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[Kon Tiki]

I have my 360 connect via toslink to my 5.1 surround system, yet I only hear music out of the front speakers while playing music. My receiver says Digital (signal), the CD is a a SACD.

Also, I hope they update the dashboard so you can turn off menu sounds. Hearing loud beeps while playing music is not a good thing Microsoft!

 

[Naked Snake]

The SACD format was created by Sony, and as far as I know only devices from Sony, Pioneer, and maybe Phillips are compatible with it... PS2 can't play SACDs, but PS3 will.

Many SACDs come in a "hybrid" format, with one layer containing a stereo mix that can be played on any Audio CD player, and another layer containing the 5.1 high resolution surround mix that can only be played on SACD players.

In short, the answer is no.

 

[Sp3eD]

I guess the question that I would be asking is are MS going to make ANY part of the music system work in simulated 5.1 (like original Xbox). I could get Xbox1 music bumping almost two times the volume that the 360 can.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Ok, thanks.

Btw, Sp3ed, congrats on getting 4th place in Hearts leaderboard.

 

[Tunesmith]

Also, I hope they update the dashboard so you can turn off menu sounds. Hearing loud beeps while playing music is not a good thing Microsoft!

Isnt there a turn off sound effects option in the dashboards audio settings? I think I saw one when I initially fooled around in the dash.

 

[Sullichin]

What about DVD-audio?

 

[Kon Tiki]

Isnt there a turn off sound effects option in the dashboards audio settings? I think I saw one when I initially fooled around in the dash.

Not that I can see.

 

[Raistlin]

The SACD format was created by Sony, and as far as I know only devices from Sony, Pioneer, and maybe Phillips are compatible with it... PS2 can't play SACDs, but PS3 will.

There are FAR more companies than that producing SACD players ... but obviously, Microsoft will not support it as it is a Sony IP.

That reminds me, does X-box have firewire output? Obviously, none of the console manufactures are going to go with 6 analog audio outputs due to cost considerations. To get high res audio output, your either need that, firewire, or HDMI.

I know the 360 doesn't have HDMI, so that's out as well. PS3 will support SACD, and I believe MLP (whatever it's called now that Dolby owns it) is part of the BluRay spec ... so maybe that means it will support DVD-A as well?

That would be kind of sick - it would effectively be a universal player that can play all high res audio and video formats (aside from HD-DVD obviously).

 

[Beer Monkey]

I've tried.

DTS CD - doesn't work
DVD-A - doesn't work
5.1 MP3 - doesn't work
5.1 AAC - doesn't work
5.1 WMA - stutters

 

[Speevy]

I believe xbox.com has (or had) a FAQ about everything that's supported.

 

[Stinkles]

I've tried.

DTS CD - doesn't work
DVD-A - doesn't work
5.1 MP3 - doesn't work
5.1 AAC - doesn't work
5.1 WMA - stutters

5.1 WMA works fine on my box. Maybe you have a network issue? I only have sample audio files to test from microsoft.com, but they don't stutter.

I'm not fully sold on 5.1 music though period, since it never sounds natural. It always sounds to me like I'm standing in an odd acoustical spot at a concert. I have a couple of DVDs with 5.1 music, but they kinda blow.

 

[Beer Monkey]

5.1 WMA works fine on my box. Maybe you have a network issue? I only have sample audio files to test from microsoft.com, but they don't stutter.

I'm not fully sold on 5.1 music though period, since it never sounds natural. It always sounds to me like I'm standing in an odd acoustical spot at a concert. I have a couple of DVDs with 5.1 music, but they kinda blow.

Maybe the bitrate was higher on my audio files and it chokes on it. Where did you get your samples? I'm not using the network for it, I'm using the USB. Actually, I did try it once through Media Connect and it downmixed it to stereo.

The best surround music is mixed by Elliot Scheiner. Good examples are 'Sea Change' by Beck, and 'Yoshimi' by the Flaming Lips. I'm sure it's a matter of taste, though.

If there's an MS faq on this stuff, I'd like to see it.

 

[Stinkles]

Maybe the bitrate was higher on my audio files and it chokes on it. Where did you get your samples? I'm not using the network for it, I'm using the USB. Actually, I did try it once through Media Connect and it downmixed it to stereo.

