, you may well be correct when it comes to my Sony BDP-S550 ;)

I just checked the box & there is a nice DTS logo saying "DTS advanced digital out" :eyebrows:

However on the Panasonic DMP-BD80 box I have both of the proper Dolby True-HD & DTS-HD Master Audio logos...

[Lodgesound]

Hi Mark;

This is where I myself got very confused.

It is extremely difficult to establish what actually goes on inside a player as it is all so locked down in proprietry software however in my own tests I can confirm that I was unable to extract the full signal range and all of the channels without use of external decoding.

Most noteworthy is the fact that the LFE channel is not passed during any kind of player mixdown either via analogue or digital outs. It was this discovery that produced the most striking differences when using outboard discrete decoding of the audio stream.

None of the player manufacturers are honest or forthcoming or clear about any of this. They merely state that the player will HANDLE such signals and streams which tells nothing of how they actually PROCESS the sound.

[Reid Malenfant]

I think I'm going to have to borrow a decoder, I can then do a back to back of the audio outputs on my Panny & the decoded outputs from the decoder via my ARC MP1 :)

Luckily I have a spare set of 5.1 inputs available on the pre amp ;)

Now where to find a decoder :scratch:

Cheers for bringing this to my attention Stewart :) I just hope it's not going to open my eyes too much as it did yourself...

:eyebrows:

[jon1]

Probably no better at all. But I love box swapping :-)
I have 5 Hitachi analogue cables to link my processor and denon player. The Hitachi cables are a bit of a bargain I think.

Aren't we friends on another forum, where I'm called 'Rich' :-)

Edit......6 cables






Yes mate:eyebrows:





jon

[jon1]

Have a read mark;)http://www.whathifi.com/review/pioneer-bdp-lx91




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Aaaaaagggghhhhh :eek:


Onboard decoding
There is onboard decoding of high-definition audio formats to PCM via HDMI, and Pioneer has assured us that there will be an imminent software update allowing you to decode DTS-HD Master Audio over the player's multichannel analogue output.
Sh*t, looks like Stewart may well be right after all :doh:

Bugger, it looks like it's going to get expensive :rolleyes:

[jon1]

Aaaaaagggghhhhh :eek:


Sh*t, looks like Stewart may well be right after all :doh:

Bugger, it looks like it's going to get expensive :rolleyes:






No mark decoding of dtsmaster over analogues which i already have..BTW the signal goes over the analogues as LPCM still the same just not bit stream:eyebrows:



jon

[Mark Grant]

No - I did'nt believe it either but it turns out that the player manufacturers would have to pay licensing rights to Dolby and DTS if they were to decode on board the players and they do not.



When you say 'they' which manufacturer was it ?

fairly sure that the oppo 93 and 95 are decoding the full signal. I will check with Oppo and get an official response next week as I might be wrong, they certainly sound good though.:)

Having heard Jon1's Pioneer it certainly sounds full range :eek: , better than just about any AV processor I have heard.

[jon1]

When you say 'they' which manufacturer was it ?

fairly sure that the oppo 93 and 95 are decoding the full signal. I will check with Oppo and get an official response next week as I might be wrong, they certainly sound good though.:)

Having heard Jon1's Pioneer it certainly sounds full range :eek: , better than just about any AV processor I have heard.






Mark all your oppo's will decode in the player having a oppo before over analogues:eyebrows:


jon

[jon1]

Jesus :eek: You are going to buy 6 channels (5.1) of that are you, or are you going for the full 7.1 :eyebrows:






Well mark collected the cables a couple of weeks back:eyebrows:Very very happy with the results:cool:..sooooo.much detail and clarity:eek:..on the tiesto dvd the bass is soooooo tight..It has uplifted the ht altogether..Well worth the in investment..they cost a few bob but they give a lot back:rave:



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Hey Jon, don't you mean the Elements Of Life (Tiesto) Blu Ray? :scratch: Or have you only got the dvd of it?

Glad you reminded me about that as it's pretty awsome ;)

[jon1]

Hey Jon, don't you mean the Elements Of Life (Tiesto) Blu Ray? :scratch: Or have you only got the dvd of it?

