Quote:
Originally Posted by platinumsword  Dependant on the source
The HDMI spec, since the first 1.0 version, enabled up to 8 channels of 192kHz PCM audio to be supported, which means that decoded Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio can be handled. In fact, most (if not all) of the HD-DVD and BluRay players have the ability to decode these formats and transport them as multi-channel PCM on HDMI. This is great, because quite a few HDMI AV receivers can receive multi-channel PCM on their HDMI inputs, and thus render them on the speakers.
HDMI 1.3 adds the ability to transmit encoded DolbyTrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio on HDMI. This adds another level of flexibility to choose where the audio is decoded (by the source, or by the AV receiver for example). HDMI 1.3 is not required to enjoy these new lossless audio formats since devices can perform the decoding in the source and then transmit the audio as decoded PCM instead.
As far as the maximum audio bandwidth of 36.86 Mbps, It has not been exceeded yet to the best of my knowledge.
IE: DTS Audio bit rates displayed below. |
All true, but 5:1 is a real limitation right now, whether it be PCM or bitstream. The reason given is always bandwidth, but this does not appear to be accurate. Of course, that limitation may just be a result of studio refusal to release 7:1 audio, or the absence of any real 7:1 audio soundtracks to begin with. (There are also no players that decode more than the 5:1 core of DTS HD/MA. ) So it seems even more evident that HDMI 1.3 is a complete waste of money at this point, unless you just want to have a receiver decode HD audio so you can say that you can do it.
