Blu-ray Sound Checklist & Summary

Checklist for trouble-free Blu-ray sound:
To avoid the many potential sources of problems with Blu-ray sound, you should always check the following points during installation or when tracking down a fault:

1. Can the AV receiver or pre-amp decode all formats? Can it process multichannel sound?

2. Is the player's decoder set correctly? For audio processing in the receiver, set all settings to neutral; if the receiver is just looping the signal through, consider carefully the level, size, number, and distance of the speakers.

3. Which device is decoding which format? If possible, the best option is to let the AV receiver do it all. If this doesn't work, activate all of the player's decoders.

4. Is the secondary audio or audio mixing switched on? Switch these off for the best sound quality.

5. Is the display resolution set to HD for HDMI transfers? If not, you won't generally be able to use HD audio.

Blu-rays provide the highest audio resolutions, but there are also many new functions, such as audio mixing, that can quickly lead to confusion. In general, you'll get the most out of the technology if you use the most modern devices - especially a Blu-ray player with the full range of decoders. But we also recommend using modern AV receivers with comprehensive features.

Things only get really tricky if the signal chain involves older components that were bought before Blu-ray's introduction. In these cases, you'll often have to seek compromises and accept certain restrictions.