The best surround music is mixed by Elliot Scheiner. Good examples are 'Sea Change' by Beck, and 'Yoshimi' by the Flaming Lips. I'm sure it's a matter of taste, though.

If there's an MS faq on this stuff, I'd like to see it.

Toot.






http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/domorewith/sursoshowcase.aspx

 

[Beer Monkey]

I've managed to encode WMA 5.1 music that plays properly in surround on the 360.

1) Use 16-bit sampling, not 24-bit.
2) Keep the total bitrate at 384kbps or below.
3) Access via USB, not Media Connect (not sure about MCE).

The resulting music works perfectly in both Neon and during gameplay.

 

[Kleegamefan]

WMA CDs will be fine but DVDA (Meridian Lossless Packing) and SACD (Direct Stream Digital) is a no-go on X360...

PS3 will play DSD audio but not DVDA.......Super Audio CDs are better anyway, IMO

 

[p_xavier]

WMA CDs will be fine but DVDA (Meridian Lossless Packing) and SACD (Direct Stream Digital) is a no-go on X360...

PS3 will play DSD audio but not DVDA.......Super Audio CDs are better anyway, IMO

I've asked the question in another thread but it wasn't answered. DSD is only supported through firewire and HDMI 2.0 right? So, what about the PS3? There's no firewire port and my TV doesn't support HDMI 2.0.

 

[Kleegamefan]

I've asked the question in another thread but it wasn't answered. DSD is only supported through firewire and HDMI 2.0 right? So, what about the PS3? There's no firewire port and my TV doesn't support HDMI 2.0.

Then no SACD for joo j/k

Actually, what you are thinking about is HDMI 1.2

http://www.hdmi.org/press/pr/pr_20050823.asp


Most likely, PS3 will support HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 but there is also the possible option of 5.1 analog outs (plus video, of course) via the AV out on the back of the PS3....

SCEI hasnt said anything but that is the only way it could work would be:

A) CELL decodes DSD audio and sends the raw audio data out through the encrypted HDMI out

and/or

B) CELL decodes DSD audio, performs bass management in the digital domain and then some cheap embedded DAC in the PS3 converts that to an analog signal to be passed via the AV out on the back panel.....the cable would plug into the back of the PS3 and on the other end would have SEVEN cables (six for audio and one for video, either composite video or svideo would be my guess) to be plugged into a reciever...


Those are the options as I see it...

 

[p_xavier]

Then no SACD for joo j/k

Actually, what you are thinking about is HDMI 1.2

http://www.hdmi.org/press/pr/pr_20050823.asp


Most likely, PS3 will support HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 but there is also the possible option of 5.1 analog outs (plus video, of course) via the AV out on the back of the PS3....

SCEI hasnt said anything but that is the only way it could work would be:

A) CELL decodes DSD audio and sends the raw audio data out through the encrypted HDMI out

and/or

B) CELL decodes DSD audio, performs bass management in the digital domain and then some cheap embedded DAC in the PS3 converts that to an analog signal to be passed via the AV out on the back panel.....the cable would plug into the back of the PS3 and on the other end would have SEVEN cables (six for audio and one for video, either composite video or svideo would be my guess)


Those are the options as I see it...

Thanks, hopefully it'll have a C) which is a firewire adapter! Hehe. My receiver is just waiting for that .

 

[gstaff]

does the 360 even support DTS on movies?? also, i thought I read something in egm about a game on 360 with 7.1 audio, is this possible besides being matrixed sound

 

[Kleegamefan]

does the 360 even support DTS on movies?? also, i thought I read something in egm about a game on 360 with 7.1 audio, is this possible besides being matrixed sound

X360 will probably output dts via DVD movies but the 7.1 audio would be via WMA audio.....there is hardware support for WMA audio in X360, though no game uses it sofar....

Again, the problem with this is, so few recievers out there (only certain models from Onkyo, Integra, Denon, Pioneer and Yammy) have WMA decoders so for it to work the audio data would have to be converted to analog in the X360 and output to special 7.1 analog cables to the 7.1 pre ins on a reciever or Pre/pro...

