which freeviewhd recorders on sale at argos asda etc transcode aac to 5.1 dd sound?

AnthonyUK

I am looking for a freeviewhd recorder currently on sale that transcodes transmitted aac 5.1 surround sound on freeview hd channels to dolbydigital 5.1 surround sound but its hard to get technical info from store staff on which gear actually does this and I have hit a few brickwalls trying to find out.

Is there a list of definitive gear on sale out there that automatically does this (and preferably without need for software updates) that's readily available to pick up over the counter at argos/asda etc and use immediately?

Transcoding hd channel he-aac audio to dolbydigital5.1/stereo 2.0 has become a mandatory part of the Freeview hd technical specifications from 2011 (but without any actual technical info flying around from the various manufacturers on what gear does what), its precisely hard to know what manufacturers' gear actually does it whether it;

automatically picks up and transcodes the hd he-aac audio to dolby,
or, thru an ota software update or manually from a manufacturer's website as a download to a usb penstick for upgrading the receivers/recorder software to do this.

Does anybody know?

I dont want to buy a Freeviewhd recorder unit marked Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus only to be disappointed when I set it up to find that it DOESNT transcode the hd stereo/5.1 he-aac sound to full Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound at all and finding out that I made a costly mistake buying the wrong unit!

WilliamO

If you are talking about a freeview recorder that can output 5.1 Dolby sound take a look at maplin's:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/productsearch.aspx?navigationCommand=Ntk:si_1%7Cfreeview%20recorder%7C1%7C,Ro:0,Ns:p_price%7C101%7C1%7C&criteria=freeview+recorder&s=p_price+ascending

Just picking this philips at random states output - Dolby Digital 5.1 audio output.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/philips-hdt8520-500gb-freeview-hd-twin-tuner-recorder-refurbished-517606

AnthonyUK

WilliamO wrote: »

If you are talking about a freeview recorder that can output 5.1 Dolby sound take a look at maplin's:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/productsearch.aspx?navigationCommand=Ntk:si_1%7Cfreeview%20recorder%7C1%7C,Ro:0,Ns:p_price%7C101%7C1%7C&criteria=freeview+recorder&s=p_price+ascending

Just picking this philips at random states output - Dolby Digital 5.1 audio output.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/philips-hdt8520-500gb-freeview-hd-twin-tuner-recorder-refurbished-
517606

thanks for that! i'll buy one:);) thats very good indeed. thankyou! but cautiously...there has been a few reliability hiccups:(

almillar

AnthonyUK - you sound very clued up, but I just had to check - you do know that very little is actually broadcast in 5.1 on Freeview? Jools Holland would be an example of something that is, and SOMETIMES films are. Very hit and miss though. It's part of the Freeview HD specification though, so they should all do it. Have heard of glitches like dropouts in sound when switching between 5.1 and 2.1 or stereo stuff, but they should all support it. Feel free to name and shame whatever device you have that won't do it to help others!

AnthonyUK

almillar wrote: »

AnthonyUK - you sound very clued up, but I just had to check - you do know that very little is actually broadcast in 5.1 on Freeview? Jools Holland would be an example of something that is, and SOMETIMES films are. Very hit and miss though. It's part of the Freeview HD specification though, so they should all do it. Have heard of glitches like dropouts in sound when switching between 5.1 and 2.1 or stereo stuff, but they should all support it. Feel free to name and shame whatever device you have that won't do it to help others!

Not quite correct there some bbc drama programmes are recorded in 5.1 dolbydigital like dr.who which sounds fantastic as do period and modern dramas on the beeb;these often use dolby digital 5.1 surround sound as the upcoming eurovision song contest will be dd5.1 much as it was last year. The number of programmes in 5.1 is slowly increasing on bbc one hd/bbc two hd and channel4 hd its just itv hd (and its paytv equivalents itv2hd itv3hd and itv4hd on Sky/VM) dragging it's heels and being slow to adopt it with dolbysurround 2.0 and dolbydigital stereo 2.0 and no proper 5.1 programming/broadcasts. Snooker and live sports have recently been broadcast in dolbydigital5.1-it benefits live programmes and outside broadcasts as well, not just recorded ones plus films.

almillar

I said there was very little and gave 1 example. You gave several more examples. I'd still say there's very little 5.1 stuff out there. You also didn't name your device or setup - there are stacks of potential problems to overcome between the broadcast and your speakers.

AnthonyUK

I have a philips bluray homecinema system with all 5.1 speakers and it has spdif optical and coaxial digital connections which WILL decode dolby digital signals in mono stereo surround and FULL blown dolby digital 5.1 from freeviewhd/skyhd/freesathd and vm hd thru the digital spdif optical/digital coaxial inputs on the back of the unit. The philips freeview hd unit suggested to me at maplin apparently does transcode the he-aac 5.1 surround audio into full blown 5.1 dolbydigital surround sound and output it to suitable equipment with dolby digital decoding built in thru the spdif/coax sockets of the recorder. When switching to dolby digital stereo 2.0 from full-blown dolby digital 5.1 surround on off-air hd broadcasts(tried it at a mates house on freesathd), the bluray system automatically outputs as Dolby Pro Logic II music or movie mode(movie mode is best as it centralises speech and sends all stereo and rear surround effects to the appropriate speakers as necessary). No problems at all!