I am considering a BR DVD for the Holiday gift to the house. I do not have a HT receiver so I can't plug in the HDMI except to the TV for Video only. The audio portion can go thru either unbalanced (boooooo) or either flavor of digital connection.
So the questions become. 1. Any DVD players output just 2.0 thru any digital cable...Toslink or Coax? 2. Does this compromise what audio tracks I can get at? 3. What players have this support? 4. Any new players on the horizon to look out for?
I am hoping for a new issue of players in time for Christmas. If I start trying to figure this out now, I'll be ready!
Most DVD players output 5.1 DD or DTS through optical or coax, some don't support DTS. Without a receiver that has HDMI 1.3 you won't get the losless audio that some BR players can pass to the receiver.
You can get the normal compressed 5.1 or DTS, if the player is DTS capable. You can't get the lossless audio some BR players have without using HDMI 1.3.
"So, for audio I'd be limited to the balanced / RCA connections?
So much for using my outboard D/A convertor."
Leo, most (if not, all) BD players offer the option of linear PCM audio on their SPDIF coax/optical outputs. Due to the limitations of these outputs, only stereo PCM will be sent. I believe the maximum sampling rate is limited to 48 kHz. In your case though, that's just fine because this is more than likely the limit of your DAC's capabilities.
Good, that's what I needed to hear. My DAC will take any 16 to 24 bit at 44.1 on up. Output is 24 / 384khz.
Now, on to the BR player reviews. I am hoping the by Christmas we see a player more reasonably priced and with all the best features available now. I don't care if it upsamples well, since I will continue to use my OPPO DV-981 for those duties.