Digital Coax support DTS-HD signal/Dolby Digital Plus + DD TrueHD???

[sneill]

Hi Folks,

Will a regular Digital Coax cable be able to support DTS-HD signal/Dolby Digital Plus + DD TrueHD?

I raised this in below Arcam AV9 thread but do not want to continue to go off topic - want info on new AV9!
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242889&page=3&pp=15

When I check DD & DTS webpages they make specific reference to HDMI
but no reference to Digital Coax cable.

Reason I've created this thread is I rang Nordost USA yesterday who advised
their Coax WOULD have sufficient bandwidth to carry these new sound formats. I did rephrase/repeat my question but was told YES again

Anyone previously researched this?

 

[Nic Rhodes]

No. None of the current generation of processors will be able to decode these formats without significant changes. They are pretty hard work for processors. It is most likely that the players will do this initially. When HDMI catches up they will pass the signal digitally to the processor for decoding but that is several years in the future, well after the first players, which are still some way off. Most of the first players will use the 5.1 analogue outputs...a half way house to 'tide us over' will be the players decoding the formats but sending 7.1 channels of PCM over HDMI for the processor to do it's stuff, but compatible 1.1 HDMI processors are still 'rare as rocking horse dodo'.

I can't ever see a situation where these signal will go down a coax like bitstream / PCM unless they are downconverted signal of low quality, despite the 3Ghz bandwidth of my SPDIF cables.

 

[sneill]

Thanks Nic,

Re: “Most of the first players will use the 5.1 analogue outputs...”
– I was just thinking that they might use the single Coax option to reduce nbr of cables required etc.

Re “3Ghz bandwidth of my SPDIF cables”
– What does this equate to against these new formats, I just took quick look at DD website and it lists .. Up to 18 Mbps bit rate… But how do you convert this to compare against 3Ghz bandwidth?

Whilst I realize there are currently no processors available that support this & the HDMI fiasco continues, I would imagine with Bluray/HD-DVD coming out within a year that some manufacturers are working on this at present.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Thanks Nic,

Re: “Most of the first players will use the 5.1 analogue outputs...”
– I was just thinking that they might use the single Coax option to reduce nbr of cables required etc..

Nice idea but we are in the copy protection world.

Re “3Ghz bandwidth of my SPDIF cables”
– What does this equate to against these new formats, I just took quick look at DD website and it lists .. Up to 18 Mbps bit rate… But how do you convert this to compare against 3Ghz bandwidth?.

Off hand I can't remember but 3GHz is HUGE and miles more than these new formats, orders of magniture different, SPDIF is typically 6MHz, HD video is 10s of MHz not G!!

Whilst I realize there are currently no processors available that support this & the HDMI fiasco continues, I would imagine with Bluray/HD-DVD coming out within a year that some manufacturers are working on this at present.

At launch we will have analogue and possibly 1.1 HDMI (8 channel PCM) if we are lucky, I expect the others to 'follow' as and when chips and HDMI catch up.