Philips HTR5224/12 with Sony Playstation 3

[Marv50]

I've got a Philips HTR5224/12 hooked up to a PS3 via HDMI cables. However I'm having a strange problem with the sound now and again which I believe to be the system filtering repetitive sounds out, but I'm not entirely sure.

It happens when I’m on the PS3’s main menu and cycle between the menus, the sound goes very quiet and on the Philips receiver system it says PCM for a second or two where it would usually say HDMI IN1. I hope that makes sense. It also does it on a game menu I tired (Demon’s souls), when flicking between new game and continue, I noticed it started blocking the sound out.

Also I found sometimes the audio might take a second or two to kick in properly.

It seems fine on the Xbox and PC, so possibly a PS3 setting? Is the audio being filtered by a setting or something like that? Hope you can help, cheers.

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

I'll be buying one shortly for my PS3 too. It apparently takes LPCM if the PS3 is outputting it but does not advertise how to actually go about hooking it up to actually get the HD audio format heard, just dolby and DTS. Im presuming you are hooking it up via HDMI and are outputting it via LPCM on the console. I'm not a great whizz at these sort of things but try and output it as Bitstream from the PS3 and see if it has the same problem. If it does then change from HDMI to another audio cable and select all format options from the PS3 audio menu. Basically just switch cables and play with the different output settings to see if you get a better result. If you don't and your PS3 has had no audio problems with any other speakers you have set it up with, then you know you have a faulty Philips unit. If you have had similar problems with any other speakers you have had, then you know you have a faulty PS3. Find out by process of elimination mate

 

[Mikeymac]

Hey, I have the same problem with mine, have any of you guys found a solution to this??

cheers

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

Mine should arrive in a few days, I'll hook it up to the PS3 and post the results.

 

[Mikeymac]

Ok cool. i had a brief look into all that you mentioned above but am not overly confident with such technicality so I'll just check back in a couple of days

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

I know the unit is passive, so it does not upconvert or down convert, it simply plays what you input into it. So if you output your PS3 as LPCM into it, LPCM is what you'll hear out of it.

 

[Marv50]

I think basically the system is trying to find which way is best to play the audio/video. This can be annoying when on a PS3 game and the video keeps flicking on and off, on one part of the Heavy Rain demo it couldn’t seem to settle on a setting and kept black screening on me. It’s done the same on Uncharted 2 when I went into the pause menu. If I set my PS3 to only one video/audio setting (instead of auto chose best setting) I think it stops it.

 

[Feedthehorse]

Hi guys. Bought this system today and had the same issue. DO NOT upscale when gaming on your PS3 and that sorts it. So for games set your PS3 to 720p only (nearly all games are this anyway) Ive also set it to DD5.1 only just in case although Im sure its just a video issue. Im guessing the PS3 trying to upscale the game to 1080p causes some conflict. Just quickly run the auto detect settings before watching a BD and youre sorted.

 

[meka29uk]

Im thinking of buying one of these, and im trying to get an answer to what resiloution it will accept. i run my ps3 on auto so it switches between 720p and 1080p when it needs to. but what i want to know is will the 1080p signal pass through the phillips to my tv complete so i can still enjoy full hd movies in 1080p/24 and 1080p games?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Feedthehorse]

There are no 1080p games. The system accepts a 1080p perfectly for blu ray & if you set your ps3 to decode to LPCM the sysem also is capable of outputting all the HD sound formats on blu rays. On my set up if I leave the PS3 picture output to auto the picture can cut out occasionally as I dont think the system likes the PS3 trying to upscale a 720p game.....basically play everything in its naitive resolution and its a great system ! I'm sure when 1080p games start comming it will play those fine in 1080p.

 

[dafran]

And what if you set the video output of the PS3 to 1080p instead of auto ?

About 1080p games, I believ Virtua Fighter 5 and Virtua Tennis are full 1080p ?

I'm also intrested in the system to replace my Sony DD5.1 system, but I need to be sure I can enjoy the TrueHD and/or DTS-HD soundtracks on my blu-rays/HD DVD's when available.