Trouble is, the cable coming from the X360 would have NINE wires on it (8 for audio and one more for composite video, VGA or svideo) and even then, not all recievers have 7.1 pre ins(though there are more of *those* than there are recievers that can accept and decode WMA Pro via S/PDIF optical audio ins), so I don't know how MS is going to address this one...

TVs with HDMI inputs are positively MASS MARKET compared to the number of recievers with WMA decoders and/or 7.1 pre ins.....

 

[Beer Monkey]

For pop and rock, SACD is a dead format. I should know, I've got dozens of the discs and am a big surround fan. There's not one SACD that's come out this year that is of interest to me.

DVD-A is struggling, though there are occasional noteworthy stand-alone discs (this year we had strong releases from Beck, Porcupine Tree, Amon Tobin) and some great DualDiscs with true DVD-A (Talking Heads 'Brick', Foo Fighters 'In Your Honor').

Frankly, the high-res/surround market is fairly lousy these days, except for jazz and classical.

 

[Naked Snake]

Then no SACD for joo j/k

Actually, what you are thinking about is HDMI 1.2

http://www.hdmi.org/press/pr/pr_20050823.asp


Most likely, PS3 will support HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 but there is also the possible option of 5.1 analog outs (plus video, of course) via the AV out on the back of the PS3....

SCEI hasnt said anything but that is the only way it could work would be:

A) CELL decodes DSD audio and sends the raw audio data out through the encrypted HDMI out

and/or

B) CELL decodes DSD audio, performs bass management in the digital domain and then some cheap embedded DAC in the PS3 converts that to an analog signal to be passed via the AV out on the back panel.....the cable would plug into the back of the PS3 and on the other end would have SEVEN cables (six for audio and one for video, either composite video or svideo would be my guess) to be plugged into a reciever...


Those are the options as I see it...

What about sending DSD audio through the optical cable, is that even possible?

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

For pop and rock, SACD is a dead format. I should know, I've got dozens of the discs and am a big surround fan. There's not one SACD that's come out this year that is of interest to me.

DVD-A is struggling, though there are occasional noteworthy stand-alone discs (this year we had strong releases from Beck, Porcupine Tree, Amon Tobin) and some great DualDiscs with true DVD-A (Talking Heads 'Brick', Foo Fighters 'In Your Honor').

Frankly, the high-res/surround market is fairly lousy these days, except for jazz and classical.

I <3 you. But, SACD isn't completely dead. There are actually three notable non-classical releases coming this month: Duran Duran's Astronaut, Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown, and John Mayers' album Room for Squares. Not great releases but at least it shows there's still life. Lots of rumored stuff like the Genesis catalog and possibly Sony licensing their titles out so more releases can be manufactured on top of the PS3 having SACD capabilities makes this an interesting time. (why would they include SACD in the PS3 if it weren't going to be supported? but then that's only wishful thinking for now.)

 

[Naked Snake]

Weren't they supposed to do the rest of Pink Floyd's albums on SACD? I thought Dark Side of the Moon SACD sold extremely well.

 

[Kleegamefan]

What about sending DSD audio through the optical cable, is that even possible?

Its unencrypted so the answer is no...

 

[Beer Monkey]

I <3 you. But, SACD isn't completely dead. There are actually three notable non-classical releases coming this month: Duran Duran's Astronaut, Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown, and John Mayers' album Room for Squares. Not great releases but at least it shows there's still life. Lots of rumored stuff like the Genesis catalog and possibly Sony licensing their titles out so more releases can be manufactured on top of the PS3 having SACD capabilities makes this an interesting time. (why would they include SACD in the PS3 if it weren't going to be supported? but then that's only wishful thinking for now.)

There's nothing I'd like more than to see more pop/rock releases from SACD and DVD-A. I never bought into this whole format war nonsense, both can sound uttlerly fantastic given proper production and mastering. Real music fans should care more about music than formats. The labels aren't supporting pop/rock in high-res/surround very well; Sony may be the worst but the others aren't too much better. At this point many in the industry expect a 'reboot' of this segment on Blu-Ray (which, according to the latest white papers, does not support DSD but does support high-res PCM) and HD-DVD.

As far as Genesis goes, once band politics are worked out these discs will come out on DVD-A or DualDisc in the United States (Atlantic/Atco don't do SACD), but they may still come out on SACD in Europe.

