Dumb question of the week (1 Viewer)

[JasonG]

Hi all

When I play movies through my dvd player they usually play in dd 5.1. I only have a 2 speaker setup at the moment but I can still hear sound through it. But is it possible to hear a dts track through a 2 speaker setup(without receiver). Because when I select dts I hear nothing out of my speakers. Is this normal or do I need a reciver to decode the dts track in order to hear sound. Ya I know dumb question but I was worried that when I get the reciever that there may be something wrong with the dvd player.

Thanks

Jason

 

[John Garcia]

The player has to be able to pass a DTS signal, then it needs to be setup to do so. In digital audio setup, you will need to make sure DTS is turned on and set to bitstream. You also must use a digital (coax or optical) connection or multi-channel (not stereo) analog outputs from the player to the receiver.

I am pretty sure you should still get sound, even with two speakers, if all of these things are correct.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

??? How can you play back in 5.1 with only two speakers? I'm assuming you are just playing back in 2.0 then. And yes you need a receiver to decode dts, or a dvd player with on-board dts decoders which I also am assuming yours does not have as almost all don't. And I am also assuming you are just using something like an older stereo receiver and the stereo RCA out jacks from your DVD player. So yes, to get DTS you'd need a receiver capable of decoding dts.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

John... I don't think he has a receiver. Otherwise your advice is right on.



Hmm... are you using a stereo of any kind then? Like a stereo receiver? Or are you just going through your tv or something?

 

[Michael Reuben]

When I play movies through my dvd player they usually play in dd 5.1. I only have a 2 speaker setup at the moment but I can still hear sound through it.

Your player is downmixing DD 5.1 for a 2-speaker setup. All DVD players can do that. Few, if any, can do the same thing for DTS, and that's why you get no sound from DTS tracks.

M.

 

[JasonG]

Thanks for all the info this gives me the information I was looking for.

Thanks


Jason

 

[jeff.wright]

Your player is downmixing DD 5.1 for a 2-speaker setup. All DVD players can do that. Few, if any, can do the same thing for DTS, and that's why you get no sound from DTS tracks.

Question: Why then, do studios continue to put 2.0 mixes on the discs? It seems to me, that if the player is smart enough to "dumb down" the audio stream, then the added audio layer should no longer be required. Yes?

 

[Michael Reuben]

Why then, do studios continue to put 2.0 mixes on the discs?

Because a mix professionally prepared in a studio will usually be superior to what the player creates on the fly. But I'm seeing fewer and fewer of those mixes than in the early days, when most people still didn't have DD capability.

Also, in the case of catalog titles remixed for 5.1, 2.0 may well be the original format in which the mix was released.

M.