 

[Feedthehorse]

As mentioned the picture cuts out on my TV when I try & upscale games through it, so setting it to 1080p would still do the same if the game is natively 720p as nearly all are. I'm sure a native 1080p game would play fine in 1080p as blu rays do, I do not own any of the 2 mentioned to try tho. Personally upscaling is a waste of time cos no TV, games machine, or blu ray player in existance can make up lines of detail that aren't there. If a game has 720 horizontal lines of detail, setting the PS3 to 1080p will not create another 360 lines, it will still only have 720 as thats all that encoded into the source

As for the HD sound formats the PS3 can decode all the latest HD formats DTS-MA True-HD etc in to LPCM which this system is then capable of outputting. You just have to set the PS3 option correctly and it sounds awesome !

 

[dafran]

As mentioned the picture cuts out on my TV when I try & upscale games through it, so setting it to 1080p would still do the same if the game is natively 720p as nearly all are. I'm sure a native 1080p game would play fine in 1080p as blu rays do, I do not own any of the 2 mentioned to try tho. Personally upscaling is a waste of time cos no TV, games machine, or blu ray player in existance can make up lines of detail that aren't there. If a game has 720 horizontal lines of detail, setting the PS3 to 1080p will not create another 360 lines, it will still only have 720 as thats all that encoded into the source

As for the HD sound formats the PS3 can decode all the latest HD formats DTS-MA True-HD etc in to LPCM which this system is then capable of outputting. You just have to set the PS3 option correctly and it sounds awesome !

Thanks for your answer.

What I find strange is why would the PS3 try to upscale a 720p game to 1080p if it's on auto detect ?
Maybe the picture cut out has something to do with the resolution changes in the game (pauze menu <-> game for example).
I seem to remember I also have problems with the picture cuts out occasionally in some games. (Uncharted 2 is one of them I think)

And isn't it so that if the PS3 (or any other device) doesn't do the upscaling, your tv (if it's a Full HD) will do it to match it's native resolution (1080p) ?

 

[Feedthehorse]

Could be a change in resolution (pause menus, cut scenes etc) but if I leave it on auto or try to force 1080p it will do it mid game sometimes ? Hence me leaving the PS3 set to 720p to match all my games and they then play flawlessly. I just change it to 1080p for Blu Rays, a minor niggle with the system. But seeing as a 5.1 HDMI Amp capable of playing HD sound would cost over £200 alone, with at least that again for budget speakers & wiring it doesn't really bother me, as you're getting a 7.1 HDMI Amp that can do the lot plus speakers wiring etc for £200.

The TV will display what you tell it to, it will not upscale any devices input into it. If I press the info button on my TV it shows you what its kicking out, games are 720p 60hz, Blu rays 1080p 24hz, Sky HD 1080i 50hz...it does as its told to by the devices basically. The TV should not force upscaling on you as in my previous post it cant generate lines of detail that aren't there, they tend to just stretch the image which I dont like. There is a "Just Scan" setting on my TV which then makes sure it matches the input rather than sticking to a rigid 16:9 which may not be exatly what source is in.

Also you mentioned Uncharted 2 thats one of several PS3 games with a 7.1 soundtrack....sounds amazing !

 

[dafran]

Thanks for your reply. You got me convinced, I'll pick one up next week and replace my old 5.1 system

 

[Feedthehorse]

No probelm. Off the back of our discussion I did a bit of tinkering over the weekend, with forcing 1080i/1080p etc as I haven't really tried since my 1st post a few months ago. On my set up it didn't work & some games dont support it anyway, Battlefield BC2 reverted to 576p as did Tiger Woods 11. I'm still not sure why auto doesn't work as it should really be like the machine auto ticking/unticking the resolution boxes for you based on the source but it doesn't seem to work that way for me ? So I've stuck with my 720p setting for games (unless I get any 1080p games) & just change it to 1080p for Blu Ray, this way everything plays perfectly.
Like I said its a minor niggle for me & its a good spec'd piece of kit at a very cheap price. It might work for you on auto anyway so have a try, I'm just passing on my experience of using the machine based on another user having the same problem. There only seem to be 2 of us reporting this so it could be a conflict with our particular TV's not liking the auto signal passed through the Amp ?