Glad you reminded me about that as it's pretty awsome ;)





No mark the tiesto in concert dvd from 2003:eyebrows: two dvds;)ardain nice:stalks:


jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Oooooh, you don't know what you are missing :D

[jon1]

Oooooh, you don't know what you are missing :D






Mark i have elements of life on bluray:eyebrows:And Armin mirage on bluray;)


jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Ah well that's alright then :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Ah well that's alright then :eyebrows:





That would have being a close one mark not having the elements of life;)You have to keep me right;)



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Jon, spin the elements of life blu ray & switch from the stereo track to the DTS-MA track & tell me what happens :eyebrows:

Obviously have all channels running switch back & forth between the two...

In the case of my BD player I think Stewart is bang on the money :rolleyes: In stereo the sound is simply stunning, switch to the DTS-MA track & it sounds like some kind of compressed 5.1 crap :doh: It's not subtle...

Oh dear, I can see me going on the hunt for an external decoder now :eek: No way am I going to be deprived of playing any region blu ray so these players are staying ;)

[jon1]

Jon, spin the elements of life blu ray & switch from the stereo track to the DTS-MA track & tell me what happens :eyebrows:

Obviously have all channels running switch back & forth between the two...

In the case of my BD player I think Stewart is bang on the money :rolleyes: In stereo the sound is simply stunning, switch to the DTS-MA track & it sounds like some kind of compressed 5.1 crap :doh: It's not subtle...

Oh dear, I can see me going on the hunt for an external decoder now :eek: No way am I going to be deprived of playing any region blu ray so these players are staying ;)





Steady up mark the 5.1.rocks:fingers:




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

:lol: I thought that would be the case ;)

I think it'd be cheaper to get a new player just for in this room than find the cash for some damn expensive external decoder... Mr Grants' OPPO 95 with region free blu ray mods look interesting...

Just need to find out if they fully decode DTS-MA & the Dolby equivalent ;)

[jon1]

:lol: I thought that would be the case ;)

I think it'd be cheaper to get a new player just for in this room than find the cash for some damn expensive external decoder... Mr Grants' OPPO 95 with region free blu ray mods look interesting...

Just need to find out if they fully decode DTS-MA & the Dolby equivalent ;)





That is the one:eyebrows:sabre 32 reference dac on all channels...the .eastern electric dac i have has a sabre 32 dac in it..all i can say it is excellent;)



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Had a PM from Mark yesterday evening, the Oppo BDP-95EU apparently does indeed fully decode all known movie codecs on blu ray :yay:

I'm sure he'll be on to mention this as I'm sure I remember he said he would? :scratch:

Anyway, I now have to wait until he gets them in stock (about a fortnight) & then I'll grab the multi-zone version rather quickly :D Going to be an interesting xmas going over loads of stuff again, first up will be Tiesto though :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Had a PM from Mark yesterday evening, the Oppo BDP-95EU apparently does indeed fully decode all known movie codecs on blu ray :yay:

I'm sure he'll be on to mention this as I'm sure I remember he said he would? :scratch:

Anyway, I now have to wait until he gets them in stock (about a fortnight) & then I'll grab the multi-zone version rather quickly :D Going to be an interesting xmas going over loads of stuff again, first up will be Tiesto though :eyebrows:







Nice one mark:cool:Going up market:eyebrows:



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Got no choice really, I just don't fancy forking out for a processor :rolleyes: How much I'd have to spend to make it worthwhile it starts getting scary :eyebrows:

So I'll have a spare blu ray player...

Better than a bigger hole in my bank balance I reckon :lol:

[jon1]

Got no choice really, I just don't fancy forking out for a processor :rolleyes: How much I'd have to spend to make it worthwhile it starts getting scary :eyebrows:

So I'll have a spare blu ray player...

Better than a bigger hole in my bank balance I reckon :lol:





Their will be a big difference in the sound department ....i guess you will be using 5.1 or 7.1 analogues connection's?:eyebrows:..look forward to your comments;)



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

To start with I'll be listening to 4.0 :scratch: :lol:

I'll set the sub output to zero (no sub fitted) which forces the bass to both front left & right speakers & likewise with the centre dialogue channel.

