DTS sound from PS3

[Daragon]

Right, well I've altered my options to the same as those above, I'm still getting really quiet main menu music though, and voices in cutscenes are quiet (in game ones are okay). Everything else is fine.

[Matt]

And voices in films are OK?

In that case, it's just weird. Sorry I have no real idea

Same dev right, so maybe some ultra odd case how they export their cutscene audio? It's bizarre.

[NekoFever]

What's your Z-5500's decoder box showing as the incoming format? I assume it's showing DTS.

[Daragon]

It does yeah.

[Spatial]

This thread has given me comfort that it isn't just me that gets the **** confused out of them when trying to sort out sound from the PS3.

DTS is horribly flat and missing lots of detail whenever I try to use it. I spent ages tinkering with all the PS3 options and the options on my Onkyo amp and in the end just stuck the PS3 output on linear and let the amp mix everything in surround. Sounds fantastic that way (for me at least) - loads of detail, proper spatial mixing and plenty off 'omph!' from all the speakers.

Not much help I know, other than you aren't the only one.

[Brad]

This mayb have been covered already but the following settings are optimal for your setup mate:

A) Settings->Sound Settings->Audio Output Settings:

Dolby - on
DTS- on
AAC - on
44.1 - on
88.2 - on
176.4 - OFF!!!
48 - on
96 - on
192 - OFF!!!

B) Setting->Video Settings->BD Audio Output Format (Optical Digital)
Set to Bitstream

If it still sounds duff after than then you either a) have something physically wired up wrong or b)Have adjusted something wrong on the Logitech.

[Spatial]

Out of interest, what's the reason for those two frequencies being knocked off?

[Brad]

His amp doesn't support those frequencies (neither does mine).

[Spatial]

Ah, I thought it might be something more to do with them having a general effects on DTS.

I know the PS3 is suppoed to choose the appropriate one automatically, but I never quite trust it.

Because (and which comes to another thing I've noticed with Blu-ray playback on the PS3 that has been bugging me for a while) if you pull up the display during a movie it'll tell you the sound source and bitrate.

Take something like District 9 which seemed to be DTS-HD only. How does that work if my amp isn't set up for DTS? The surround sound seemed to be working just fine, but is it having a detrimental effect on the overall quality? Or does it not matter?

[NekoFever]

Because (and which comes to another thing I've noticed with Blu-ray playback on the PS3 that has been bugging me for a while) if you pull up the display during a movie it'll tell you the sound source and bitrate.

Take something like District 9 which seemed to be DTS-HD only. How does that work if my amp isn't set up for DTS? The surround sound seemed to be working just fine, but is it having a detrimental effect on the overall quality? Or does it not matter?

What are the specifics of your amp? It doesn't have DTS at all? In that case I don't see how you could be getting anything other than stereo PCM, because you need HDMI for multichannel PCM from a PS3 and I really doubt that there are HDMI-equipped amps that can't handle basic DTS.

But yeah, audio setup on the PS3 is a horrible mess made more complicated by its little 'quirks'. I know my stuff and it's still a pain.

[sj33]

The PS3 behaves more like the average consumer device, in fairness.

[NekoFever]

I've seen much better-designed audio setups, and on players with more output options.

All it should need to know is HDMI or optical for digital audio - if it's HDMI the receiver or TV can tell it what formats it supports, and if it's optical the limits are going to be defined by the protocol (DD/DTS up to 5.1 or 2.0 PCM). Even with allowances for other features like dynamic range compression, there's no reason for all the complexity that it throws up when you dig into the PS3's audio settings. It must be really intimidating for someone who really doesn't know what they're doing.

I mean, I got a new standalone the other week, and all I did was tell it to use HDMI and to bitstream the audio. All the rest of the setup was done automatically between my receiver and the player.

[Brad]

There's no way - thruu optical - that any player can know if your amp supports the higher frequencies. Those options have to be there. I don't know about other blu-ray players but maybe the ps3's ability to upscale cd audio, the super audio cd support in the first batch and the fact that it's a gaming console all have something to do with it also.

[NekoFever]

I'm pretty sure that the specification for audio transmission over optical has defined limits to what can be pushed down it. If you have a PS3 that can play SACD, for example, and you're using optical, you can only get stereo or 5.1 DTS from them, compared to the full-quality 5.1 PCM that it'll output over HDMI.

Hardware is free to ignore the spec as long as the optical cable is technically capable of cramming the signal down itself, of course, which is why you can get hardware that does 24-bit audio over optical when the spec only allows for up to 20-bit, but if your standards are that exacting I doubt you're using a PS3 to handle your audio.

[The Seventh Taylor]

If you have a PS3 that can play SACD, for example, and you're using optical, you can only get stereo or 5.1 DTS from them, compared to the full-quality 5.1 PCM that it'll output over HDMI.

And the 5.1 DTS you will get only with firmware v2.00 -- no earlier or later version.