Optical audio issues with the PS3?

Dezzy

Dezzy

CAGiversary!
My PS3 is plugged into the TV with HDMI, and into my new 5.1 Receiver with Optical. I changed the audio setting on the PS3 to optical and enabled all the options.

Seems fine, except that the little 'click' sounds(key tones) when moving around the XMB are gone.

Super Stardust HD has NO sound, and when I started up the Sonic 4 demo, at the beginning where it says "SEGA" the sound didn't kick in right away and it sounded like "EGA"

Is there some kind of issue with optical that makes the sound not 'turn on' right away when sound starts playing?

I want a new TV but it only has optical-out for sound, and I don't like using the crappy built-in speakers.
 
When I use optical out on my receiver I have a setting that forces it to stick with one audio format (Linear PCM for example). Check your receivers manual and see if it has this kind of setting. When using Optical Audio most default settings allow it to look for multiple audio formats. So when a game/movie is silent it will look for one of 2-3 audio formats like Dolby, DTS, and Linear PCM until it hears a sound.
 
Dude I use Optical and sometimes the audio goes in and out on the xmb , so I bought a new cable and ....the same thing :(

I think I am just going to buy a coaxial cable and find a way to do it that way lol
 
[quote name='Dezuria']My PS3 is plugged into the TV with HDMI, and into my new 5.1 Receiver with Optical. I changed the audio setting on the PS3 to optical and enabled all the options.

Seems fine, except that the little 'click' sounds(key tones) when moving around the XMB are gone.

Super Stardust HD has NO sound, and when I started up the Sonic 4 demo, at the beginning where it says "SEGA" the sound didn't kick in right away and it sounded like "EGA"

Is there some kind of issue with optical that makes the sound not 'turn on' right away when sound starts playing?

I want a new TV but it only has optical-out for sound, and I don't like using the crappy built-in speakers.[/QUOTE]

The reason this is happening is because the decode mode on the optical input of your receiver is set to Auto which is typically the default. In Auto mode the receiver will change the decode mode depending on the type of signal that's being sent across the cable whether it be PCM or bitstreamed (Dolby Digital/DTS). The initial sound of PCM signals will be cut off depending on the speed of your receiver. One way to prevent this from happening is to change the decode mode from Auto to PCM. You then would have the problem of having to manually change the decode mode whenever playing media using bitstreamed signals (Dolby Digital/DTS). Bear in mind that the names of these modes/settings may be slightly different depending on the manufacturer of your receiver but the concept is the same. Nothing is wrong with your cables.

Not sure why you're not getting any sound when playing Stardust HD. Make sure you have Dolby Digital and DTS enabled on the PS3. Also make sure you don't have any of the PCM choices higher than 2 channels selected.

Your best bet if you're able to is return your new receiver and get one with HDMI.
 
I have my consoles hooked up to the TV via HDMI, and the TV has an optical out to the receiver. Lucky me, it actually passes the full Dolby Digital 5.1 through, even though I've always read that TVs don't normally do this.

My digital cable and Xbox 360 both work with no issues once set to DD 5.1, but the PS3 still has that issue with the beginning of sounds being cut off, whenever they break pure silence. Stardust has it's full 5.1 sound working now at least!

When selecting Blu-ray audio options, do I pick Bitstream or PCM? My receiver does Dolby Digital 5.1, but not DTS. Sounds like Bitstream would be better. but the PS3 gives a warning that not all audio will play or something when I pick it.
 
I've used digital optical outs with my PS3 (org 60gb) and I've never had a problem with the optical out.. no skipping nothing.
 
[quote name='Dezuria']I have my consoles hooked up to the TV via HDMI, and the TV has an optical out to the receiver. Lucky me, it actually passes the full Dolby Digital 5.1 through, even though I've always read that TVs don't normally do this.

My digital cable and Xbox 360 both work with no issues once set to DD 5.1, but the PS3 still has that issue with the beginning of sounds being cut off, whenever they break pure silence. Stardust has it's full 5.1 sound working now at least!

When selecting Blu-ray audio options, do I pick Bitstream or PCM? My receiver does Dolby Digital 5.1, but not DTS. Sounds like Bitstream would be better. but the PS3 gives a warning that not all audio will play or something when I pick it.[/QUOTE]

With your setup you should select bitstream. If you select PCM when using an optical cable, you will only get two channels of audio. The portions of audio you might not hear are those button sound effects when using the Blu-ray menus.

In my opinion using the optical out from the TV may be skewing some of the results you're getting. One thing you could try is to run an additional optical cable directly from the PS3 to your receiver. I believe a recent firmware update now allows both HDMI and optical outputs to be used at the same time for sound. Then under the PS3 video settings select bitstream (mix) for the Blu-ray optical out settings. This should allow you to hear the sound effects in the Blu-ray menus. FYI, the audio quality for mix may be degraded compared to direct. See the following link for more info:

http://asia.playstation.com/hk/en/support/osDetail/144930#bd_audio

As long as you are using the optical cable with the PS3, expect to hear the initial milliseconds of sound cut off as your receiver automatically switches between PCM and bitstream. You're not experiencing the same issue on the Xbox 360 and cable box due to different design. When the 360 is set to Dolby Digital 5.1, the 360 sends the signal continuously so your receiver doesn't have to change modes on the fly. If you change the 360 audio output to 'Digital Stereo' it will do the exact same thing your PS3 is doing with sound. There is nothing wrong with your PS3, the PS2 also did the same thing. Upgrading to an HDMI receiver will resolve the limitation.
 
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