HDMI 1.4 to HDMI 2.0

Eggsy

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I am just about to purchase the Denon AVR-X2800H but have come across an issue that concerns me. I have 2 blu ray players, one is the Sony BDP-S3700 which I purchased in 2010 and I think that it probably has a HDMI v1.4 port, although I can not find any way of telling. The other is a Sony BDP-S373 which I purchased in 2021 and I can assume that it has a HDMI v2.0 port as the instruction manual states connecting it using a high speed HDMI cable.

If I connect my BDP-S3700 (which is what I want to as it seems a more advanced player(?)) to the Denon 2800H, ie HDMI v1.4 port to a HDMI v2.0 port using a high speed cable will I lose some sound quality?

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but I am only a home cinema novice.

Thanks for any help.
 
No. As long as you set the audio output on the older player to bitstream you will still enjoy HD audio. HDMI is backward compatible. If the AV amp was v1.4 then that would cause problems, not the other way around.
 
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No. As long as you set the audio output on the older player to bitstream you will still enjoy HD audio. HDMI is backward compatible. If the AV amp was v1.4 then that would cause problems, not the other way around.
Thank you, but being a novice I a not sure whether or not I have my player set to bitstream as I don't really understand what that is. My audio settings on my blu ray player are as follows (I have put the alternative options in brackets):

Audio HDMI AUTO (PCM is the other choice)
DSD Output Mode OFF (On)
BD Audio Mis Setting ON (Off)
Dolby Digital (Coaxial/Optical) Dolby Digital (Downmix PCM)
DTS (Coaxial/Optical) DTS (Downmix PCM)
DTS Neo:6 OFF (Cinema, Music)
Audio DRC AUTO (Standard, Wide Range)
Downmix SURROUND (Stereo)
 
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Bitstream - the AVR decodes the audio.

PCM - the Player decodes the audio.

Your ears are unlikely to hear any difference.

PCM is required if you want the Player to mix in any ‘secondary’ audio some titles offer.

The video and audio capabilities of your player will be pretty much the same - though the BDP-S3700 has more options in terms of network streaming and playing back from a memory stick or network drive.

Joe
 
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Audio HDMI AUTO (PCM is the other choice)
If I remember correctly from my distant days of owning a Sony this is the setting you need to use, HDMI Auto. The Denon will show what is being decoded on it's display. For Dolby Digital it will show DD, or DD THD for Dolby TrueHD. DTS will show as DTS or DTS MA-HD.
 
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Bitstream - the AVR decodes the audio.

PCM - the Player decodes the audio.

Your ears are unlikely to hear any difference.

PCM is required if you want the Player to mix in any ‘secondary’ audio some titles offer.

The video and audio capabilities of your player will be pretty much the same - though the BDP-S3700 has more options in terms of network streaming and playing back from a memory stick or network drive.

Joe
Thanks Joe, so would any of the settings I have listed above need changing? And would I need to change any of them again if I want to listen to a LPCM soundtrack such as that on The Rock blu ray (Nic Cage). Apparently this soundtrack is reference quality.

Also, would my picture quality suffer as my TV was also purchased in 2010 and is likely to only have v1.4 HDMI ports?
 
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If I remember correctly from my distant days of owning a Sony this is the setting you need to use, HDMI Auto. The Denon will show what is being decoded on it's display. For Dolby Digital it will show DD, or DD THD for Dolby TrueHD. DTS will show as DTS or DTS MA-HD.
Thank you!
 
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HDMI Audio - simply toggle the Output between Bitstream and LPCM and decide for yourself if one or other sounds better to you or not. Remember if you want to hear any of the audio commentary add ons you need to be using LPCM.

HDMI Video - no matter what HDMI Version number your devices support it is the Display (Sink) capabilities which ultimately dictate what you view. The Sink let’s the Source know what format it supports and that is what the Source sends, after that it is all down to the processing quality of the display and how you configure the display video settings.

If you have the correct gear and knowledge you can start to measure the Output of different Blu-ray Players and measure small variations which you are unlikely to ever notice by eye.

Where you can see more obvious variation is playing back DVD disks and using the Player to upscale them to match the resolution of the Display.

Joe
 
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I am just about to purchase the Denon AVR-X2800H but have come across an issue that concerns me. I have 2 blu ray players, one is the Sony BDP-S3700 which I purchased in 2010 and I think that it probably has a HDMI v1.4 port, although I can not find any way of telling. The other is a Sony BDP-S373 which I purchased in 2021 and I can assume that it has a HDMI v2.0 port as the instruction manual states connecting it using a high speed HDMI cable.

If I connect my BDP-S3700 (which is what I want to as it seems a more advanced player(?)) to the Denon 2800H, ie HDMI v1.4 port to a HDMI v2.0 port using a high speed cable will I lose some sound quality?

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but I am only a home cinema novice.

Thanks for any help.

They would only put later model HDMI chipsets into devices that are actually going to use them.

Sony BDP-s7300 is a 1080p max player , it does not even use all the features of a HDMI 1.4 chipset.

Sony BDP S373 is a budget 1080p blu ray player , it has no features that would require an HDMI 2.0 chipset and it doesn't have one.

In short , all your devices will work fine with what you have.

You are only going to see HDMI 2.0 and later chipsets on devices capable of 4K/UHD (2160p) output with HDR/Atmos Metadata etc.
 
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If I remember correctly from my distant days of owning a Sony this is the setting you need to use, HDMI Auto. The Denon will show what is being decoded on it's display. For Dolby Digital it will show DD, or DD THD for Dolby TrueHD. DTS will show as DTS or DTS MA-HD.

HDMI Audio - simply toggle the Output between Bitstream and LPCM and decide for yourself if one or other sounds better to you or not. Remember if you want to hear any of the audio commentary add ons you need to be using LPCM.

HDMI Video - no matter what HDMI Version number your devices support it is the Display (Sink) capabilities which ultimately dictate what you view. The Sink let’s the Source know what format it supports and that is what the Source sends, after that it is all down to the processing quality of the display and how you configure the display video settings.

If you have the correct gear and knowledge you can start to measure the Output of different Blu-ray Players and measure small variations which you are unlikely to ever notice by eye.

Where you can see more obvious variation is playing back DVD disks and using the Player to upscale them to match the resolution of the Display.

Joe
Thank you Joe!
 
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They would only put later model HDMI chipsets into devices that are actually going to use them.

Sony BDP-s7300 is a 1080p max player , it does not even use all the features of a HDMI 1.4 chipset.

Sony BDP S373 is a budget 1080p blu ray player , it has no features that would require an HDMI 2.0 chipset and it doesn't have one.

In short , all your devices will work fine with what you have.

You are only going to see HDMI 2.0 and later chipsets on devices capable of 4K/UHD (2160p) output with HDR/Atmos Metadata etc.
Thank you.
 
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