Can't believe I still don't know this -- DD 2.0 question (1 Viewer)

I tried searching this a variety of different ways but I either came up with too many hits or not enough... so I'll ask:

If an audio source is DD 2.0 (my Pioneer player says Dolby 2/0 when looking at the audio tracks) I would want to engage Dolby surround on my Denon receiver, correct? Even though it's a stereo source, the receiver will decode the signal properly and present it across the speakers.

Basically, the only time I'd want to use stereo with a DVD is when my player indicates a stereo PCM source .. is that right?

And are there any exceptions to the rules?

The reason I ask is because I was playing a live concert DVD this weekend and there was quite a bit of information coming from the center channel speaker. I just assume it was mixed that way.

Kinda embarrassed that I still haven't figured this out...

Set the Denon to auto detect the digital stream and it will select the proper format for you. What ever you choose from the DVD menu (DTS, DD 1.0-5.1, PCM) will be played properly.

My receiver is old school. I don't believe it has any auto-detect functionality.

If your receiver is new enough to have DD/dts decoding, it is likely to have an "auto format decoding" setting. That's my guess.

Good luck,
James

DD, no DTS. It's a Denon 2700 or something like that. No auto-detect.

Well, it is your choice as to what you listen in...

On DD 2.0 concert dvd's, I usually end up using all channel stereo as my choice.

You can expand any stereo souce, be it PCM, analog, or DD 2.0, in any way you want, or leave it in stereo. I would experiment with the different modes: DSP stuff, Pro-logic, all-channel stereo, etc (whatever options you have available, including leaving it in stereo) and do what you prefer most. This may vary from disc to disc and what it is (music, movie, whatever.)

Whether it's PCM 2.0 or DD 2.0 makes no difference.

M.

I do prefer this (mono from the center channel) actually.

I guess I'm hung up on the 'correctness' of it. I always assumed that DD 2.0, whether it meant Dolby Stereo (no surround info) or Dolby Surround, was meant to be run in the Dolby Surround mode on my receiver.

My own experience is that many plain stereo tracks decode to surround quite nicely. But a lot depends on the capabilities of your receiver (or processor).

M.

Thanks very much for the help, Michael. I'll just play it 'by ear' until I get a receiver with DPL II.

OK, I thought I had a handle on this, but I guess not quite...

My understanding is that my amp only looks at the incoming DD stream if AC-3 is selected (because that is the only time it appears to care whether I am using optical or coax). Anything else, it looks at the RCA analog inputs. When I put a disc with a DD 2.0 track in and play it back via Pro-Logic (not II), I am looking at the PCM track. For example, the X-Files episode discs are DD 2.0. If I have the amp set to AC-3, the sound is 2.0 stereo (no surround), but Pro-Logic yields the desired sound field. What am I misunderstanding?

Peace... Derek

There is no "PCM track" on the X-Files discs, or indeed on most DVDs. It sounds like you're asking about the difference between what gets delivered through the analog connections vs. the digital. The answer, in the case of a DD 2.0 track, is the same thing. The analog connections deliver an analog signal that's been generated by the DVD player's DACs; the digital connection (optical or coax) delivers a DD signal which is then converted to analog by the receiver's DACs. Either way, the receiver can apply Prologic processing (at least, most receivers can).

M.

Michael,

That just goes to show how ignorant I am when it comes to some of this stuff. I am still stuck in LaserDisc mode, I guess. Thank you for clearing that up about the behavior of the DACs. I am still somewhat confused as to why I can get Pro-Logic decoding on the 2.0 signal when I have "Dolby Pro-Logic" selected on the amp, but only 2.0 stereo whan I have "AC-3". Maybe the DD circuitry in my Marantz does not automatically discern between 2.0 stereo and surround (although I thought Dolby Labs designed DD to auto-detect DPL stuff). Well, as soon as I upgrade my amp to DTS and auto-detect, this will be a non-issue. Thanks!

Peace... Derek

It's not at all unusual for receivers or processors to have some modes that are limited to either analog or digital signals. Your Marantz probably just has separate circuitry for Prologic and DD processing.

M.

Michael,

Thank you!

Derek