Does anyone know of any HD DVD players with 7.1 outputs? I assume the on board processor of the HD DVD player would ouput HD audio thru the analog outputs. I do plan to upgrade my 970 with a future HD audio Outlaw model when they come out.

The Panasonic BD10A has 7.1 analog outputs, as does Denon's player. Be aware, though, that I don't know how much 7.1 content exists or if those players will provide matrix processing to produce 7.1 from 5.1 sourcs.

I don't think that any of the current HD DVD players have 7.1 analog out. (The Panny Gonk mentions is a Blu-ray player.)

I think, however, that the Samsung dual-format (HD DVD & Blu-ray) player that is to be released relatively soon does have 7.1 out.

Good point, Bob. I must have spaced on that - there are that couple of Blu-ray players with 7.1 analog outputs, but no HD-DVD players. The Samsung combo also looks like an interesting player for a number of reasons.

Thanks guys for your response.I think I will wait until future processor comes out with HDMI for both the video and audio.

Keep in mind though I think only 2 HD DVDs (Bali and Ghost from Mae Nak in Germany) on the planet feature 7.1 audio.

With a little help from my kids for Christmas it looks like I will be getting the new Samsang BD-UP5000 Blu-ray/HD player instead of waitng for the new Outlaw HD pre-pro. I was hoping I could get a little advice on the HD audio multichannel PCM connections and set up to my current 970. I have not worked with a DVD player that has a built in decoding processor that requies speaker size set up from the DVD player. I guess my question is should the 970 or the DVD player do the bass management. Depending on the answer any recommendation on the actual settings for the speakers/sub. I currently have full range large mains with a medium size center with small surrounds. My HT room is large (16'W x 25'L) so I am running two sub woofers front - back.

The speaker setting at the 970/7125 are as follows:

Mains L/R - set to small crossover set to 60hz
Center - small crossover set to 80hz
Surrounds L/R- small crossover set to 100hz
Surrounds Back L/R - small crossover set to 100hz
(2)x 12" 500W subs - setting Yes

Well, I don't want to rain on your parade, but the Samsung 5000 (on it's current firmware at least) can't decode Dolby EX and DTS-ES on SD DVD, only 5.1 max. The player also can't decode Dolby TrueHD on HD DVD and Blu-ray in 5.1 or 7.1, only 2.0 stereo.

The Dobly TrueHD issue is pretty big since there are quite a few HD/BDs that have that type of audio and Blu-ray especially seems to be slowly shifting away from PCM to TrueHD audio.

Thanks sehnzeleid,

It's a good thing I have not ordered it let. I think the spec I read on this DVD player is miss leading. It states that it has surround sound thanks to built-in decoding for DD Plus, DD TrueHD, DTS-HD and uncompressed PCM for receiver that have analog inputs. The manual even shows the analog connections for this set up to the receiver.

Are you saying that it will not even pass DD-EX thru an optical connection to my 970. How about the HDMI version 1.3 for receivers that have surround HD decoding?

sehnzelied,

I found a review on this player that answered my last questions.

Thanks for you input.

It will pass Dolby EX via optical, but sehnzeleid is saying that it won't decode Dolby EX internally and output as multichannel analog. That's common - the only player I know of that has internal Dolby EX decoding is the OPPO 980H. Also, many companies have been a bit unclear about how their players support DD+, TrueHD, and DTS-HD. First, DTS-HD typically refers only to DTS-HD High Resolution, not DTS-HD Master Audio (which is the lossless form of DTS-HD, equivalent to TrueHD or raw multichannel PCM). Because DTS-HD MA isn't specifically mentioned, it's a safe bet that MA isn't supported. Second, the TrueHD thing is peculiar and unpleasantly misleading. They list it as having a TrueHD decoder, but don't mention what limitations might exist. Toshiba had a similar limitation with the HD-A1 and HD-XA1 originally, but resolved it with a firmware update. I guess there's hope that Samsung can do the same. Also, there is a lot of double-talk with players that can pass a bitstream of the new formats. Here's a blurb from Samsung's site:
They say that TrueHD is supported by HDMI v1.3, which means that it isn't supported by multichannel analog or by HDMI v1.1 - thus, all it can do is pass the bitstream to a receiver that can decode it. That sort of hints at the limitation, at the same time that it seems to contradict the specs.

Thanks Gonk for your response