Philips 5990/37 dual audio out problem...

[KillerQ]

Hey all,

I recently picked up the Philips 5990/37 from BestBuy, and updated the firmware from the Philips website.

First off, I want to say that this Philips has better Picture Quality, and more features than many players 3x the price!

I am having a slight issue however.

According the the Manual, this player will not allow Digital Out when the HDMI audio is turned on. That means, that I can't have HDMI audio to my TV while the coaz/digital out is going to my Amplifier/Receiver.

So, ok, I turned off the HDMI Out, and figured I would just use red/white audio cables to output audio to my TV. Well, that doesn't go through either.

It seems that I am stuck with HDMI audio, and non-Dolby sound going to my receiver, OR NO HDMI audio, and being allowed to take advantage of the digital/coax audio out.


Kinda frustrating. Am I missing something?

Thanks,

Matt!

[jman98]

Hollyweird doesn't want you to have HDMI audio and Digital Out at the same time because you might copy the audio. I'm not joking.

I have some experience with Philips and you probably have to physically disconnect the HDMI cable to get other audio working. HDMI doesn't prevent you from using Dolby. It should just "pass through" whatever audio you are playing. I have an HDMI cable connecting a Toshiba HD-DVD player to my TV and I just send the audio to the TV via HDMI and then the TV sends it via Digital Out to my receiver. I have the HD-DVD player set to output either DTS or AC3 (my receiver can't handle HD audio formats) and the signal coming from the TV to the receiver is fine and my receiver reports the audio as either AC3 or DTS, depending on the source.

However, if you want to have 2 separate audio outputs going at the same time, I don't think any player is ever going to allow that.

[KillerQ]

Hey,

Ok, i tried passing the audio through the tv to the receiver - but the TV states that HDMI audio passed through and output via optical will automatically be downmixed to 2 channel - then it says that I have to output directly from dvd player to receiver to receive full audio.

Man, I would even be fine with analog audio from the dvd player to the tv - just something so I can watch a dvd through the tv without using the receiver for audio....

Matt!

[TBoneit]

I'm not sure what you are asking....

It seems you are saying the analog, red & white RCA jacks, aren't working for you?

I'm feeding the audio to the TV via the HDMI and the red/white RCAs to the sound system. They're both working for me. I only have fiber in on my sound system and they're full up anyway so it didn't bother me to not o dgital to the sound system.

[jman98]

Hey,

Ok, i tried passing the audio through the tv to the receiver - but the TV states that HDMI audio passed through and output via optical will automatically be downmixed to 2 channel - then it says that I have to output directly from dvd player to receiver to receive full audio.

Man, I would even be fine with analog audio from the dvd player to the tv - just something so I can watch a dvd through the tv without using the receiver for audio....

Matt!

Your TV is crap if it downmixes to 2 channels.

Sounds to me like you need a receiver with HDMI inputs. That sucks, but given your setup it does seem to be what you need. Or you may need another DVD player that works better (and costs more) than the Philips. You might consider Oppo. They have some highly regarded (but not cheap) players. Their website is:
http://www.oppodigital.com
You could always ask if their players can meet your needs. I've been told that they are very quick to reply to inquiries.

[KillerQ]

jman98,

My Samsung is hardly crap - it's one of the newest ones! I read up, and other Samsungs downmix as well - they do it on purpose.

I was also told by a Best Buy rep (for what it's worth) that all new, HDMI players will not allow dual audio output at the same time (HDMI and DIGITAL) you'll have to switch between them (this goes for store bought, name brand ones)

Matt!

[jman98]

My Samsung HDTV which I bought late in 2006 does NOT downmix! I told you that I pass audio through it via HDMI and it arrives unchanged to my receiver.
If yours does downmix, well, I'd look at that as a flaw.

Looks like you got the answer to your question that we were trying to tell you - you can't do dual output at the same time.