DVD players 5.1 and 6.1 (1 Viewer)

[GeorgeBurke]

If my DVD player outputs dolby digital and DTS 5.1

Do I need an new DVD Player for 6.1 ?

 

[Michael Reuben]

The short answer is "no".
The term "6.1" causes a lot of confusion. Technically, there is one, and only one, "6.1" format. It is called DTS-ES Discrete 6.1; it's available on less than two dozen titles; and the format was designed to be fully compatible with all existing DTS playback equipment.
All of the other things that hardware manufacturers like to label as "6.1" are just 5.1 (either DTS or Dolby Digital) in which one or two additional back channels are created by the receiver or processor during playback. For soundtracks encoded with DD Surround EX or DTS-ES Matrix, that is the intended mode of playback, but the tracks will sound just fine on a standard 5.1 system.
M.

 

[John Garcia]

You don't need a new DVD player, but you WILL need a receiver capable of doing the decoding and amplification for 6.1 channels.