# Dolby 5.1 through 942 via HDMI?



## cohagen (Oct 27, 2005)

Hello,

I use HDMI to my Panasonic receiver. It all works fairly well. However, it appears to me that I never get more than stereo audio (left/right) into the receiver. My receiver has little lights that show how many channels of audio are coming through. I've never seem more than L-R even when I am watching shows like Rome on HBO-HD that say they are in Dolby 5.1 where available.

Any ideas? I've tried all the Dolby / PCM options in the Menu. Can't recall off the top of my head what the options were.

Thanks

Brandon


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## Mike Johnson (Jan 16, 2005)

Looking back through the forum, it looks like we confirmed that the HDMI connection only carries 2-channel audio. Full Dolby Digital is only available on the optical connector. I can't find that was ever reported as a "bug", so it may have been designed that way. If you are interested in the discussion, do a forum search on "HDMI audio". We talked about it a lot back in April.


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## cohagen (Oct 27, 2005)

God I'm learning to hate Dish.

Talk about *Caveat Emptor* !!!


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

cohagen said:


> God I'm learning to hate Dish.
> 
> Talk about *Caveat Emptor* !!!


Doesn't your receiver take Optical? I would think any receiver new enough to take HDMI would be ready for Optical.


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## cohagen (Oct 27, 2005)

Yes it does.. but my receiver is about 10 meters from the 942. I've already spent a couple of hundred dollars on the HDMI cable. Now I have to buy an optical cable (probably will be cheaper than HDMI thank god).

One of the main advantages to HDMI is having audio and video together. Seems pretty weak to me to only be able to deliver stereo audio. 

In the PDF document of the 942 on the Dish website, it should clearly state this is the case! Total BS in my opinion. How can you put out marketing materials with SPECS and not tell the whole truth?


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## cohagen (Oct 27, 2005)

Ok to be fair, I re-read the PDF. It states...

TV1 connections
• 1 HDTV digital audio/video output.
• 1 set of HD Component (Y Pr Pb) video outputs.
• 1 set RCA-type audio outputs.
• 1 optical digital output for Dolby® Digital and PCM digital audio.

So I guess as I buyer you could infer from this that the HDMI output was stereo only. Oh well...

Now I must buy a 10 meter audio cable and then lucky me I might suffer from some of these syncing problems reported!


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## Mike Johnson (Jan 16, 2005)

cohagen said:


> • 1 HDTV digital audio/video output.


Something else to take note of. Dish originally called this connector "HDMI" but later changed it to "HDTV digital audio/video". In fact my 942 has a sticker that covers the "HDMI" label. I'm not sure why they did this. Maybe they didn't want to pay the license fee. Maybe it doesn't meet the HDMI specification. Whatever the reason, Dish does not call it HDMI anymore.


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## Jon Spackman (Feb 7, 2005)

cohagen-

What are you hooking the hdmi from the 942 up to? I havent seen any device that recieves 5.1 thru hdmi yety. HDM! 2.0 is coming, but as far as i know most gear with HDMI is version 1.1 which is only 2 ch pcm not 5.1. 

So what piece of *****in gear do you have that will take 5.1 thru HDMI??

Jon


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## johnnyd1023 (May 14, 2005)

j5races said:


> cohagen-
> 
> What are you hooking the hdmi from the 942 up to? I havent seen any device that recieves 5.1 thru hdmi
> Jon


That is the way I understand it also !


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## cohagen (Oct 27, 2005)

Hi Guys,

I'm quite new to home theater. I took the plunge and bought a projector recently. Also I bought amp/receiver, dvd player, and some entry level speakers. Here is a list:

Panasonic AE900U Projector
Panasonic S77S DVD
Panasonic XR70S Receiver
Paradigm Cinema 70 v3 Speakers

When I run HDMI from DVD -> AMP -> Projector, I can see on the amp/receiver I am getting 5.1 sent through and can hear it too. When I run HDMI as the source instead of DVD, I only see the L and R LEDS light up on the receiver.

Not sure about the progression of the HDMI standard, I thought 5.1 sound through was the norm?


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## InDashMP3 (May 25, 2004)

j5races said:


> cohagen-
> 
> What are you hooking the hdmi from the 942 up to? I havent seen any device that recieves 5.1 thru hdmi yety. HDM! 2.0 is coming, but as far as i know most gear with HDMI is version 1.1 which is only 2 ch pcm not 5.1.
> 
> ...


Actually, it appears at though even 1.0 should accept 5.1 or dts... See below:
"HDMI comes in three versions: 1.0, 1.1 and (soon) 1.2. If that looks like a compatibility nightmare, don't worry: versions 1.1 and 1.2 are backwards-compatible with 1.0 and all three are compatible with DVI.

Version 1.0 provides pretty much any video resolution you like, up to 1080p at 60Hz (that's a screen of 1920 x 1080 pixels, all of them refreshed 60 times a second). Audio is the same as a regular S/PDIF output: a choice of either two channels of uncompressed audio at a sample rate up to 96kHz, or compressed multi-channel audio such as Dolby Digital or DTS.

Version 1.1 extends the audio: 8 channels of uncompressed audio are available at a sample rate of 192kHz (24-bit samples). To put this into perspective, a DVD-audio disc can carry audio at this quality, but only in stereo; multi-channel audio on a DVD-audio disc tops out at 96kHz. Since there are no 8-channel audio formats on the market currently, HDMI is pretty much future-proof in the audio department.

HDMI 1.1, incidentally, is one of only a few options for transmitting uncompressed audio from a DVD-Audio disc. If you like DVD-Audio and want a digital connection between your player and receiver, this is a good candidate.

Version 1.2 is scheduled for release soon. The most notable extension is expected to be the inclusion of digital audio transport for SACD discs."

So, what is the problem with the 942? Is it 1.0? 1.1?


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## nuckingfutz (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi long time lurker.. first time poster... I was watching industry insiders on hd net today and the newest one is suppost to be 1.3 for hdmi and that cable is currently in devlopment with it being able to do 1080P!! I dont see a reason why 1.3 hdmi wont do a 1080I signal with DD 5.1.. I think the current restraints are bandwith in the hdmi cable and bandwith that the ports can handle from the sources to the destination.


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## Mike Johnson (Jan 16, 2005)

Ok, since we've answered Brandon's question about HDMI on his 942 and this thread is becoming a general HDMI discussion, I going to close it. As per the rules, this forum is specifically for 942 support. The HDMI discussion can be continued in one of the general forums.

Closing.......


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