Astro B.yond: HDMI and Dolby 5.1

Sorry, I was wrong.

I  said the B.yond decoder doesn’t send 5.1 over HDMI. This is not true, it does…whether you can receive this is a different matter.

Setting the Audio to “Dolby 5.1 (digital only)” and using HDMI

Chances are that if you connected B.yond via HDMI to your TV and select “Dolby 5.1 (digital only)” on the decoder you will not hear  audio on our HD channels that have a programme in Dolby 5.1.

Why? because most TV’s do not have 5.1 capabillities or the ability to do a down-mix of  5.1 to stereo.  Instead they do a Dolby Pass Through via HDMI, Digital Audio Coax or Optical leads to a receiver that is Dolby friendly such as a home theatre system.

The following is from our Technician Sheikh when I asked him for some clarification.

“The term “Dolby Down-mix” is the ability to play Dolby 5.1 (in this case) through a 2 speaker system. Although the Dolby effects are lost in a 2 speaker system, the advantage of this setup (or equipment) is that a system that can perform Dolby down-mix would not require a 5.1 speaker system. This is also an advantage for headphone and earphone users or people who like low level listening (ie watching movies in the wee hours of the morning).”

The B.yond  Dolby audio out of the decoder is not down mixed.  If your TV set has a Dolby down-mix option set your B.yond decoder to Dolby 5.1. & your TV will be able to play both Dolby or stereo on any service.  If  you are in the same boat as most TV owners and your TV can’t Dolby down-mix then set your B.yond decoder to “Stereo” if only connecting the decoder to the TV.

Your TV manual should be able to tell you if your TV does Dolby down mix or Dolby Pass Through.

Advanced Connections

If you are connecting to a Home Theatres, HDMI Switcher, Amp etc you still may have to use a Digital Coax connection to get 5.1. This is due to how the HDMI is switched between your equipment and also compatibility of devices and HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection- copy protection system used with  HDMI) .  Some Home Theatres and Amps act as switchers and some do not. You will need to consult the user manual of your system to find out about this.

A last word from Sheikh

“The main importance in acquiring equipment would be to determine whether the system is HDMI 1.3 and HDCP compliant .
When something is not right, this is where the issue of ‘copy protection’ occurs on the TV. This can be due to a multitude of reasons, the primary reason may be due to compliance (in the case of cheap HDMI splitters), electrical handshakes (equipment connecting to one another) , software handshakes (equipment negotiations between one another ) , cables affecting the data and signal , etc..
Troubleshooting HDCP is not something straightforward due to this complexity.”