Another question about WDTV and TrueHD audio

#1

Okay, I think I am starting to get this all down and understand things a little more. I have a HTPC where I rip my bluray movies. I am now using MakeMKV and removing all subtitles, etc and keeping only the main feature and both english audios…

Here is my equipment

 vizio 47" 240hz LCD

WDTV Live Hub

sony 5.1 home theater in box (STR-SE501 is receiver)

directv HD

i have my tv hooked to my receiver via digital optical audio cable. then my WDTV and satelite are hooked to the tv via HDMI. So i get my “surround sound” with tv or movies…

that being said, I cant get the truehd audios to work when playing my WDTV ripped blurays. i read that its possible when its run through a receiver. Do i need a newer truehd decoding receiver for this to work?

would I even be able to tell difference in trueHD vs what its playing now? I think its just normal DD right? there is a blue light on my receiver that is supposed to light up when its decoding or something, and it doesnt light up, so im not sure whats even going on when playing

#2

Optical does not have enough throughput to support TrueHD. You have to connect to your receiver via HDMI for TrueHD to work (your receiver must also support TrueHD).

#3

well i guess that makes sense…

so, should i fork over money for a new receiver like an onkyo tx-sr508?? would i tell a difference in that alone? or would i need alot better speakers also?

#4

I’m using a Yamaha NS-P300 set of 5.1 speakers that are about a decade old now.  They were fairly cheap but sound ok.

Previously they were hooked up to an old Pioneer VSA-E03 amp that could only decode Dolby Digital 5.1 (no DTS!).  It had optical inputs but no HDMI, so there were cables coming to and from everything.

Now they’re hooked up to a Pioneer VSX-1020 receiver that decodes pretty much everything.  It has a built-in speaker setup routine (that identified a surround speaker that was out of phase; I had no idea!) and the speakers in general sound a lot better than before.

The few TrueHD test files I’ve got sound fuller and more impressive than regular DD5.1, so I believe that upgrading your amp while keeping the same speakers can be worthwhile.  :)

You can always upgrade the speakers later, a few at a time, as you can afford it.  I’d focus on getting the best amp you can within your budget first.  

I stretched my budget a tad to get the VSX-1020 but I’m so glad I did. Might upgrade my speakers later, starting with a new Center channel speaker.