Samsung Q8 2018 model .. Pcm or Bitstream for Home theater setup.. Whats the best option

TechWizard

I have a question for home theater.. for the tv sound settings via hdmi arc to receiver. What produced the best sound Pcm or Bitstream.. What setting should i use for my home theater setup to get the best quality sound

Dodgexander

Bitstream so that when you use a source connected to the TV with surround sound or a source with surround sound from an app it will send 5.1 to your receiver.

TechWizard

Ok does the same apply to the PS4 bitstream over pcm always heard pcm is higher bit rates ..

Dodgexander

The PCM option is just there for compatibility in case your receiver can't decode audio like Dolby Digital or DTS. On the PS4 it makes no difference if you are using PCM instead of bitstream because all that happens is the sound is decoded by the PS4 before its sent to the receiver.

On the TV it does not support more than 2CH sound with PCM so the options on each device are different.

TechWizard

so with ps4 hooked up hdmi to avr is it best bitstream or pcm.. same goes with tv via arc

Dodgexander

Yes, or auto if you have that option on the TV.

TechWizard

weird i had someone at the ps4 pro forums here tell me that pcm on ps4 is better option because its 7 channels for the avr.. didnt understand that but oh well .

Dodgexander

It may well be, I assumed the setting was for blu-rays and not for games. Games will natively have PCM audio so if the PS4 is transcoding game audio to DTS or Dolby thats not good.

Which option is it for? Games or Video playback? Easy way to tell is play a game with bitstream enabled and see if your av receiver receives dolby or dts.

TechWizard

we r talking about games for ps4 pro and netflix ,vudu and amazon prime for tv apps.. bitstream or pcm want the best possible sound for my avr with tv apps and for games on ps4

Dodgexander

Well if that setting applies both for apps and games then you have a bit of an issue. Are you sure it applies to everything? Test it to be sure. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't give you one option and transcode all game auidio if you select bitstream.

But beware, some games may have dolby or dts soundtracks, so in that case bitstreaming may be better for said game.

If it does also change games so that they bitstream DTS or Dolby instead of output PCM then:

For games PCM is better, for apps bitstreaming.