DD-EX & DTS-ES encoded movies listing - Page 22

If a movie was EX theatrically, then it will be EX on DVD since the mixes will be virtually identical. The best sources for theatrical EX seem to be dolby.com and dtsonline.com, although neither of those are perfect (especially Dolby).

Speaking of which, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE seems to not be EX after all. Sorry.

Also, another movie which I think is missing from the list is SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW.

Mike

Oh, OK - thanks. What exactly do you mean when you say the listing at dolby.com isn't perfect? Is there a good example? Thanks.....

That's too bad; I thought the first two HP releases in DD-EX had very effective rear channel use - COS in particular.

Dolby has nearly abandoned their "Previous EX Release" list. CORPSE BRIDE is there, but things like REVENGE OF THE SITH are missing. They also have X-MEN on the list for some reason. Their "Upcoming" list is more accurate, though there is some confusion there as well (such as the appearance and then sudden disappearance of GOBLET OF FIRE).

It seems that the most definitive source is the serial number on the DTS discs which come with the 35mm prints. If it's 5 digits long, it is EX/ES, and if it is 4 digits long, it's not. However, this info isn't very easy to come by after the film has left theaters.

Mike

Thank you Troy. I'll try force matrixing some of these releases and see how they sound. I'm sure I speak for everyone who checks this thread regularly that you've made a great effort here, and we all appreciate and benefit from this information.

Regards,

Ed

Well, on the X-MEN DVD, the DD 5.1 track sounds like DD EX (I don't have a DTS receiver, though). Not to mention Gary Rydstrom was part of the sound department in that movie, as indicated in the end credits.

I've seen GOBLET OF FIRE and the film does have a DD EX track, with some neat rear surround usage and some thumping bass. And if people have trouble discerning what the sound mix is for GOBLET, the DVD release should indicate otherwise.

Honestly, in my opinion, all movies theatrically released in DD EX need to be labeled as such, to avoid confusion. Films such as PETER PAN, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and HULK do cause confusion as whether they're really DD EX or just plain Dolby Digital.

Someone on film-tech.com posted a note that was sent to them from Dolby regarding this:

"After much back and forth between our various offices, it seems that "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is NOT a Surround EX encoded film."

As for X-MEN, I didn't know that Rydstrom worked on the film, but his involvement would imply that the film is EX. It's strange that no one else lists the film as EX.

So, Once again Amazon.com is wrong right ? War of the worlds is not DTS ES !!!! What the heck is Amazon....

So, Once again Amazon.com is wrong right ? War of the worlds is not DTS ES !!!! What the heck is Amazon....

Ups !!! Double Post !!! Sorry Moderator !!!

Right, they're wrong. WAR OF THE WORLDS is not EX.

Why is Episode III on the list?

I manually set my receiver to EX/ES, and although the THX Intro is 6.1, the movie is not.

Anyone agree or disagree?

All the Star Wars movies are Dolby Digital EX. It's also listed on the back of the Episode III DVD. That said, I don't think it's flagged correctly, because I have to set it manually.

Yeah, and I understand that concept of setting it manually. Which I do regularly now.

That being said, if I set EX/ES on my Marantz, the THX Intro will indeed play in DD EX, but then the movie starts and it's in 5.1

Does it matter which edition of the disc I have?

which edition of what disc.
only one edition of sith.

Is there 5.1 and 6.1 in the Audio Options?

If you have the receiver set manually, then it doesn't matter whether or not the material is encoded in EX. It will play back in 6.1 no matter what. It's a lot like ProLogic. Any 5.1 source can be decoded. The question is whether or not it should be. In the case of EPISODE III, it should be EX.

It sounds like your receiver is not set to manual. Is it possible that the setting could have been accidentally changed?

One other possibility is that you were listening to the 2.0 track instead of the 5.1 track, but I'm guessing that this isn't likely since 5.1 seems to be the default track.

The odd thing here is, I see the six speaker icons and the EX icon for the THX intro, but for the movie, I just see 5 speakers and the usual DD digital insignia. I guess this is what it means when it's not flagged properly? I could've sworn though that the receiver would display the appropriate flagging regardless, simply on the signal it receives.

Hmmm. My HK525 sees the flag on the THX demo and stays lit up for the remainder of the film. I guess I'm lucky.