Eventually there will be a centre channel speaker & the one that I have listed (that should be in place but is still brand new in the box - all £3000 of it :eek: Cost less than £1000 new though ;)) will go next door into another system. Then it'll be 5.0...

No subs though as the main stereo speakers do enough rumble in the jungle now, but the new ones when built may well pull the door off of it's hinges :D


Yes I'm looking forward to it, I might invest in a set of 5 x G1000HD to as I see Mark does them cheaper if bought with the player 5674

Don't talk to me about those things you bought :eyebrows: I'm not that well off - yet :lol:


I'm sure you'll hear me gasping at the SACD/DVDA & DTS-MA quality in about a fortnight if delivery to MG is on time...

[jon1]

To start with I'll be listening to 4.0 :scratch: :lol:

I'll set the sub output to zero (no sub fitted) which forces the bass to both front left & right speakers & likewise with the centre dialogue channel.

Eventually there will be a centre channel speaker & the one that I have listed (that should be in place but is still brand new in the box - all £3000 of it :eek: Cost less than £1000 new though ;)) will go next door into another system. Then it'll be 5.0...

No subs though as the main stereo speakers do enough rumble in the jungle now, but the new ones when built may well pull the door off of it's hinges :D


Yes I'm looking forward to it, I might invest in a set of 5 x G1000HD to as I see Mark does them cheaper if bought with the player 5674

Don't talk to me about those things you bought :eyebrows: I'm not that well off - yet :lol:


I'm sure you'll hear me gasping at the SACD/DVDA & DTS-MA quality in about a fortnight if delivery to MG is on time...






:rave:





jon

[jon1]

To start with I'll be listening to 4.0 :scratch: :lol:

I'll set the sub output to zero (no sub fitted) which forces the bass to both front left & right speakers & likewise with the centre dialogue channel.

Eventually there will be a centre channel speaker & the one that I have listed (that should be in place but is still brand new in the box - all £3000 of it :eek: Cost less than £1000 new though ;)) will go next door into another system. Then it'll be 5.0...

No subs though as the main stereo speakers do enough rumble in the jungle now, but the new ones when built may well pull the door off of it's hinges :D


Yes I'm looking forward to it, I might invest in a set of 5 x G1000HD to as I see Mark does them cheaper if bought with the player 5674

Don't talk to me about those things you bought :eyebrows: I'm not that well off - yet :lol:


I'm sure you'll hear me gasping at the SACD/DVDA & DTS-MA quality in about a fortnight if delivery to MG is on time...






BTW mark i only run 5.0 through my setup:eyebrows:no sub;)



jon

[bluenose24]

BTW mark i only run 5.0 through my setup:eyebrows:no sub;)



jon

I can vouch after a few demo's of various films yesterday no sub required in jons setup!!!!! ooophhhhhhhh the slam and detail :stalks: nice and tight :cool:

You cant go wrong with marks cables i have the 1000's,1500 and a 2000 as my coaxial but jons pure silver just make a system that sounds great even better if detail and clarity is ya thing then these babies are just the ticket!!!!

http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu154/bluenose24/IMG_0839.jpg

nev

[jon1]

Nev... had a word with mark today a bout a oppo 95;):eyebrows:Will have wait two weeks though:)



jon

[bluenose24]

Nev... had a word with mark today a bout a oppo 95;):eyebrows:Will have wait two weeks though:)



jon

Should be gd match with ya dacs mind! What ya gonna do with ya pioneer?

[jon1]

Should be gd match with ya dacs mind! What ya gonna do with ya pioneer?





