Dolby Surround 2.0 (1 Viewer)

[Bill Leber]

I've seen this on quite a few DVDs for older movies. What does it mean? Is it the same as Pro Logic or is it simply stereo?

Depending on the movie I'll set my reciever to either Surround or Stereo, which ever sounds better. Some discs have too much emphasis on the center in surround mode.

 

[Michael Reuben]

It means that there are 2 channels of information encoded in the Dolby Digital format. The "Surround" generally indicates that the 2 channels are intended to be played back through a Dolby ProLogic system (ProLogic is a playback mode).

M.

 

[Bill Leber]

But if it says "surround" will there always be out of phase information for the rears, or is it possible that it is intended for stereo reproduction?

 

[Michael Reuben]

What you're really asking is whether the labeling is always accurate. The answer is "no".

The question is becoming more and more academic. With the wide availability of such decoding processes as ProLogic II, DTS:Neo 6 and Logic7, the ability to direct appropriate sounds to the rears is far less dependent on whether the recording was matrix-encoded.

M.

 

[John Garcia]

Dolby 2.0 is stereo. There is no "recorded" information for the rears. Pro-Logic extracts sound information from a stereo signal and simulates the other channels, as do many DSP modes, but that information is not a separate track present in the stereo signal.

Typically when you have a stereo DVD, that is because the movie was originally recorded/mastered that way. The fact that it is stereo can have any number of reasons, but a common one could simply be that this was the best that was available at the time the movie was made. It may also be stereo by choice of the director.

 

[Michael Reuben]

There is no "recorded" information for the rears.

I don't see where anyone in this thread has said differently.

M.

 

[Ted Lee]

i think john was just trying to explain it another way...

 

[John Garcia]

But if it says "surround" will there always be out of phase information for the rears

I was referring to this statement. It is not clear if the questions is asking if the information is a separate track, but that is how it sounded to me.

 

[Michael Reuben]

In the absence of other indications, Bill's use of the term "out of phase" information demonstrates (to me at least) that he understands ProLogic decoding better than most people.

M.