DVD SETUP Questions PCM? & Dynamic Range? (1 Viewer)

[WilliamZ]

Here is my setup
Panasonic RV31 DVD player
Optical Digital Connection
Denon 2801
Definitive Technology Pro Cinema Speakers
I was going through the setup menus for my dvd player and I found a few setting that I dont know what they do. I've even experimented with them but no luck.
PCM Down Conversion - Default is off. My manual sucks and I'm not sure if this should be on or off.
Dynamic Range Compression - The manual says that this should be turned on for late-night viewing. What ever the heck that means?
If it matters, I use my dvd player for movies, cds, and mp3 cds.
If any of these setting improve surround sound, let me know. My biggest joy is any time I hear back speaker effects.
THANKS in advance!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Saurav]

Dynamic Range Compression - The manual says that this should be turned on for late-night viewing. What ever the heck that means?

Dynamic range is the difference in volume between the loudest and softest parts of the recording. If you leave dynamic range compression off, you will be playing at the full range - what this means is, the explosions will be much louder than the dialog. You'll have to set the volume to a level where you can hear the dialog, which means car crashes and bombs will wake up the neighbors. The solution is to 'compress' the dynamic range. This makes the soft parts louder and the loud parts softer, and thus reduces the range of the volume difference. Now, when you have it set so that you can hear the dialog, the explosions will be just a little bit louder (since the level of the dialog has been raised, and the level of the explosion has been lowered), so it won't wake up your neighbors.
Does that make more sense? Try a search on www.google.com or something with 'dynamic range compression', you might find a similar (or better) explanation.

 

[WilliamZ]

One question down, one to go. Thanks

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I have the RV31, and my understanding of PCM downconversion is that the setting only affects CD's that are encoded at 24bit/96k. It converts them down to 48k for receivers that are incapable of playing the 96k signal. But since there are so few 96k encoded cd's, I don't know that you should worry too much with this setting.
Of course, that's just my understanding of it... Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[DanG]

Jeremy, PCM downconversion is for DVD-Video discs that have a 96kHz sampling rate, like the Chesky discs or DVD-Audio discs that have a 96kHz sampling rate.
If your older A/V receiver is only capable of a 48kHz input signal and you send a 96kHz one, you won't hear anything. So you would set PCM downconversion to ON and the Pannys decoder will downconvert the 96kHz signal to 48kHz one so that it can play on your receiver.
Or did you mean DVD's in the first place?

 

[Lewis Besze]

Downconversion could also mean that the player downconverts DD to regular stereo[PCM] or Dolby "encoded" surround.
At least on my SONY.
------------------
"You Hungarians always disagree"

 

[WilliamZ]

So if i understand you correctly, for regular Dolby Digital and DTS movies it doesnt matter if I have PCM Down Conversion on or off?

 

[Michael Reuben]

So if i understand you correctly, for regular Dolby Digital and DTS movies it doesnt matter if I have PCM Down Conversion on or off?

It might, depending on which of the two possibilities suggested above is really the function of this switch on your player.
Nearly all players have a setting that converts a Dolby Digital signal to PCM. This allows connection to older 2-channel digital processors that can't handle the higher sampling rate of DD. If the switch on your player has that function (as Lewis Besze suggested), turning it on will prevent you from getting a 5.1 DD signal.
OTOH, if the switch only relates to 24/96 recordings, it won't affect 99.9% of discs currently in existence.
The easiest way to find out is to set the switch to on and see what happens to your DD.
M.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

Yeah, DanG, I meant DVD... Brain fart.
If your receiver will accept the 24/96 signal (and I would think the Denon would), then leave the downconversion set to OFF. I have the Onkyo 595, which accepts 24/96, so I left it off.

 

[WilliamZ]

Thank you everyone!!
I'm leaving it off.