I love you Dolby Digital! (1 Viewer)

About five years ago now my father bought some entry level home theater equipment including an Onkyo tx-ds484 amp which supported DD and dts. I just realized that he had never configured our dvd player to use either of them so we had been using pro logic the entire time! I got it working and now our house has real surround sound. I am amazed at the difference. Now all I need to do is upgrade to a decent amp and speakers.

Nate, You've brought up a good point. I think there are plenty of people out there that are too stubborn to ask for advice on setting up their gear. However, their pride keeps them listening to the mediocre sound - and missing out on such processing such as DD and DTS.

I'm not trying to imply that your family was too stubborn, but I do work with a lot of clients that don't necessarily have an open opinion at times.

Buying and setting up home theater components for a homeowner is not the same process as going to Staples or Office Depot and buying a desk that you take home and assemble. However, most homeowners would argue that the processes are the same.

Not that long ago I wouldn't have put much thought into assembling a home theater either. Ignorance is bliss I guess because most people don't know or care about good quality audio or video from their "home theaters." They just plug everything in and watch a movie.

That's incredible! I have a similar story...Recently I've been trying out new amps in my system (2 Crown XLS 402s). Upon unhooking and switching out my Adcom GFA-6000 from the Yammie 5760 to make room for the new amps, I realized that the speakers were connected to the Yamaha and not the Adcom like they should have been. The sound quality of what I thought was a Yamaha/Adcom combo prompted me to buy the more powerful Crown amps becaused my system was sounding a bit stressed at MED-HIGH volumes (not knowing that the speakers were NOT connected to the Adcom). Well, anyway, after I connected the speakers to the Adcom and calibrated everything, I gave it all a spin, and BOO-YOW! There was the sound I was missing! It was like hearing angels singing in heaven! I felt so stupid, and spent money on amps that I probably wouldn't have even thought of. Silly me. But the Crowns are still nice. Learn from me and go check your gear now before spending money.:b

I'm sure the same thing happens on the software side as well. Some dvd discs default to 2 channel stereo, which the receiver switches to Pro Logic, and people think they are listening to Dolby Digital 5.1. My Steely Dan "Two Against Nature" music dvd does this. I have to go into the disc's menu and change it to DD each time I start it up. I bet allot of people don't realize they need to check this by at least looking at the front of the AVR to see what is lit up.

Gene,

I have the "Two Against Nature" DVD from Steely Dan. Also, this disc has the DTS format on the disc. So many choices ...

Yes, but most dvd's default to DD 5.1 and have DTS and stereo as an option. The 2AN disc defaults to two channel stereo if you don't go into the menu and change it. I wonder how many other disc's do this and how many people are un-aware of it.

Many discs default to 2-channel even when DD 5.1 is available. The Led Zeppelin DVD is a good example because it just starts playing instead of going into the main menu.

I notice older Paramount titles do this.

Concerning leaving the DVD player to "PCM" out for so long seems a bit daft, really you should have noticed this when using the AV amp- it would display "Pro-Logic" even though you've selected the Dolby Digital mix.

It's the old "play with the computer for hours, take it apart, put it together, try it out, take it apart, put it together, try it out, take it apart, put it together, try it out, take it apart, put it together, try it out, take it apart, put it together, try it out, put hand out and take end of electrical cord from (insert - wife, workmate, 3 year old son/daughter, etc.), plug in, try it out, hmmmmm... works fine this time! DOH!

I remember when I first bought my HTIB back in June 2000. The first thing I put in was my DD Saving Private Ryan disc. I was amazed at how good it sounded, but for some reason a little disappointed as I remembered the sound over at a friends house as rocking harder. Then I saw a button on my receiver that said "signal select" and I pressed it. The digital in became highlighted then all of a sudden the room came alive with the sound of explosions and gunfire. I was amazed at the difference.

And then an hour later, I went online and ordered my DTS Saving Private Ryan

Yup, there is a tremendous difference between regular Pro-Logic and Dolby Digital. When I switch back on forth on my setup for the first time I couldnt believe the difference.

I have been out of the keeping up on the latest game for a while now and havent even heard any new formats? Are there any new ones like whats this Dolby Digital ES, and 7.1 that now put shame to regular DD??

AHH Welcome to the world of Dolby Digital!!!

I think Pro-Logic can still sound damn fine, you just need processing (esp with Logic 7 on top) ;-) & kit to bring it out. Akira SE still sounds great despite "only" being in Pro-Logic

Worse yet, I deal with people that have Sony XBR TV's and have them hooked up to a $30 DVD player with the included RCA cables

People will gladly spend $5,000 on a TV, but won't buy a $200 DVD player and $50 worth of cable to make it shine.

It would be like buying a Ferrari without tires, and taking it to Wal*Mart for some special value tires. It is a HUGE weak link. (Note: I know Wal*Mart usually does not stock 345/35-19's )

Don't forget the people that hook four speakers up to their stereo receiver, and swear they have surround sound. They aren't even listening to Pro Logic! I try to tell them that they don't know what they are missing, but they say they aren't missing anything. I just say "ok" and go about my business. Some people just don't "get it".

It gets worse...far, far worse.

Stacks of the rears and center (including a pair of B speakers) all in one place for a 'wall of sound' - stuff like that.

Ah, now that feeling your friend had is one of the best feelings we can have. To know that something you bought is even better than you were thinking... It's almost like an orgasm.