is 7.1 surround noticeable from 5.1?

[NANOTEC]

For BR, you don't. You just need IEEE1394/FireWire/iLink input on your A/V Receiver. Most Dolby/DTS receivers include this, because it is how SACD/DVD-A players route digital audio to A/V receivers. But Sony did something really stupid: They removed the iLink/Firewire/1394 port from the PS3. Not only won't FireWire cameras be able to plug into the PS3, but SACD/DVD-A/BD media won't be able to use it for audio output.

Wrong, most receivers DO NOT have firewire inputs. Most receivers DO have multichannel analog coaxial inputs for SACD/DVDA.

However, there will most definately be HDMI splitters on the market which extract the audio and route it to 1394. That's because of a the huge volume of AV receivers that don't have HDMI, and the fact that not everyone who buys an A/V receiver buys one with video switching capability. Many people buy audio-only AV receivers, so you'll need an external splitter device to extract the video/audio separately.

Irrelevent due to false assumption.

 

[DemoCoder]

Wrong, most receivers DO NOT have firewire inputs. Most receivers DO have multichannel analog coaxial inputs for SACD/DVDA.

Now comes the time for you to play your little weasel game. In the last 2 years, how many receivers sold, out of the total models on the market, don't have a 1394 input? The vast majority of A/V receivers sold today have 1394.

Those people with 7.1 setups or those that care about TrueHD are going to have a THX Ultra2 receiver, and I frankly can't find any that don't have 1394. In fact, I just searched for the cheapest <$1000 receivers I could find and they still had 1394.

Audiophiles who care about TrueHD are not going to have a crusty old 4 year old receiver.

Come on NANOTEC, let's have the weasel argument. Yes yes, I know it's coming "'most receivers means out of the totality of receivers in homes".

Most people buying BR standalone players in the first year or two (early adopters) are going to have TV's with HDMI input, and receivers with 1394 inputs.

So drop the pretense, you tried to claim HDMI 1.3 is a virtual requirement for TrueHD. It's not. You need wither a HDMI 1.3 capable receiver or a 1394 capable receiver. What is someone more likely going to have at home, a receiver with the very latest HDMI spec, or a receiver with 1394, which is already the case of most models sold on the market today.

QED

 

[NANOTEC]

Now comes the time for you to play your little weasel game. In the last 2 years, how many receivers sold, out of the total models on the market, don't have a 1394 input? The vast majority of A/V receivers sold today have 1394.

Those people with 7.1 setups or those that care about TrueHD are going to have a THX Ultra2 receiver, and I frankly can't find any that don't have 1394. In fact, I just searched for the cheapest <$1000 receivers I could find and they still had 1394.

Audiophiles who care about TrueHD are not going to have a crusty old 4 year old receiver.

Come on NANOTEC, let's have the weasel argument. Yes yes, I know it's coming "'most receivers means out of the totality of receivers in homes".

Most people buying BR standalone players in the first year or two (early adopters) are going to have TV's with HDMI input, and receivers with 1394 inputs.

So drop the pretense, you tried to claim HDMI 1.3 is a virtual requirement for TrueHD. It's not. You need wither a HDMI 1.3 capable receiver or a 1394 capable receiver. What is someone more likely going to have at home, a receiver with the very latest HDMI spec, or a receiver with 1394, which is already the case of most models sold on the market today.

QED

Legend doesn't have a receiver yet so your superfluous rationalizing has been rendered null and void.

 

[DemoCoder]

Even better. If he doesn't have a receiver yet, he doesn't have a legacy receiver with no 1394, ergo, if he buys a receiver, he'll have 1394 (and likely HDMI as well) Ergo, if he buys a player with *only* HDMI out and no 1394-out, then he will either have to use HDMI, or get a HDMI->1394 audio splitter once they hit the market.

The reality is, many standalone BR players will have 1394 out (in the long term, atleast until HDMI kills off 1394) The initial prototype units don't, but they don't have alot of features that DVDs do on output. (I should add, that AACS must approve 1394 DTCP, otherwise, 1394 will be restricted to 48kbit/16bit (whoop-de-doo) output.)