Can't change MySky HDi volume when set to Dolby

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mortonman

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#90315 19-Sep-2011 20:14

I just got mysky HDi last week. I changed the Audio settings to HDMI - Dolby rather than PCM to get better sound from the rugby etc but now the volume is fixed from the skybox. When I hit mute or change the volume with the sky remote the on screen graphic shows the volume changing but nothing actually happens To mute the sound I need to use the TV remote rather than the sky remote.

I had this with the old mysky box because they connected up the video out rather than the tv out but with the HDi there is only one HDMI. Has anyone else got this problem and can it be fixed. I dont want ot have to change settings every time I switch on the telly and it needs to be simple for the rest of the family.

cyril7

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#523228 19-Sep-2011 20:25

Hi, this is normal nothing wrong and has been covered thousands of times on various forums including GZ.

Basically unlike a PCM transfer over spdif, AC3/DD is a raw transfer so the source device simply passes the raw AC3 feed out the spdif or HDMI port as its not a decoded format it is up to the AC3/DD decoder (in your AVR) to control volume and mute after it has decoded the AC3/DD stream down to discrete PCM feeds to pass to the analog side of your AVR.

So end result, thats just the way it is, if you want to acheive what you want then pass PCM over HDMI directly to your TV and use the optical or coax spdif to feed the raw AC3/DD to your AVR for surround decoding.

Cyril

mortonman

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#523278 19-Sep-2011 21:58

cyril7: Hi, this is normal nothing wrong and has been covered thousands of times on various forums including GZ.

Basically unlike a PCM transfer over spdif, AC3/DD is a raw transfer so the source device simply passes the raw AC3 feed out the spdif or HDMI port as its not a decoded format it is up to the AC3/DD decoder (in your AVR) to control volume and mute after it has decoded the AC3/DD stream down to discrete PCM feeds to pass to the analog side of your AVR.

So end result, thats just the way it is, if you want to acheive what you want then pass PCM over HDMI directly to your TV and use the optical or coax spdif to feed the raw AC3/DD to your AVR for surround decoding.

Cyril

Thanks Cyril

I did try googling first but must have asked the wrong question!

illicit

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#523304 19-Sep-2011 22:57

Do you have sound system?

SumnerBoy

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#523651 20-Sep-2011 17:45

I think I understand all this but I have a slightly different question (sorry for hijacking the thread!). I have an HDMI connection to my AVR and have it set to send Dolby over HDMI. My AVR decodes the audio and I control volume via the AVR. Happy with all that.

Now I also have an HD TV up in my bedroom with an HDMI cable running from it down to my AVR/MySky box. I want to send the Sky signal up to my bedroom so was considering buying an HDMI splitter.

However I am a little concerned that since the MySky box is outputting the audio in Dolby, and my TV presumably won't be able to decode this, I won't get any sound on my bedroom TV.

Is there anyway to achieve this without downgrading the sound quality in the living room? Do I need to change the MySky output to PCM so the TV in the bedroom can play the sound, and then add a digital coax to connect/send the Dolby audio from the MySky box to my AVR?

Don't want to spend $100 on a splitter only for it not to do what I want!

As a side question - any recommendations for HDMI splitters I should look at/avoid?

Many thanks,
Ben

cyril7

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#523762 20-Sep-2011 21:09

Hi, yes thats exactly the setup I have PCM via HDMI to my TV and coax spdif to the AVR,

Cyril

mastersm

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#524303 21-Sep-2011 21:44

I have a 7.1 receiver and looking at some google links eg: http://forum.blu-ray.com/blu-ray-technology-news/41263-pcm-better-than-dolby-digital.html the consensus is to always use PCM over Dolby as PCM is uncompressed and Dolby is compressed but it appears the above says the opposite. Which is the best HDMI setting to use MPEG/PCM or Dolby?

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JonnyCam

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#524979 23-Sep-2011 12:02

Well, Dolby is compressed, but I am pretty sure the PCM is just a decoded version of the Dolby stream for devices which can't handle it as AC3 / Dolby.

They still use a lossy compression to get the sound to the skybox, and the Dolby output will give you 5.1 chanels.

On a bluray player, they can have dedicated PCM tracks, which would sound better than than Doby 5.1 (maybe) but you would also hav Dolby TrueHD & DTS MA to pass through instead, but on MySy you are stuck with whatever they have broadcast.