here is a very useful FAQ taken from avsforum.com
1) I own a Playstation 3 and want to get the best sound possible with my Blu Ray movies what should my settings be?
Please be sure to read through Questions 1 and 2 in the "HI DEFINITION AUDIO QUESTIONS:" secrtion (above) to get a fuller understanding of how the Playstation 3 and other hi def players decode audio. I will assume you are up to speed with that information in the things I am talking about next.
For nearly all situations setting your Playstation 3 to PCM output is going to be the best setting for great HD audio. When you select PCM during movie play back your receiver will likely say Multichannel on the front display (if you didn't change listening modes). Multichannel is normal and YES, you are getting True HD and uncompressed PCM audio playback (your PS3 is doing the decoding work, not the receiver, this is why the receiver gives a generic read out.)
Turning on PCM:
To select Linear PCM on the PS3; Play a Blu Ray movie then during playback of the movie, click the "Triangle" button, then select the "AV Settings" icon from the popup menu (looks like 2 sliders), "Audio Output Options" you can select (Linear PCM) or (Bitstream).
5.1 Home Theater Setups:
If you only have a 5.1 speaker set up for your home theater you never have to change your receivers DSP to anything other then Multichannel, this will be your best setting forever on the Onkyo 705 itself. ALL Blu Ray movies are at the very minimum made for 5.1 audio. However, please note; that if you play older Standard Definition (SD) movies, it still gives you a benefit of setting your player to bitstream so you gain ability to decode Dolby Digital and DTS on your receiver.
6.1 & 7.1 Home Theater Setups:
If you own a 6.1 or 7.1 speaker setup for your home theater and you look on the back of your blu ray disc box and the movie says 5.1 channel and you want to "matrix" the audio up to 6.1 or 7.1 channels, you need to switch your DSP to something like PLIIx (anything with the x or ex monikers will do this... ex. Thx Surround EX, Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES Matrix). These will fill in those other (1 or 2) extra speakers even though the sound track is only 5.1. If you leave it on multichannel and the original track is only 5.1 it will stay at 5.1. If you have a Blu ray movie that has a soundtrack create in 6.1 or 7.1 channels (it will say on back of the box) then you may choose to leave it on multichannel and just let the original soundtrack do its job filling all your channels.
What format are you getting? How many channels?
Playstation 3 will send up to 7.1 channels of audio over hdmi. Your receiver is never going to tell you this is happening. The only way you will know is if you click info on the PS3 you will see what kind of audio it is decoding internally. To find out what audio format and how many channels your PS3 is decoding click the "Select" button during movie playback, at the top you will see what its doing. (Ex. Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Ch. 48Hz 4.5 Mbps)
DTS HD Master Audio & the Playstation 3:
UPDATE: As of Playstation 3 firmware version 2.30 which is out now, the PS3 can internally decode DTS HD MA tracks and this is no longer an inconvenience for PS3 owners.
Now that the PS3 can internally decode DTS HD MA you want to keep your ps3 set to Linear PCM for best hi def audio quality of this format.
DTS Core (The "Lossy" DTS signal PS3 owners get if you set your player to bitstream):
At the heart of DTS HD Master Audio signal is an additional DTS Surround Sound Core track, this is the lossy version you are hearing when you play back DTS MA movies on your Playstation 3 using bitstream. DTS Core is actually very similar to the old school standard DTS signal (only up to 1.5 Mbps max). This is a far cry from the bandwidth of the Hi Def audio formats. DTS Core is also limited to a maximum of 6.1 channels only so you can't get 7.1 channel playback when DTS Core is in effect. Your forced to use your receiver to matrix that extra channel up to 7.1. Before the DTS HD MA patch on the ps3 this used to be what we heard all the time for dts hd ma movies. Now just be sure to keep you ps3 set to linear pcm output to get the hi def full version of dts hd ma track.
For more information on DTS Core please visit this link
http://www.dtsonline.com/dts-hd/bett...d-tomorrow.php2) Why won't my Playstation 3 allow my receiver to decode HD audio formats for me? Will it ever be able to?
Please be sure to read through Questions 1 and 2 in the "HI DEFINITION AUDIO QUESTIONS:" section above as well as the question preceding this one. You will need to have an advanced understanding of bitstream vs lossless bitsream vs PCM, also how HD audio formats getting decoded in the player vs the receiver.
Even though Playstation 3 is HDMI 1.3 device it doesn't mean its privy to the full list of 1.3a spec of capabilities. Sony cut a very early deal for a proprietary version of the Silicon Image Vastlane chipset (the 9132). The Vastlane chipset is the brain of HD audio and HD video used among many companies. After the PS3 came out Silicon Image released a (possibly revised) public version of that chipset used in Ps3, this newer chipset is the Vastlane 9134. These latest versions are used for players such as Toshiba A35 and Samsung BDP1400. Even to this day a year later, the new ps3's still use the older proprietary 9132 model.
The PS3 was the 1st 1.3 hdmi kid on the block. The Vastlane 9132 chip was made proprietary for Sony to use in the PS3 and is not sold to the public (other companies). Also, its "official" specs are not listed for the public on any known website. However, If you read the financial report from Silicon Image from the time frame (google this) when the playstation 3 came out you see the Ps3 chipset listed with specs (simple specs, but specs never the less). These specs do not mention handling of the latest HD audio formats at all.