Leave it where it is:eyebrows:



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

John, if your Pioneer does exactly what it says on the tin, then why are you after an Oppo? Is it because of the zone free stuff? I must admit that I could never consider any BD or DVD player if it couldn't play any & every region/zone ;) I do have quite a few zone A discs & they often tend to be much cheaper on the bay as not everyone can play them :cool:

[jon1]

John, if your Pioneer does exactly what it says on the tin, then why are you after an Oppo? Is it because of the zone free stuff? I must admit that I could never consider any BD or DVD player if it couldn't play any & every region/zone ;) I do have quite a few zone A discs & they often tend to be much cheaper on the bay as not everyone can play them :cool:




Mark i can plug my hard drives in.... I use a ac ryan for the hd's at this moment ....get a few sacd's..and to try the sabre 32 dac:eyebrows:..And like what you said their the option for MR blurays



jon

[jon1]

BTW mark how many bd players do you have?.... hmm:lolsign:




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Looks like we'll both be receiving one about the same time then :eyebrows: These newer ones I'm thinking should already have the updates built in to play MP3, I have a few MP3 CDs at 320kbps...

Looks like I'll only need the one player in here if that's the case as it'll play absolutely everything that I could throw at it :)

The Oppo will make 4 BD players :rolleyes: I'll only need 3 in all honesty, but at least I get zone free BD in every setup :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Looks like we'll both be receiving one about the same time then :eyebrows: These newer ones I'm thinking should already have the updates built in to play MP3, I have a few MP3 CDs at 320kbps...

Looks like I'll only need the one player in here if that's the case as it'll play absolutely everything that I could throw at it :)

The Oppo will make 4 BD players :rolleyes: I'll only need 3 in all honesty, but at least I get zone free BD in every setup :eyebrows:






Mark it has the mp3 update;) I ask MG about this:eyebrows:




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Mark it has the mp3 update;) I ask MG about this:eyebrows:




jon
Sorted :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Sorted :eyebrows:






Two happy bunnies:dance::cool:..Toys for boys well it is coming up xmas:eyebrows:



jon

[bluenose24]

Will be interested to see what you think about the oppo Jon!

[jon1]

Will be interested to see what you think about the oppo Jon!






I.. see how it goes nev:eyebrows:It will be no different to yours in the pic department just the sound;)




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

I.. see how it goes nev:eyebrows:It will be no different to yours in the pic department just the sound;)

jon
Why, what has Nev got? I can only praise the Panasonic DMP-BD80 for picture quality, it destroyed the Sony BDS-P550 on blu ray & totally killed it on DVD upsampling. Apparently the Oppos are even better, so I guess Nev has a modern Oppo?

[bluenose24]

Why, what has Nev got? I can only praise the Panasonic DMP-BD80 for picture quality, it destroyed the Sony BDS-P550 on blu ray & totally killed it on DVD upsampling. Apparently the Oppos are even better, so I guess Nev has a modern Oppo?

Yes mate I have the oppo 93 great player! Love been able to play stuff from hdd :eyebrows:

[Reid Malenfant]

Oh I forgot one of the most important things that also makes me want to love the spec of this Oppo player ;) I have a 21/9 TV or superwidescreen Philips jobby, any subtitles are in the black bars at the bottom & on a 2.35:1 film I don't get the black bars because of the TV design.

The Oppo can physically move the subtitles onto the screen as it's designed to be used with constant height cinema screens :) So no more moving the picture up on the Philips TV to get the subs :eyebrows:

If it makes Marmite on toast then that'll be the icing on the cake :D

[bluenose24]

Oh I forgot one of the most important things that also makes me want to love the spec of this Oppo player ;) I have a 21/9 TV or superwidescreen Philips jobby, any subtitles are in the black bars at the bottom & on a 2.35:1 film I don't get the black bars because of the TV design.

The Oppo can physically move the subtitles onto the screen as it's designed to be used with constant height cinema screens :) So no more moving the picture up on the Philips TV to get the subs :eyebrows:

If it makes Marmite on toast then that'll be the icing on the cake :D

They are the nuts like matey :cool:

[Reid Malenfant]

They are the nuts like matey :cool:
Won't be long now :yay: Decided to go with some MG cables as well...

Before John pipes up they are not what he's got, I don't own the royal mint after all :eyebrows:

[bluenose24]

Won't be long now :yay: Decided to go with some MG cables as well...

Before John pipes up they are not what he's got, I don't own the royal mint after all :eyebrows:

Which you going for? I have a pair of 1000s n a pair of 1500s n a 2000 as my coaxial mg cables are very tidy to say the least

That aside jons setup is very detailed following his purchase of those silver jobbies!

