No bass (.1) channel in this game?

[shooky]

Not sure if anyone else is having this problem, but I'm not getting any bass/.1 channel from Rock Band 2. I'm fairly certain Rock Band 1 had it, but I noticed (even with the volume turned up and the bass boost on) that my subwoofer shut itself off (which it does with 15 mins of inactivity).

I know it's not my PS3 or receiver settings, as I've played plenty of games before and after noticing this, and they all had a .1 channel. Even watching movies, I get .1.

Anyone have any ideas what's going on? Does the game just not have it?

[bugman72]

Are you sure that you've gone into the game's audio settings and checked the Dolby Digital box? By default, this box is not checked. You will notice a big difference in sound output after checking it.

[shooky]

Positive I checked it.

I went back and tried out RB1, and it's suffering the same problem. Even with Dolby Digital turned on, the subwoofer will still shut off or remain off.

I should also note that my PS3 and receiver combo will not allow me to hear .mp3s in anything but 2.0 channels.

However, games (except the Rock Band series) and movies (Blu-Ray and DVD) all play in 5.1 no problem. I do get 5.0 channels with Rock Band 1/2.

[mrfattbill]

What type of receiver and how do you have the audio hooked up? Also are your speakers set to "small" on the receiver?

Bill

[Highlandlassie1]

I have a high end Sony reciever.

As the poster above has mentioned, for your sub to work with rockband your speaker setup needs to be set to "small".

Setting to large sends all bass to the front speakers and not the sub.

Only game that requires this.

Wish it was not the case, but it is.

Try going into your setup menu for the reciever and check to see if this applies to your unit.

[shooky]

My receiver is a JVC RX-D702B. And, yes, it's set to "small" speakers.

Here's the manual:
http://books.jvcservice.com/booklist.asp?Model=RX-D702B

I know that it has some problems with dealing with multichannel PCM over HDMI (on page 12 of the manual). My receiver needs a dedicated LFE track, which apparently this game does not have.

I forgot to mention that it's .mp3s and CDs that I do not get any .1 audio from, not just mp3s.

[mrfattbill]

Have you tried running the audio out to the receiver via an optical cable?

PS3?

Bill

[shooky]

I had in the past, but that caused movies and other games play in 2.1 audio instead of 5.1.

I guess the problem, is that Rock Band 1/2 does not have a dedicated LFE track, which is rather disappointing.

[DoctorEdd]

I am running a JVC RX 412B (very similar to yours) and suffered the exact problem as you have. Here is how I fixed it (it's a PIA). On you PS3, go into audio settings and disable the PCM modes. This forces the PS3 to output a Dolby Digital signal. In Rock Band, make sure Dolby Digital is checked. You should now have your sub back. This also fixes the audio output for mp3s (CDs im not certain). Only thing is if you want PCM for movies, you have manually switch PCM back on under PS3 audio settings, and then off again to play Rock Band. Like I said, a real PIA, but that's how I did it. Good luck.

[shooky]

Hmm...I'm pretty sure I set the audio settings (for music and movies) to bitstream already.

Or, are you referring to all the PCM modes that the receiver should support?

Do you still get 5.1 audio from movies and games with all of the PCM modes disabled?

I really with that Sony would fix this issue. None of my other devices that are connected via HDMI cables appear to have this problem with audio (CDs and .MP3s in particular).

[DoctorEdd]

Yes, even though the receiver supports the PCM modes, they do not work, for whatever reason, in Rock Band.

You'll still get Dolby Digital 5.1 if you leave PCM modes off, however I always switch them back on after I'm done playing RB.

[shooky]

Thanks. I've gone this long without realizing that neither Rock Band games have a dedicated LFE channel, I'd rather not keep switching back and forth.

I find it rather silly my cheap-o LG HDMI DVD player can create a .1 channel, but the PS3 cannot.

[DoctorEdd]

The PS3 can, its just that Rock Band was coded without the dedicated LFE channel used in PCM. In every other game or movie, the PS3 audio kicks ass in PCM. Blame Harmonix.

[elfreako]

I have a high end Sony reciever.

As the poster above has mentioned, for your sub to work with rockband your speaker setup needs to be set to "small".

Setting to large sends all bass to the front speakers and not the sub.

Only game that requires this.

Wish it was not the case, but it is.

Try going into your setup menu for the reciever and check to see if this applies to your unit.

This may come late but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

[shooky]

DoctorEdd,

I attempted to test the method that you suggested.

However, I'm unable to remove certain PCM audio options (the basic ones) in the PS3 audio settings.

How are you able to remove all of the PCM settings when I'm not?

[shooky]

Or, if anyone else knows of a way to remove all of the PCM audio options and just use Dolby Digital?