Connect a Blu-ray Disc Player to a TV Using HDMI
The easiest way to access audio from a Blu-ray Disc player is to connect the player’s HDMI output to an HDMI-equipped TV. Since the HDMI cable carries both the audio and video signal to the TV, you can access audio from a Blu-ray Disc. The downside to this method is that it depends on the TV’s audio capabilities to reproduce the sound, which often doesn’t deliver the greatest results.
Loop HDMI Through a Home Theater Receiver
Accessing audio using an HDMI-TV connection produces so-so quality. Connecting a Blu-ray Disc player to an HDMI-equipped home theater receiver produces better sound results. For this to work, your home theater receiver must have built-in Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio decoders. If you loop the HDMI output from a Blu-ray Disc player through a home theater receiver to a TV, the receiver passes the video to the TV. It then accesses the audio and performs additional processing before passing the audio signal to the receiver’s amplifier stage and on to the speakers. See if your receiver has pass-through HDMI connections for audio or if the receiver can access audio signals for further decoding and processing. Your home theater receiver’s user manual should illustrate and explain this.
Two HDMI Outputs
Some Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray Players have two HDMI outputs. Use one HDMI output to send video to a TV or video projector. Use the second output to send audio to a home theater receiver.
Use Digital Optical or Coaxial Audio Connections
Digital optical and digital coaxial connections are commonly used for accessing audio from a DVD player, and most Blu-ray Disc players also offer this option. The downside is that these connections can access only standard Dolby Digital/DTS surround signals and not higher-resolution digital surround-sound formats, such as Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, and DTS:X. However, if you’re satisfied with the results you experienced with a DVD player, you’ll get the same results when using a digital optical or digital coaxial connection with a Blu-ray disc player.
Use 5.1/7.1 Channel Analog Audio Connections
If you have a Blu-ray Disc player equipped with 5.1/7.1 channel analog outputs (also referred to as multichannel analog outputs), access the player’s internal Dolby/DTS surround-sound decoders and send multichannel uncompressed PCM audio from the Blu-ray Disc Player to a compatible home theater receiver. In this type of setup, the Blu-ray Disc player decodes all the surround-sound formats internally and sends the decoded signal to a home theater receiver or amplifier in a format referred to as uncompressed PCM. The amplifier or receiver then amplifies and distributes the sound to the speakers. This is useful when you have a home theater receiver without digital optical/coaxial or HDMI audio input access but can accommodate either 5.1/ 7.1 channel analog audio input signals. If your Blu-ray Disc player also incorporates the ability to listen to SACDs or DVD audio discs and has 5.1/7.1 channel analog audio outputs, its built-in DACs (Digital-to-Analog Audio Converters) may be better than the ones in your home theater receiver. If so, connect the 5.1/7.1-channel analog output connections to a home theater receiver instead of the HDMI connection (at least for audio).
Use Two-Channel Analog Audio Connections
The last resort is connecting a Blu-ray Disc player to a home theater receiver or TV using the two-channel (stereo) analog audio connection. This prevents access to digital surround-sound audio formats. However, if you have a TV, soundbar, home-theater-in-a-box, or home theater receiver that offers Dolby Prologic, Prologic II, or Prologic IIx processing, you can extract a surround-sound signal from embedded cues present within a two-channel stereo audio signal. This method isn’t as accurate as true Dolby or DTS decoding. Still, it provides an acceptable result from two-channel sources. Many Blu-ray Disc players have eliminated the analog two-channel stereo audio output option. However, some higher-end models still have the feature. If you want this option, your choices may be limited.