 

[dafran]

I'll pick up my set tomorrow so I'll test it with the auto function of the PS3 and let you know the results.

But as you said the force resolution to 720p/games and 1080/blurays is a good solution if it doesn't work with the auto setting.

Ofcourse I can only config a Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS setup via the optical connection and don't use the receiver as passthrough for the image.
But since I buy this system to get 7.1 HD sound for my Blu Rays (and games if offered) it would be quite stupid

 

[Feedthehorse]

Yeah that would probably work as thats kinda how I had it with my old (optical only) home theatre set & it worked fine. But as you mentioned you'd loose more than you gain & switching leads is far more fiddly than just adjusting some options. I honestly dont think I'm missing out on anything after forcing 1080p, the games looked exactly the same (some worse as they didn't support it) as there can only be 720 lines of details as thats all the games (the ones I have anyway) are encoded in. The XBM doesn't look as nice in 720p tho...not that it bothers me !
Just make sure you change the HDMI output option (in the video settings) to decode from bitstream to LPCM to get your HD audio from Blu Rays.
Dont try & force 7.1lpcm for games either (unless it supports it - uncharted 2 etc) as you loose the back centre 2 speakers. The clarity is fab, but the bass is poor & I like the rear centre speakers on even if it is just matrixed 5.1 which still sounds great. So in a nutshell match the audio options to the source for best results too. DTS-MA & TrueHD etc are the 176khz option there are 5.1 & 7.1 options for this do whichever matches the blu-ray.

 

[Feedthehorse]

Just incase any of that has confused you....which is likely !
I have found the link where I sussed out how to get the best out of everything settings wise. Its a really comprehensive guide & gives good explanations for everything to do with picture & sound on the PS3 :

http://boardsus.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-3-General/HD-Video-Audio-1080p-720p-5-1-6-1-7-1-9-2-11-2-Bitstream-DSD/m-p/36459892

Towards the bottom of the original post there is also a link to another post which lists all the PS3 games with a 7.1 soundtrack. I have Batman :Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2 & NFS Shift, and they all sound amazing in 7.1 !

 

[dafran]

Installed the HTR5224 today and I'm very happy with it. Fantastic sound for such a cheap system. Great value !!

But I have a few questions concerning the sound settings on the PS3.

When I select "LCPM 7.1/192Khz" on the PS3 the receiver says "CH7.1 PCM" and a Uncompressed 7.1 soundtrack such as the Dark City/3:10 to Yuma bluray's, and a 7.1 PS3 game such as Uncharted 2/Killzone 2 sounds fantastic in full surround 7.1 sound

When I select "LPCM 5.1/192khz" the receiver doesn't say "CH5.1 PCM" but "Dolby PLIIx" even when I select the TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack on the Bluray.
There is sound through all the 7 speakers but why doesn't it say "CH5.1 PCM" as with the 7.1 option ?

You're also right about deselecting the "LPCM 7.1/192Khz" option when playing none 7.1 PS3 games as the "Dolby Digital+Dolby PLIIx" option the receiver selects sounds much better and it uses all 7 speakers instead of 5.

When I play games with LPCM5.1/192Khz selected it also says "Dolby PLIIx" which sounds good, but I think "Dolby Digital+Dolby PLIIx" sounds better.

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

I've heard that because the system does not decode TrueHD or DTSHD and only LPCM that if you select these options it will revert to Pro Logic. As far as I know simply setting your PS3 to LPCM and allowing it to select the best format automatically is the best option. It will play from 7.1 speakers from a 5.1 source but it won't be true 7.1, the middle speakers will be duplicating the sound from the back speakers.