I have an HK receiver, THX certified even, and it doesn't detect the EX flags on the EX-encoded Star Wars movies. Pretty funny, coming from the creator of THX etc. It's the discs that aren't flagged properly, because ones that are I get the message something like "EX flag detected" so there's no mistaking it. But some receivers, like mine, get very upset if an EX or ES flag disappears for a short time...it drops out of that mode unless you force it manually. Some receivers are more tolerant and will stay in EX or ES mode as soon as they see the flag once. At least that's how it seems from just fooling around with them. I just force the mode if the disc is known encoded in that mode, and be done with it. That's the beauty of this thread...

As far as those HK icons, I guess you know that only when there's "white lettering" in the orange boxes is a signal actually being received for that "channel". The orange boxes themselves just indicate speakers that are setup. As far as the green LED's that light up showing stuff, I must admit I don't know what they show while playing as I sit too far away to make them out, I can just barely see the lettering in the orange boxes. So I go with the onscreen flag detection notices.

It is no worse forcing the EX mode if you know it's EX-encoded. The signal for the back speaker(s) will be obtained the same way, it's not discrete. You will not get white lettering in the orange boxes regardless because of that (i.e. not discrete). I think...they may have changed that display for newer models, but the general idea is white lettering means a discrete signal.

So it seems to be established that the THX trailer is flagged, but the movie itself is not. Am I right in thinking that the only question is whether or not Alexi's receiver is decoding the movie properly?

Alexi, this may sound low tech, but it seems like the only way to be absolutely sure that the movie is playing in 6.1 is to go up to the rear speaker and see (or hear, I guess) if anything is coming out of it.

Even lower tech: scotchtape a small piece of toilet paper to the front of the speaker so it flaps. You think I'm kidding? I did that once while screwing around with modes...my backs are mounted in the "Dolby locations" which is somewhat over my head, so unless I turn off the surrounds I can't always tell if something is coming out the backs unless it's loud.

It's handy to see your backs are working (without having to get up) until you're confident that your decoder etc. is doing what you think it's doing. There is usually not a lot of sound in the backs in a proper EX encoding, so you could end up standing by them a lot until you find some action there without a "visual aid". (dts ES discrete soundtracks are often a different matter, some have quite a lot going on in the backs.) I suggest removing the toilet paper EX flags before guests come over, but it's your call...

The THX trailer is properly flagged, I don't think I've ever encountered one on an EX disc that isn't (some you can check with are Star Wars, Fight Club, Titanic, Evil Dead, Terminator 2, Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, etc.).

If you force the EX mode in an EX-capable decoder, it will be decoding it "properly", or at least as EX requires (the back sound comes out of the surround channel info). The flag does nothing more than allow your decoder to auto-detect, it does not in itself change the sound, just indicates to your receiver what is there (I like to be the boss of my sound system, and *I* choose the sound mode, that way me and the equipment see eye-to-eye).

Whether the sound is matrixed/EX-encoded or not, forcing EX-decoding for the backs will get *something* to them. If the sound wasn't matrixed for EX, you may or may not like what you get. In fact, it is possible to get sounds that will almost fully negate the sound from your surrounds, or at least completely screw up the surround sound field in the seating area of your room.

Thanks Mike. That's exactly what I ended up doing before I even read the post.

I admit I'm nitpicking, but it just freaks me out when I'm getting 6.1 output, but I'm not seeing it on the receiver. Make sme feel uneasy. :b

And Craig, that's a great suggestion with the toilet paper. I think I'll try doing that for a little while.

New Line announced "Domino" with DTS ES Discrete. Add that to the list.

MUNICH will be in EX when it's released.

Noticed that Lord of War will be in DTS 6.1 on the 2 disc SE. It comes out the 17th of January.

Are you going to be keeping track of HD DVD and Blu-ray titles? If so, here are the ones which have been announced:

HD DVD:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
We Were Soldiers

Blu-ray:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Lord of War
The Punisher
Saw
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
We Were Soldiers

I might've missed something, but I think that's all of them.

Mike,
There are a ton more and listed in the hd forum.

I am the same way. Ever since I got a 6.1/7.1 receiver I have always kept it on EX. The reason is cause I have my surrounds to the side and the back surround (duh!) in the back. All movies sound better this way in my theater. Even the ones that were never intended to use a center surround.

Plus I play the occasional Xbox/360 with 5.1 and they all sound better in EX.