[Reid Malenfant]

1500s ;) A set of 5 as I don't need the 0.1 channel..

[bluenose24]

1500s ;) A set of 5 as I don't need the 0.1 channel..

You won't be disappointed! I'm Thinking of upgrading mine like :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Is this the mark and nev's thread?:lolsign:




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Is this the mark and nev thread?:lolsign:

jon
Looks like the (in alphabetical order) John, Mark & Nev thread from where I'm sitting :eyebrows:

I think you started it though John, about 70 posts ago :scratch:

[Arfa]

Been reading through this thread with great interest. I was going to chip in and say, decoding on the player or processor to LPCM should make no odds. If, either sound different, then one is not decoding properly and probably broken.

But, if as mentioned, the player isn't decoding the lossless stream and just decoding the lossy component, then yeah there will be a big difference. Curious to know if my Sony BDP-S550 is actually decoding stuff properly now...

You see I was under the impression, its best for the player to do all Dolby/DTS decoding and send out either LPCM (over HDMI) or analogue. This way it could mux in commentaries etc, which isn't possible when sending out bitstream.

Similarly, I'm put off by the price of posh HDMI enabled processors. Currently have a Primare SP31.7 which I feed over 5.1 analogue from the Sony S550. The Primare SP32 costs a bomb, well out of budget!

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Arthur, I own the same Sony & I can tell you for a fact that if you are using the analogue outputs for your 5.1 signal then the Sony will just be decoding the lossy part of DTS-MA & Dolby True HD.

It can spit the lossless stuff out to a processor or AV amp that can decode it via the HDMI cable. This is what I want to get away from though hense me looking for a player that fully decodes both internally & the full datastream, not just the lossy bit ;)

[bluenose24]

Hi Arthur, I own the same Sony & I can tell you for a fact that if you are using the analogue outputs for your 5.1 signal then the Sony will just be decoding the lossy part of DTS-MA & Dolby True HD.

It can spit the lossless stuff out to a processor or AV amp that can decode it via the HDMI cable. This is what I want to get away from though hense me looking for a player that fully decodes both internally & the full datastream, not just the lossy bit ;)

That and having the sound done by the anologue side of things than the hdmi sound much better to my ears must admit:)

Has been a great learning curve from my all in one Sony str820 av amp opppppph:lolsign:

Nev

[jon1]

Looks like the (in alphabetical order) John, Mark & Nev thread from where I'm sitting :eyebrows:

I think you started it though John, about 70 posts ago :scratch:






And still going strong:eyebrows:Wait till the oppo's arrive;)



jon

[jon1]

Mark six days to go..plus posting..you will be getting full loss-less sound through a sabre dac:yay:



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Mark six days to go..plus posting..you will be getting full loss-less sound through a sabre dac:yay:



jon
:lolsign: I'm patient John, it's next year I'm really looking forward to & a load of speakers getting built ;)

While the Oppo is definately welcome as I'm sure it will enhance the SQ of the stuff that my Panny doesn't decode properly, it'll pale into insignificance compared to the difference these speakers will make - but to the whole system, stereo or surround :eyebrows:

I'm definately looking forward to it though, it's just I know for a fact that I'll get much more of a buzz when I have built those speakers :lol: It's easy to splash cash if you have it, it's not easy to do what I'm going to do in building a one off set of monsters ;)

So as Michael Winner says... "Calm down dear" :D

[jon1]

:lolsign: I'm patient John, it's next year I'm really looking forward to & a load of speakers getting built ;)

While the Oppo is definately welcome as I'm sure it will enhance the SQ of the stuff that my Panny doesn't decode properly, it'll pale into insignificance compared to the difference these speakers will make - but to the whole system, stereo or surround :eyebrows:

I'm definately looking forward to it though, it's just I know for a fact that I'll get much more of a buzz when I have built those speakers :lol: It's easy to splash cash if you have it, it's not easy to do what I'm going to do in building a one off set of monsters ;)

