# Firmware Update on Samsung BD-1500 killed S/PDIF(OPT) Dolby Digital



## keelay (Dec 11, 2008)

It appears that after I updated the firmware (Now 2.4) on my Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player I can no longer get Dolby Digital on the S/PDIF port. I previously had this functionality. This is true when playing DVD's and BluRays. 

My setup:
I have the Blu-Ray player hooked up with HDMI and S/PDIF(OPT) to my Onkyo TXSR505 7.1 receiver. This receiver only does HDMI switching (doesn't look at or decode audio). The receiver doesn't decode the HD audio formats of DD or DTS (Just DTS-ES and Dolby-Digital EX). The Onkyo passes the HDMI to my Samsung HL-T5087S 1080p DLP HDTV. I don't use my TV speakers. 

The Receiver used to detect Dolby Digital from the Blu-Ray player over the Optical cable until the firmware update. Now I don't get it. My best option right now is DTS NEO and Dolby Prologic II Movie mode. AHHH the medicrity!

I've tried I think all the settings in the Samsung Audio Setup. Bitstream (Audiophile), Bitstream (re-encode), PCM. Same results. 

I wonder if the TV being in the HDMI audio chain makes the Blu-ray player act differently. I'm not sure if the Player can detect an audio receiver capability over HDMI. I really don't know. The S/PDIF is the only audio connection from the BluRay to the receiver so it works it just doesn't see a dolby digital signal coming down the pipe.

Any ideas? I'm not ready to upgrade to a HD decoding reciever yet, I'd like to keep this setup until I can afford a new receiver.

Thanks,

Kyle
*

UPDATE: Read Post #5 for the solution to my problem. Silly Silly me...*


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Have you checked the user menu? Firmware updates usually reset the audio options to there defaults (usually PCM instead of bitstream).


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

keelay said:


> It appears that after I updated the firmware (Now 2.4) on my Samsung BD-1500 Blu-ray player I can no longer get Dolby Digital on the S/PDIF port. I previously had this functionality. This is true when playing DVD's and BluRays.
> 
> My setup:
> I have the Blu-Ray player hooked up with HDMI and S/PDIF(OPT) to my Onkyo TXSR505 7.1 receiver. This receiver only does HDMI switching (doesn't look at or decode audio). The receiver doesn't decode the HD audio formats of DD or DTS (Just DTS-ES and Dolby-Digital EX). The Onkyo passes the HDMI to my Samsung HL-T5087S 1080p DLP HDTV. I don't use my TV speakers.
> ...


I've heard of others having similar problems with that FW version..
It seems that Samsung really screwed up that version..in fact it even disappeared off their website for awhile..and was still presenting problems when it was reinstated..:thumbsdown:
Consequently, I'm staying with the previous FW version..:yes:

If you can get hold of a previous version and reload that, it might be your only way around the problem..


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## keelay (Dec 11, 2008)

Thanks for the responses anyone have a copy of the previous version? Please PM me if you do.

Thanks!

Kyle


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## keelay (Dec 11, 2008)

OK :duh:

I figured out what I problem was today. And I feel like an idiot. My surround sound works perfectly fine now. Here's how it I thought it was hooked up:

BluRay --[OPT1]--->Receiver
|
+-----[HDMI]--->TV

Here's how it was really hooked up:

BluRay --[OPT2]---> nowhere 
|
+-----[HDMI]--->TV---[OPT1]--->Receiver

I discovered this when I went to play my playstation II, which was supposed to be hooked up to another optical port on the reciever (OPT2). The sound wouldn't work so I discovered that the TV had taken the optical cable. So after unplugging it from the TV and plugging it in to the PS2, the sound worked perfectly. But I had to switch the Aux sound to use OPT1 to make that happen. That triggered my memory from all the time I spent trouble shooting the BluRay that the BluRay was on OPT1. That was the only one that would work. 

So bad assumption #1 was that since there was an optical cable connected to the back of the BluRay (it went back behind the cabinetry and you can't easily see where it goes) and that I got sound out when switching the receiver to use an optical input, that the BluRay was actually connected directly to the receiver using the optical cable.

In reality what was occurring was that the audio track which went down the HDMI cable to the TV was getting filtered to stereo by the TV then sent out it's optical out port to the receiver. The TV filtering was the reason that I could not get anything but PCM stereo out of OPT1. So now here my fixed and working setup:


BluRay----[OPT2]--->Receiver<----[OPT1]----PS2
| 
+-----[HDMI]--->TV

So somewhere along the way I hooked up my system in a very strange way, forgot that it was like that, got a firmware update (2.4) from Samsung, and then realized that I couldn't get surround sound. I unfairly thought it was the firmware update that did it.

So anyways. Thanks for looking. I hope you learned something. I did.

Kyle


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## Prof. (Oct 20, 2006)

These annoying things are sent to test us..:bigsmile:
Having easy access to the rear of the equipment and wiring, does help to readily identify problems..and make life much easier..:yes:


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