Getting all the channels on a Marantz (1 Viewer)

[Rick dm]

I just set up a new HT using a Marantz 7300 with a Sony DVD player connected with a TOS cable. However the little box graphic which indicates how many channels the Marantz is receiving shows only two channels of information coming through. The setup for the Sony shows five channels going out (3+2,1), and the Marantz is telling me that it is getting a digital signal from the TOS digital input, but only two channels. I have tried multiple DVDs. Any suggestions on what this could be? Is there a setup on the Sony that I am missing? Could a problem with the cable cause it to lose two channels?

Thanks,
Rick

 

[Yee-Ming]

check that the audio stream selected actually is a 5.1 version (whether DD or DTS). older DVDs sometimes only have Dolby Surround (i.e. 2.0), or even if they have a DD5.1 version it defaults to 2.0 and you have to specifically select the 5.1 version.

in addition, menus are often only coded in 2.0, and not full-blown 5.1. (you didn't mention whether you were playing the main feature, or just letting the menus run) similarly extras are often only in 2.0, even on the latest discs, no doubt to save space.

 

[Jim Williams]

Also, be sure that you select DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1 in the "language" selection menu on your DVD.

 

[Rick dm]

I went back and checked again, and I think I may have a bum receiver. The DVDs are Star Wars Episode II, and Saving Private Ryan. I went and selected Dolby 5.1, the DVD setup indicates that it is outputting 5.1 information, but the receiver does not even indicate that it is getting a Dolby digital signal. What a nightmare having to take all the cables apart so I can take it back to the store, but after reading the manual for the third time I don't know what else it could be.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[Phill O]

Have you set your DVD PLAYER to output Dolby Digital/DTS?
I know when I was setting up a friends DVD player I forgot to do this. I finally remembered after about two hours. This could be the source of your problem. Good luck.

 

[Steve_Corrick]

Have you set your 7300's sub, center and rear speakers settings to on in addition to selecting large or small speaker size ?
Sony DVD players also have internal settings that may need to be enabled for on/off/size for your sub, center and rear speakers.

 

[Rick dm]

Thanks for the suggestions. I finally solved it by hooking up the analog connection for the 5.1 channels, and when I didn't get 5 channels I knew it was the DVD player. It turns out there are two sub-menus in the Sony, the first one indicated that there were 5.1 channels, but it was only telling me what was on the DVD. The second sub-menu was the one that controlled the player and it was set to only two channels. That second sub-menu was not easy to find, and I am not sure why they pre-set these things to only two channels. Five channels sure does make a difference ;-)

Rick