Roy Batty Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 So I have finally managed to get some more of my speakers from out of the basement and connected to my receiver, but then I discover something truly horrifying. When I instruct my Sharp BD-HP20X to play the Linear PCM soundtrack, assuming the disc has one, I only get sound out of two of the channels. The other three channels and sub just sit there in stony silence. Fearing the worst, I went to a local retailer and, after vainly trying to make clear my concerns, purchase a new receiver. Unfortunately, the exact same thing happens. Dolby Digital, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS MA, and DTS HD all fire on 5.1 channels, but Linear PCM 5.1 always comes out as 2.0 regardless of what I try. So now I am trying to figure out exactly what the hell I am doing wrong. Is this a problem with the player? Did Sharp really release a player that cannot send out an uncompressed signal via the optical port in 5.1 channels? Is the new receiver a waste of money? *sigh*
digitalj Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 optical can not send uncompressed audio signals, other than PCM 2.0 you need a HDMI connection to take advantage of lossless soundtracks with more than 2 channels.
Roy Batty Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Where can I find such a receiver? My budget is a bit tight but I will go with whatever can do the job for the lowest bid.
Roy Batty Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Will investigate them and report any findings I come up with. Cheers.
ekkieTHUMP Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Does your receiver have 5.1 analogue ins?If it does then cables from the 5.1 analogue outs of the Sharp and bobs your sister.
Roy Batty Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 Sharp BD-HP20s cannot output HDMI video and six-channel analogue out at the same time.
ekkieTHUMP Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Sharp BD-HP20s cannot output HDMI video and six-channel analogue out at the same time. That sounds like the dumbest thing i've ever heard but if true then something has to go between your player or receiver.
Roy Batty Posted June 7, 2008 Author Posted June 7, 2008 Indeed, ekkie, it is one of the most retarded things I have thus far encountered in a digital video playback device to date. You really have to wonder what the designers at Sharp were thinking at the time. Was it their intention to penalise enthusiasts for wanting 1080P video, which was the whole point of upgrading in the first place? Or did they just presume that given a choice between Dolby 5.1 and Linear PCM 5.1, anyone with functional eardrums would choose Dolby? The really frustrating thing is that all the Dolby and DTS options get passed on to the receiver just fine, although whether they decode at the full resolution is another story. And who would have thought that finding out whether a receiver has a HDMI audio port could be so difficult? It is almost enough to make this black duck give up and go live in a yurt.
hakka69 Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Sharp BD-HP20s cannot output HDMI video and six-channel analogue out at the same time. Umm, yes it can. I use HDMI for 1080p video and 5.1 analog for audio and I get 5.1 on all PCM discs. What are your settings in the AV section of the Hp-20, what receiver do you have? If you are connected via optical, there's nothing to be gained by selecting the PCM track, use the DD5.1 track instead. Hakka.
hakka69 Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 OK, just found that you have a sony receiver with 5.1 inputs. Use these, not optical. Go into speaker setup on the HP-20, make sure the surrounds and centre are turned on. Make sure the disc you are using has a 5.1 PCM track, not a 2 channel PCM track. Some concert BluRays have PCM at 192khz, these will be played back as 2 channel as stated in the manual, this is not unique to the HP-20, most players will do this. Try a Dolby/DTS track through the 5.1 analogs, if you only get 2 channel then look at your receiver settings, if you get surround look at your HP-20 settings. I'm not near my player at the moment but I'll see if I can find anything else that would cause this when I get home. Don't rush out and buy a new receiver just yet, the player is definately capable of outputting HDMI video and 5.1 analog pcm at the same time. Hakka.
ekkieTHUMP Posted June 8, 2008 Posted June 8, 2008 Go into speaker setup on the HP-20, make sure the surrounds and centre are turned on.Don't rush out and buy a new receiver just yet, the player is definately capable of outputting HDMI video and 5.1 analog pcm at the same time. Hakka. This makes sense RB.Most BD players default PCM setting is 2 channel.That was the case with the Pana BD30,you have to go to the menus and enable 5.1 PCM on that one.
Roy Batty Posted June 8, 2008 Author Posted June 8, 2008 *Confused look* Okay, some things I am slow on. Its just the way I am. Please be patient with me. It was in this here forum when I posted about my inability to get the six-channel out working and having the TV speakers rattle incessantly that I was told the BD-HP20X could not output both at the same time. Since then I have just assumed that to be so. Looking in setup menu now... there appears to be no option to switch speakers on or off in the speaker settings, just speaker size, distance, and level. Audio output simply lists HDMI Out, Coaxial/Optical Out, 2-Channel Out, and 5.1-Channel Out... Will keep poking at it for a while.
Roy Batty Posted June 8, 2008 Author Posted June 8, 2008 *No longer confused* Okay, I went through the options and selected the 5.1-channel analogue outs. Then loaded a disc to test with, and it works fine. Thanks to everyone who replied, very happy I got that sorted out.
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