Hi all,

I wondered if there was any possibility of a software upgrade to the 990 that would allow decoding of the new digital audio formats (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD). I searched around and found this thread , which didn't look promising.

However, I also found a recent press release from Toshiba that seems to indicate that DD+ and DTS-HD content will be output over S/PDIF:

"The new HD DVD players can pass digital information to a Surround Sound Processor/Receiver via S/PDIF or HDMI. For Dolby Digital and DTS, the bitstream will be passed through both connections just as in a standard DVD player with the same interfaces. Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD content will be converted to a standard bitstream format that is compatible with any processor equipped with decoders of the respective formats and output through S/PDIF and HDMI. Additionally, all the audio formats for either DVD or HD DVD will be decoded to PCM and output via HDMI in either stereo or multi-channel."

So, I wondered if there was any hope of having the 990 handle the decoding of DD+ and DTS-HD. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Bill

Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD, and Dolby TrueHD decoding will have to stay in the player (or other source component) at least until HDMI 1.3 is published and hardware is released for it - until then, there is no way to pass a digital bitstream of any of these formats out of the source component. Dolby Digital Plus will produce a standard Dolby Digital track that can be passed over coaxial or optical output, and I suspect that DTS-HD will do the same. That's what they mean by "converted to a standard bitstream format" - the standard format we've been using. Until HDMI 1.3 exists, the only way to get these formats is for the player to either decode the signal and convert it to analog (in which case a 7.1 analog output would deliver it to the receiver or processor) or decode the signal to eight channels of PCM digital audio (in which case it would be carried over the HDMI interface).

What the Toshiba press release doesn't state is that when the decoded-to-PCM bitstream is passed via S/PDIF PCM it is downconverted to the equivalent bitrate (and quality) of today's DD/DTS. When the decoded-to-PCM bitstream is passed via HDMI 1.1 the (HDMI 1.1-compliant) prepro receives the full resolution signal and processes it. The latter is what Anthem is stating they will have on the D2, real soon now.

It's "six of one or half a dozen of the other," but does the PCM bitstream even go to coaxial/optical, or is a "downmixed" Dolby Digital or DTS track? The information I'd seen about Dolby's approach was that the SPDIF outputs would get a signal in the DD format we've been using all these years, based on an embedded 5.1 mix that can be automatically converted from DD+ or TrueHD to DD5.1. The bottom line, of course, is exactly the same - you are dealing with a digital signal that offers no higher resolution than we already have on DVD's. The best route for those of us without HDMI 1.1+ audio input capability (which means most of us) is probably going to be 7.1 analog input.

Based on the docs, it'll still be 48kHz sampling rate on the SPDIF outputs, but it'll be a 640kbps DD bitstream, not the 448 or 352 stuff we get on DVD or ATSC. So still has the opportunity to be better than what you are used to today.

DD+ compressed is not outside the bitrate capability of SPDIF, and while Dolby could probably care less, I doubt any format with DD+ encoding, other than ATSC broadcasts when they go that route, will be configured to allow any DD+, TrueHD, or DTS-HD audio to go over unencrypted channels, decoded to multichannel PCM or still compressed.