I recently purchased a new Aperion system and I had a question before it arrives.  Currently I'm using my Playstation 3 for Blu-Ray movie playback.  I have read that the Playstation 3 doesn't have the ability to output the TrueHD and DTS HD formats in bitstream.  It does however do the decoding itself with the latest firmware of these formats.  My question is: Does outputting PCM from the Playstation cause any issues with playing back TrueHD or DTS HD?  The receiver I will be using is the Onkyo TX-SR 706.  I know the receiver will decode the bitstream properly, but I don't know about the PCM from the Playstation.  Any help/reassurance is greatly appreciated.

I am not a Guru, but I do have a PS3 and wondered about this as well.

No it should not cause any issues. When playing back a BD with DTS HD and TrueHD, PCM from the Playstation is the already decoded multi-channel audio contained in these surround formats. Your receiver should not have a problem with PCM from the PS3.

---

Jim

Yup, Jim nailed it. One thing that freaks out some people though, is since it is being sent as PCM, your receiver will not indicate DTS, or TrueHD....It will just show PCM. But rest assured, you are getting it.

---

Scottiemon

Don't get fooled by the manufacturers. You don't need a receiver that does onboard decoding of the new audio formats to enjoy them.  Of course, many new AVR's are offering them. You can save tons of money and get better performance buying an older used AVR.  For example a Denon AVR-3806 can be had for $350...The beafier components and power supply in this unit would blow a Yamaha RX-V663 away and you still get your multichannel PCM!  Translation... You get your Blue Ray HD audio formats.  But I'm a cheap *** and want the best I can get for the cheapest. 

 Here is a good FAQ to read up on: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=738511 

IFyou love your current receiver but it doesn't have HDMI connections do not fear.  You can still get multichannel PCM to enjoy the new audio formats.  Alls you need is a Blue Ray player with multichannel outputs.

 

 

Thanks everyone for your help.  This basically confirms what I already thought but I just wanted to make sure.  I read somewhere that it's actually better to have your player decode anyways because it allows you to switch audio formats on the fly easier without problems.  Is this true?