decoding DTS (1 Viewer)

[Elmo]

I presently have a stand alone 6 channel amp (kenwood km x1 no optical input but 6 rca channel input), i also have a technic sh ac-300 stand alone DD procesor with optical input and 6 rca output )

now i just got a pioneer 563a dvd player with optical in an 6 rca out) -it supposedly has DD /Dts decoder built in.

my q is how do i connect unit to play dts dvd's to be able to have dts playback? and will dts over dd if i go thru the technics? can i connect dvd straight to amp? (not having a volume control.

thanks alot, any help greatly appeciated

desperate

 

[Harry Lincoln]

Connect the 6 rca plugs from the dvd player to the amp, select dts from the disc menu, otherwise it will default to DD. You might want to have a look at the setup menu on the pioneer and make sure DTS output is enabled. You dont need the processor anymore.

WAIT!
Just re-read your post and noticed the Kenwood doesn't have a volume control. You will need some sort of preamp with a volume control. For now, connect the digital output from the DVD to the processor and then the 6 rca from the proc to the amp. You wont have dts, only DD.

 

[Elmo]

Well thats the set up i have now with my old dvd player. one of the goal of buying a new dvd player with built in decoding was to have dts option other than DD which i already have. if i set dts on the pioneer player feeing ing into the technics won't i bypass the decoding of the technics? if i remeber correctly i have a ac-3 button to press on the front panel of the processor

 

[John Garcia]

If you feed analog to the technics, it is not doing any processing. Analog does not know the difference between DTS and DD.

Built in decoder often means for DD. The ability to read and decode DTS is a separate capabilty. Now, don't quote me on this because I am not 100% sure I remember correctly, but I think DTS can only be passed via digital between the source and processor. The DTS website only lists digital as well. If this is the case, your processor still cannot decode it.

 

[Elmo]

what if i connect dvd with the optical out to the technics processor optical in.? would that work. the technics 6 rca out are plug in the stand alone amp 6 rca in.

 

[John Garcia]

If the Technics only does DD, it will not know what to do with the DTS signal. If the Technics says it can handle DTS, then it should work via optical. For this to work, you will also have to go into your setup menu on the DVD player and enable DTS and set it to output "bitstream" vs PCM.

 

[Elmo]

yes i am planning to do that with the dts setting on the dvd player and i will select dts on main menu when i put the dvd source.

 

[Phil Iturralde]

FYI: The Technic's SH AC-300 is Dolby Digital only! The Technic's SH AC-500 is Dolby Digital/DTS processor decoder unit!

Phil

 

[Elmo]

i know this already, this is why i got a new dvd player with abuilt in dts decoder. the only reason i want to use this processor would be to use its optical in and for it's volume control abilities. other wise i would simply connect dvd directly to the 5 channel amp 6 rca out to the amp 6 rca in ( sw ,fl,fr,c,rr,rl). ( btw if i did do this connection what kind of volume output would i get ?


ps: i didnt have a chance to unpack the dvd yet as i don;t know where to start.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

OK, i just did a net search for "pioneer 563a dvd " and came up with a bunch of sites with totally conflicting information. Basically, the Pioneer specs do not list EITHER built-in DD OR DTS decoding. It does howeve, say specifically that it has "DTS*3 (Digital Theater System) 5.1-ch Output " which indicates that it does NOT have DTS decoders.

Other sites listed it as having DD decoding on-board, which is NOT mentioned onthe pioneer page for the product.

Crutchfield lists it as having "built-in Dolby® Digital and DTS® decoding for DVD movie soundtracks".

So it LOOKS like it may well NOT have DTS decoding on-board, and it's unclear whether or not it has DD decoding (you have a decoder for DD already so that's not a problem).

On the other hand... this is a lot of jumping through hoops just for DTS....Regardless of the DD vs DTS debate that will never end, this never-ending debate indicates to me that they both sound great, and are at least very close technically, even if the mixes might be different here and there. Just a thought.

 

[Elmo]

what would happem if i connected dvd straight to amp without using a volume control (using dts built in decoder?, what would be the level of volume (i think the dvd will allow me to make adjust ment to pass level of volume for each speaker)

 

[JeremyFr]

it would be running the amp at 0db input or in laymens terms full blast thus probably pushing it into clipping, blowing your ear drums and your speakers at the same time.