 

[dafran]

I've heard that because the system does not decode TrueHD or DTSHD and only LPCM that if you select these options it will revert to Pro Logic. As far as I know simply setting your PS3 to LPCM and allowing it to select the best format automatically is the best option. It will play from 7.1 speakers from a 5.1 source but it won't be true 7.1, the middle speakers will be duplicating the sound from the back speakers.

When there is a 7.1 Uncompressed soundtrack the receiver will switch to CH7.1 PCM and I believe it doesn't just duplicate the sound from the middle (surround) speakers.

With Killzone 2 for example you can hear it clearly and it sounds brilliant (better then a 5.1 setup)
Uncharted 2 detects that the receiver can handle 5.1/7.1 LPCM and when I choose the 7.1 soundtrack it really uses the backspeakers as a seperate source. When someone is talking to you and he's behind Drake, you will hear the back speakers clearly, and when he/she starting to walk next to Drake the surround speakers will kick in. Sounds great !!

Also the few Blu rays I have with 7.1 an uncompressed soundtrack sounds better then the 5.1 soundtrack I believe.

But I just find it strange that when I choose a TrueHD/DTSHD 5.1 setup it switches to Pro Logic IIx instead of CH5.1 PCM which I would expect.
Ofcourse then it will duplicate the sound from the surround speakers to the back speakers because it's 5.1 and not 7.1. Or am I wrong here and does TrueHD 5.1 uses 7 speakers ?

Not that it makes any difference in quality I guess, but just being curious why it is than I can't get the receiver to display CH5.1 PCM while it will display CH7.1 PCM when selected ?

But one thing is for sure I like it much more then my previous Sony 5.1 setup which wasn't bad at all.
The Philips produces better sound.
I also like the Dolby Digital+PL IIx setting and how it uses the back speakers also for my Xbox360/PS3 DD5.1 games. It sounds intenser even if it's just replicate the sound to the back speakers.

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

When I said the sound was duplicated I meant it duplicates the back speakers if you are running it at 7.1 setting from a 5.1 source If the disk is encoded as 7.1 then you will obviously get true 7.1 channels but you know that already. TrueHD 5.1 uses only 5.1 channels unless you have set the machine to output it as 7.1, that's when the duplication of back speakers will occur. Either way the sound will have a more encompassing feel to it than 'just' 5.1. Why your system does not state 5.1 LPCM when you are running it in 5.1 mode is perturbing and I haven't heard of it doing it before. Is it playing HD audio though when in this mode? If it is, then what it says on the front board doesn't matter as long as the right sound is coming out

 

[dafran]

Why your system does not state 5.1 LPCM when you are running it in 5.1 mode is perturbing and I haven't heard of it doing it before. Is it playing HD audio though when in this mode? If it is, then what it says on the front board doesn't matter as long as the right sound is coming out

I guess it plays HD audio when I select the TrueHD soundtrack on the Blu Ray but I was just wondering why it doesn't say CH5.1 PCM as it does when selecting an uncompressed 7.1 soundtrack.
Even when I force the PS3 in TrueHD (only selecting LPCM 5.1 192khz in the PS3 sound settings if I'm correct ?) it keeps saying PLIIx.

But maybe it is indeed because of the receiver doesn't recognize the TrueHD/DTS HD codecs (even if the PS3 is on LPCM in the videosetting) while a 7.1 soundtracks I selected are uncompressed LPCM.

Everything sounds great, but it just bugs me. Yeah I know I can get a little freaky from time to time

And I noticed on a Dutch buyerwebsite someone asked the same question.

Has someone from this board with this system managed to get CH5.1 PCM on the frontpanel ?
Maybe they just forgot to program it to display

 

[HeavenlyWarrior]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said it doesn't reconise the codecs, any HD audio codec is going to be converted to LPCM anyway because that's what the PS3 is outputting. I say set the PS3 to LPCM and the Philips to 7.1 and what may be, will be Well that's what I did anyway and I get permanant 7.1 HD audio regardless of whether it is Dolby Digital HD or DTS HD or LPCM on the disk. And whether it is true 7.1 channels or 5.1 with rear speakers duplicated Its allll gooood............