# Help with my Oppo



## Bayyog (Nov 29, 2009)

I have an Oppo bdp 83se hooked up to my Pioneer Elite Receiver via an optical audio connection and running to my display via HDMI. 

I can no longer seem to get the THX settings to display on the receiver while playing DVDs and end up having to chose another setting which don't sound as good or "natural" to me as it used to when I had my Denon 3910 hooked up the same way and was able to get the THX settings to work. Is this because the Oppo is not "THX Certified" or am I doing something wrong or missing a setting on the Oppo?

My DVR (Directv HR-20) still plays on the THX settings when the Receiver is in Sat mode.

Any ideas or input is appreciated!

Thanks!


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## bobukcat (Dec 20, 2005)

Bayyog said:


> I have an Oppo bdp 83se hooked up to my Pioneer Elite Receiver via an optical audio connection and running to my display via HDMI.
> 
> I can no longer seem to get the THX settings to display on the receiver while playing DVDs and end up having to chose another setting which don't sound as good or "natural" to me as it used to when I had my Denon 3910 hooked up the same way and was able to get the THX settings to work. Is this because the Oppo is not "THX Certified" or am I doing something wrong or missing a setting on the Oppo?
> 
> ...


My first question would be why do you have it hooked up that way? Do you have an older AVR that doesn't support HDMI?? That's about the only reason I can think of for using that setup as HDMI can carry much higher-quality audio than any other connection between the two.


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

I have the Oppo 83 and a Pioneer Elite - VSX-84TXSi.

Your issue has nothing to do with your Oppo. It's a setting within your Pioneer. Be sure you're selecting THX via the remote.


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## emoxley (Jul 15, 2010)

Bayyog said:


> I have an Oppo bdp 83se hooked up to my Pioneer Elite Receiver via an optical audio connection and running to my display via HDMI.


The SE has the better more expensive DACs in it. That's why it was $900, instead of the usual $500. But it did absolutely nothing for the digital connections. To use the better DACs, you need to use the 5.1/7.1 multi-channel analog connections, or the stereo connections.

I doubt this has anything to do with you getting the THX setting. I just saw that you was using the optical connection. Plus, using the 5.1/7.1 analog connections, you can listen to the Dolby TrueHD and dtsHD Master Audio soundtracks from your blu ray movies. It won't say Dolby TrueHD, etc., in the receiver's display though. It will say either PCM or Multi-Channel.

You may already know all this. I just wasn't sure when I saw you had your Oppo connected by optical cable, so I thought I'd mention it.
Good luck!


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## Bayyog (Nov 29, 2009)

The reason I am using an optical audio connection for the Oppo to the receiver is that the Oppo has only one HDMI output. I would therefore need to run the HDMI from the Oppo to the Receiver and then another from the Receiver to the display. I actually use 2 optical connections as I have one from my DVR to the receiver so that I can run the HDMI from the DVR to the display as well. I could easily run both HDMIs to the receiver and the one HDMI from the Receiver to the display, but that would necessitate always having the audio play through the receiver and all the speakers as opposed to being able to just listen to the speakers from the display.

The manner is which it is hooked up now gives me the option of choosing the audio for both sources to be played either with or without the receiver and all other speakers.

The DVR does make "THX" settings available through the Receiver even though it is connected via optical audio....the Oppo does not.

I further have a 2 channel analog interconnect between the Oppo and the Receiver to take advantage of some of the upgrades of the Oppo SE.


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## emoxley (Jul 15, 2010)

So, you're not interested in the Dolby TrueHD and dtsHD Master Audio soundtracks on blu ray movies? They sound better than regular DD and DTS, and are not possible over optical connection.


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## bobukcat (Dec 20, 2005)

Bayyog said:


> The reason I am using an optical audio connection for the Oppo to the receiver is that the Oppo has only one HDMI output. I would therefore need to run the HDMI from the Oppo to the Receiver and then another from the Receiver to the display. I actually use 2 optical connections as I have one from my DVR to the receiver so that I can run the HDMI from the DVR to the display as well. I could easily run both HDMIs to the receiver and the one HDMI from the Receiver to the display, but that would necessitate always having the audio play through the receiver and all the speakers as opposed to being able to just listen to the speakers from the display.
> 
> The manner is which it is hooked up now gives me the option of choosing the audio for both sources to be played either with or without the receiver and all other speakers.
> 
> ...


I can understand why you might want to listen to the audio on the TV directly when watching the DVR but from Blu-Ray?? I would never give up the less-compressed audio of Dolby TrueHD or dtsHD Master Audio for the sake of being able to listen to it through the TV, or if I had to have the latter I would use an HDMI switch or something to be able to easily do both.

I don't have any optical connection from my Oppo so I don't remember if there are any settings for it's output format but perhaps one device outputs bitstream and one does PCM and the AVR treats those differently than others.


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## Bayyog (Nov 29, 2009)

I agree that we never listen to the Blu-ray though just the display, so I plan on using an HDMI from the Oppo to the AVR and then another from the AVR to the display.

Hopefully, that should do the trick and at least give me access to the Dolby TrueHD and dtsHD.

I can leave the DVR hooked up as is or I can try the same thing and leave the Optical in place, although it seems as though HDMI often "supercedes" the other outputs and I am not sure if the optical will remain active if an HDMI is hooked up.

Thanks!


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## mutelight (Oct 6, 2008)

emoxley said:


> So, you're not interested in the Dolby TrueHD and dtsHD Master Audio soundtracks on blu ray movies? They sound better than regular DD and DTS, and are not possible over optical connection.


Agreed, Bayyog, since you paid the premium for the SE model, it contains very high quality DACs, the one advantage over the model directly below it, you will want to connect your audio via analog interconnects.

With optical you are limited to 2 channel PCM, (lossy) Dolby Digital and DTS. Using analog interconnects you will be able to take advantage of (lossless) 7.1 PCM, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA.


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