So as Michael Winner says... "Calm down dear" :D






How many speakers are we looking at mark?:eyebrows:


jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Five, a pair of stereo fronts, centre & two surrounds ;)

[jon1]

Five, a pair of stereo fronts, centre & two surrounds ;)






How long do you think it will be before you Finnish them?;)..All matching:eyebrows:



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

All matching & before the end of 2012. I'll be giving up the :cool: & the :smoking:

I'm beginning to get even more unhealthy than my back would give me credit for :rolleyes:

[jon1]

All matching & before the end of 2012. I'll be giving up the :cool: & the :smoking:

I'm beginning to get even more unhealthy than my back would give me credit for :rolleyes:





Grin and bear it think of the end game..quality sound:eyebrows:




jon

[jon1]

Mark do not for get to post in this thread on your findings;):D



john

[jon1]

Well mark what are your findings regarding decoding in bd player ?..are they better than a dedicated processor?:eyebrows:




jon

[Reid Malenfant]

John, I can't comment on that as I have never used a dedicated processor :)

However, the Oppo is a different kettle of fish compared to any BD player I have spun BDs on previously :eyebrows:

I never had access to PCM 5.1 tracks (uncompressed) on other players & none of them decoded the full fat DTS-MA or Dolby-TrueHD...

As you know the Oppo does :D The difference in audio tracks is in no way insignificant, it's a bloody revelation!

It's like comparing an MP3 track to an SACD track... There is that much difference between what I was listening to previously to what I'm hearing nowadays. No more lossy part of the CODEC, it's now the whole lot & it'd have been worth it just for that upgrading (which is why I went for it), but the picture happens to beat all previous BD players to as well...

Double bonus :D

Dave (synsei) saw & heard the system prior to the Oppo & post Oppo, he was impressed with the differences in both video & audio.

Not too difficult to see differences when the screen is over 100" :eyebrows:

[jon1]

John, I can't comment on that as I have never used a dedicated processor :)

However, the Oppo is a different kettle of fish compared to any BD player I have spun BDs on previously :eyebrows:

I never had access to PCM 5.1 tracks (uncompressed) on other players & none of them decoded the full fat DTS-MA or Dolby-TrueHD...

As you know the Oppo does :D The difference in audio tracks is in no way insignificant, it's a bloody revelation!

It's like comparing an MP3 track to an SACD track... There is that much difference between what I was listening to previously to what I'm hearing nowadays. No more lossy part of the CODEC, it's now the whole lot & it'd have been worth it just for that upgrading (which is why I went for it), but the picture happens to beat all previous BD players to as well...

Double bonus :D

Dave (synsei) saw & heard the system prior to the Oppo & post Oppo, he was impressed with the differences in both video & audio.

Not too difficult to see differences when the screen is over 100" :eyebrows:






Mark LPCM 5.1 i still think's it is the best:cool:Looks like you are one happy camper?;)



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Mark LPCM 5.1 i still think's it is the best:cool:


jon
Hi John, yes you may have noticed that last night I was getting down with The Fifth Element which had both Dolby True HD & LPCM 5.1 sound tracks... The LPCM one won the toss :eyebrows:

Both are lossless, it's just I preferred the LPCM soundtrack as it sounded less compressed, constrained... Not that there is a lot of difference between them you understand.

I just prefered the LPCM track as it sounded more vibrant & open :) There were bigger differences between the loud & soft portions of the soundtrack - more dynamic range!

DTS-MA though appears to wipe the floor with Dolby True HD on other stuff I have spun recently :eyebrows: I'd expect things to be different or a whole lot harder to differentiate :cool:

[jon1]

Hi John, yes you may have noticed that last night I was getting down with The Fifth Element which had both Dolby True HD & LPCM 5.1 sound tracks... The LPCM one won the toss :eyebrows:

Both are lossless, it's just I preferred the LPCM soundtrack as it sounded less compressed, constrained... Not that there is a lot of difference between them you understand.

I just prefer the LPCM track as it sounded more vibrant & open :) There were bigger differences between the loud & soft portions of the soundtrack - more dynamic range!