Its unencrypted so the answer is no...

SACD and DVD-A both use far too much bandwidth to fit inside of the TOSLINK specs, so any political concerns re: encryption are moot.

 

[Naked Snake]

Recommend me some awesome SACDs, I only own Dark Side of the Moon and Fragile (NIN). I wish I had a DVD-Audio player, there are some discs on that format I'd like to have.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Weren't they supposed to do the rest of Pink Floyd's albums on SACD? I thought Dark Side of the Moon SACD sold extremely well.

Production has been done on 'Wish You Were Here'. I bet it's complete and EMI is trying to get another moneyhat from Sony before they'll release it on SACD.

IMO, the Quad vinyl and 8-track of DSotM blows away the SACD in surround. It's the mix, baby.

From the numbers that I saw about a year ago, DSotM SACD sold well but not better than certain past reissues like the 20th Anniversary. It's a stretch to say that SACD is what made the disc sell better, to most buyers it was probably just a new $13 street-price reissue CD with new cover art.

 

[Naked Snake]

Production has been done on 'Wish You Were Here'. I bet it's complete and EMI is trying to get another moneyhat from Sony before they'll release it on SACD.

Hot damn, I want it!! On an unrelated note, Pulse 2-Disc DVD is supposed to be finally getting released next month, can't wait.

IMO, the Quad vinyl and 8-track of DSotM blows away the SACD in surround. It's the mix, baby.

Never heard those. I used to always listen to the SACD in surround, then the other day I was too lazy to position the rare speakers properly so I choose the stereo SACD mix and hot damn it sounded awesome, the surround isn't the biggest selling point for me, the "warmer" sound compared to regular audio CD is what I adore about it.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Recommend me some awesome SACDs, I only own Dark Side of the Moon and Fragile (NIN). I wish I had a DVD-Audio player, there are some discs on that format I'd like to have.

Beck - 'Sea Change'
Peter Gabriel - 'Up'
David Bowie - 'Heathen' and 'Reality'

All the Elton John and Steely Dan stuff is fantastic if you like the music.

The Dylan and Rolling Stones stuff (both out of print but available at some stores) all sound great; best digital versions ever though not in surround except for a handful of the Dylan discs.

When I get home I'll look at my shelf and I'm sure some more will come to mind.

Never heard those. I used to always listen to the SACD in surround, then the other day I was too lazy to position the rare speakers properly so I choose the stereo SACD mix and hot damn it sounded awesome, the surround isn't the biggest selling point for me, the "warmer" sound compared to regular audio CD is what I adore about it.

Hey, I love stereo. And if you like that warmth, you must get 'Sea Change'.

Much of that warmth can be had on CD if you master it well, but very little rock on CD is mastered well. Look for stuff mastered by Steve Hoffman, who typically uses a great vacuum-tube rig and gets a nice warm sound from CD. http://www.stevehoffman.tv/discography

 

[Naked Snake]

Beck - 'Sea Change'
Peter Gabriel - 'Up'
David Bowie - 'Heathen' and 'Reality'

All the Elton John and Steely Dan stuff is fantastic if you like the music.

The Dylan and Rolling Stones stuff (both out of print but available at some stores) all sound great; best digital versions ever though not in surround except for a handful of the Dylan discs.

When I get home I'll look at my shelf and I'm sure some more will come to mind.

Thanks!

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

I noticed that BMG music service has all of the Dylan SACD's available. They are right now offering all cd's for $5.99 and free shipping if you order more than 5. This brings the total to just less than $90 for all 15 of the discs, much cheaper than buying the box set.

 

[Jerkface]

I guess the question that I would be asking is are MS going to make ANY part of the music system work in simulated 5.1 (like original Xbox). I could get Xbox1 music bumping almost two times the volume that the 360 can.

For some reason the volume on the music player itself is set really low by default, I had the same problem until I bumped that slider to the top.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I noticed that BMG music service has all of the Dylan SACD's available. They are right now offering all cd's for $5.99 and free shipping if you order more than 5. This brings the total to just less than $90 for all 15 of the discs, much cheaper than buying the box set.

Get em while you can, they are all out of print and the new Dylan remasters are Redbook-only.