| After having just gotten your new Blu-ray DVD Player, | | | | 72Hz 3:3 pulldown mode and they can use this |
| you will obviously be excited about testing it out. No | | | | because they do not have as much slowdown as the |
| doubt you will be anxious to see the glorious 1080p | | | | LCD. |
| picture and High Definition sound quality. So the | | | | Sound |
| question is this: how to set up your new Blu-ray player | | | | The second feature most people purchase the Blu-ray |
| to get the highest possible performance from it? Will it | | | | for is the perfect sound quality. Blu-ray has the |
| be as simple as connecting your DVD player? Will it be | | | | superior 'lossless' Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master |
| a breeze? | | | | Audio. What you get with these audio formats is 100 |
| Not exactly! | | | | percent identical to the original studio master track. This |
| When setting up your new Blu-ray player you have to | | | | is a clear advantage over DVDs which use Dolby |
| keep in mind, this is a rather new technology, therefore | | | | Digital and DTS, but again as with the picture signal, not |
| over the past few years TVs and AV receivers have | | | | all AV receivers are capable of decoding the newer |
| been adapting to conform to this new format. | | | | High Definition formats. |
| Unfortunately, you may discover not all of them can | | | | Set up is fairly easy if your receiver can decode the |
| support every new feature of your Blu-ray player. This | | | | formats because both HD formats can be used via |
| may make the process a little more difficult than | | | | the Blu-ray player's HDMI output port and the HDMI |
| setting up your standard DVD player. So I have | | | | input port on the receiver. This allows a bitstream |
| outlined a few procedures and possible difficulties you | | | | (meaning raw digital data) to be transferred to your |
| might come across so that you can more easily | | | | AV receiver where it is decoded into multichannel |
| incorporate your new Blu-ray player into your home | | | | sound. All you need to do is set your Blu-ray player's |
| entertainment system, hopefully without too much | | | | HDMI output to bitstream or primary. The HDMI ports |
| frustration. | | | | on these devices must be specified as version 1.3/1.3a |
| Basically to get the best performance out of your | | | | 1.3b. These are the only versions that allow for the |
| Blu-ray player you need to understand three features: | | | | transmitting of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio. You |
| Picture, Sound, and Internet Connectivity. You will | | | | will also need a Second HDMI Cable to connect the |
| discover all three can be easily done with some simple | | | | AV receiver's HDMI output to your TV's HDMI input. |
| cable connections; no fine-tuning necessary, just some | | | | The AV receiver will decode the audio and transmit |
| simple modifications to the set-up menus maybe all | | | | the 1080/24p video signal. |
| that is required. Hopefully this advice will cut out any | | | | Things can get a little trickier if your AV receiver does |
| confusion and the whole process will go very smoothly | | | | not decode the HD audio formats. However, it does |
| for you. | | | | not mean you can not still enjoy the great high quality |
| Picture | | | | sound. One option available to you is to set up your |
| 1080p High Definition picture quality - this is why most | | | | Blu-ray player to internally decode the audio and |
| people purchase their first Blu-ray Player and it is the | | | | convert it to LPCM (an uncompressed form of audio). |
| best feature of any Blu-ray player. Blu-ray movies are | | | | This option is located in the set-up menu and found on |
| stored on a disc in 1080p at 24 frames-per-second so | | | | almost every Blu-ray player. LCPM can be transferred |
| you often see this referred to as 1080/24p. The | | | | over any version of HDMI and it preserves the high |
| director filmed the movie at this rate, so Blu-ray discs | | | | multichannel sound quality of both Dolby True HD and |
| allow you to view the movie as it was originally meant | | | | DTS HD. This way your receiver does not have to do |
| to be seen. Blu-ray players allow you to watch these | | | | any decoding. (Take note that some lesser Blu-ray |
| HD movies by connecting it's HDMI output to the | | | | players will only convert 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS into |
| duplicate input on your TV, so a HDMI cable will need | | | | LPCM.) |
| to be purchased if one is not included with the Blu-ray | | | | This LCPM option assumes your AV receiver has |
| player. In most cases a HDMI is not provided. HDMI | | | | HDMI inputs. If it does not have these HDMI inputs, then |
| cables can run anywhere from $20 to $150. (Some | | | | your best option is to look for Blu-ray Players that can |
| argue there is no difference in HDMI cables, no matter | | | | decode the HD sound formats into high quality |
| what the cost.) | | | | analogue and output them from multichannel outputs. |
| Not all Blu-ray players are capable of this 1080/24p | | | | Using optical or coaxial outputs which are usually found |
| output rate. These players will be older, and instead of | | | | on most players can not be used because the do not |
| the 1080/24p output rate they convert the signal to | | | | have the sufficient bandwidth capabilities to transmit |
| 1080/60p using a method called "3:2 pulldown' | | | | Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Audio. |
| technique. What this simply means is one frame is | | | | Internet Connectivity |
| played three times and the next frame is played twice | | | | Most newer Blu-ray players have a feature called BD |
| and so forth. This results in one frame being shown on | | | | Live which allows you to download content from the |
| the TV screen slightly longer than the other. This | | | | internet, play games online and participate in web |
| produces judder into the picture, a slight moving or | | | | chats. To use this feature you need a Blu-ray player |
| shaking of the picture. | | | | with a Profile 2.0 since these Blu-ray players have an |
| To avoid this problem, a simple solution would be to | | | | Ethernet port you can use to connect to an internet |
| purchase a newer model Blu-ray player. Most of the | | | | router or computer. (Profile 1.1 may have an Ethernet |
| latest models can output 1080p pictures at 24 | | | | port but WILL NOT SUPPORT BD LIVE.) |
| frames-per-second via HDMI. Also, your TV set must | | | | Also, you may need a USB flash memory drive or SD |
| be able to support it. If it does not, then if you feed a | | | | card to plug into your Blu-ray player. This provides |
| signal of 1080/24p into a TV which can not support it, | | | | digital storage for updates and extra data. It's |
| the TV will convert the signal to 50 or even 60HZ. This | | | | recommended that the drive or card be at least 1 GB. |
| will also place judder into the picture. | | | | Other than the Playstation 3, no other Blu-ray players |
| What this all comes down to is to get the best, purest | | | | on the market have internal memory built-in, but some |
| and most genuine High Definition picture possible, you | | | | newer Blu-ray players are now unveiling Wi-Fi, |
| require a Blu-ray Player capable of a 1080/24p output | | | | eliminating the need for external storage. |
| signal (this is easily selected on the set-up menu) and a | | | | Conclusion |
| TV capable of supporting this signal. Most of the | | | | Hopefully, by checking all three factors discussed |
| newer LCD and Plasma televisions will give you the | | | | above - Picture, Sound, and Internet Connectivity - will |
| right support you need. LCD sets usually have a 120Hz | | | | make setting up your new Blu-ray player a lot easier. |
| mode, where each of the 24 frames is repeated five | | | | Just follow all the steps and you will get the best |
| times and shown on the screen for the same amount | | | | picture and sound quality that only a Blu-ray system |
| of time, producing no juddering. Plasma usually has | | | | can deliver. Happy viewing! |