DTS-MA though appears to wipe the floor with Dolby True HD on other stuff I have spun recently :eyebrows: I'd expect things to be different or a whole lot harder to differentiate :cool:







Dts master comes in as a good second Ive always preferred LPCM 5.1 to dts master..but keep that quite:D


jon

[Reid Malenfant]

I don't think I have come accross a whole lot that have both DTS-MA & LPCM multitracks, if any :scratch: Open to suggestions on films, I might have them!

So right now it'd be a toss up :eyebrows: However I generally find that DTS-MA tends to be recorded at a higher level which might well sway things to someone that dosn't know about dynamic range ;)

Louder = better... Maybe not..


I'll keep you informed of my opinions John, just need to come accross a BD with the right soundtracks :D

[jon1]

I don't think I have come across a whole lot that have both DTS-MA & LPCM multi tracks, if any :scratch: Open to suggestions on films, I might have them!

So right now it'd be a toss up :eyebrows: However I generally find that DTS-MA tends to be recorded at a higher level which might well sway things to someone that doesn't know about dynamic range ;)

Louder = better... Maybe not..


I'll keep you informed of my opinions John, just need to come across a BD with the right soundtracks :D







Mark try res evil 2 PCM sound track shockingly good:eek::D



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

I do have that one :)

[jon1]

I do have that one :)







Have you tried it?:)



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Not since I have installed the Oppo no, I do have rather a lot of blu rays & quite a few I haven't even watched yet :doh:

This should give you the idea (http://www.blu-ray.com/community/collection.php?member=Reid+Malenfant) :eek: By the way, that list isn't complete, I need to update it :eyebrows:

[jon1]

Not since I have installed the Oppo no, I do have rather a lot of blu rays & quite a few I haven't even watched yet :doh:

This should give you the idea (http://www.blu-ray.com/community/collection.php?member=Reid+Malenfant) :eek: By the way, that list isn't complete, I need to update it :eyebrows:






Mark you have a substantial collection of bd movies:stalks:And i am not bloody looking at that lot:eek::D..BTW mark nice one:thumbsup:



john

[Mark Grant]

I do have rather a lot of blu rays & quite a few I haven't even watched yet :doh:

This should give you the idea (http://www.blu-ray.com/community/collection.php?member=Reid+Malenfant) :eek: By the way, that list isn't complete, I need to update it :eyebrows:

That's an impressive collection :stalks:

have you watched this one yet:
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Alien-Anthology-Blu-ray/13623/
that's something I must buy as have only got the DVD's.

bargain at Amazon:)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alien-Anthology-Blu-ray-Sigourney-Weaver/dp/B003AQBYUG

Pleased you are enjoying the OPPO 95.:cool:

[Reid Malenfant]

Yes I have that Mark, unfortunately I have only watched Aliens so far :rolleyes: I just fancied striking up the projector one evening & as it's the only 1.85:1 film in the set it got spun :D

Well worth getting them, going on what I saw the picture quality is stunning :eyebrows:

[Mark Grant]

Not wanting to go too much off subject, but which is the best to buy out of these two from Amazon? Is the newer one different.

6 discs and was released 25 October 2010 and is £14.99 today:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alien-Anthology-Blu-ray-Sigourney-Weaver/dp/B003AQBYUG

or 4 discs and was released 16th January 2012 and is £24.49 today:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006MGB31Q/

6 discs looks best unless something has been improved in the transfer on the films on the newer version.

[Reid Malenfant]

:lol: Oooeeer Mrs :scratch:

Well the original 6 disc jobby has the 4 films spread over 4 discs & 2 discs of extras ;) I can only imagine that if you get 4 discs in the newer version that you either aren't getting all the extra stuff or you do, but it's crammed onto the film discs :scratch:

Put it like this, it's already remastered on the 6 disc version & you get all the extended versions of films where that was done. I can't see any advantage in paying more for less :mental:

[jon1]

Mark did you manage to give res evil 2 a spin?:D



jon

[Reid Malenfant]

Not yet & not tonight either as I'm in the mood for something else ;)

[jon1]

Not yet & not tonight either as I'm in the mood for something else ;)






Please do tell kind sir:D



jon