Is Best Buy Spreading Incorrect Information? (1 Viewer)

[Doug_L]

Found on the Best Buy website:

Q: What is the difference between Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital?
A: ... Dolby Pro Logic provides only 4 channels of audio: 3 discrete channels for left, right and center speakers in front of you, plus a single surround channel that feeds 2 surround speakers that are placed to the sides or rear of your seat...

Isn't this wrong? Last I remember DPL is a 2-channel format, from which the center and surround channels are extracted, or matrixed, from. I know that's the case with analogue DPL, isn't it the same for DD2.0?
This isn't the biggest deal, because they're at least directionally correct (ie: DPL has fewer discrete channels than DD5.1). But how do they expect their salespeople to get it right when the home office can't in their formal written materials?
Just let me know if I'm wrong please, before I write a polite, but firm, letter of correction.
Thanks.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I think it's just semantics.
Dolby Digital has 5.1 (6) discrete channels of info.
Dolby Pro Logic *starts* with 2 channels, but ends up with 4 *unique* channels of information. (The L + R rear channels carrying the identically same mono signal.)
Remember, for the most part, they are selling to Joe/Melissa Q Public, and based on that, the statement is *mostly* correct.

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[Michael Reuben]

Without the word "discrete", they'd be fine. The word "discrete" is simply wrong, and it's more than just semantics -- the discrete nature of the channels is one of the major distinctions between ProLogic and DD or DTS.
M.

 

[Brian Crowe]

You're right about the matrixing of info. 2 channels in- 4 non discrete channels out. You get bleed over with prologic.
~Crowe~

 

[Rachael B]

They spread much worse mis-information than this routinely. This is much ado about nothing relatively. Optical digital audio is better than co-axial digital. One Busted Buy employee told me this about a Pioneer 555 CD recorder: U put in the disc you want to copy and it memorizes it. Then U take it out and put in a blank disc and hit record.... I said, dude, study up on this before they test you on product knowledge. If you overhear Busted Buy employees whilst in the joint, which can hardly be avoided, you'll hear some whoppers. Best wishes!
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Rachael, the big disc cat! "...in a democracy it don't matter how stupid you are you stille get an equal share..."
AFI Film Challenge, hey I've only got 1 to go!

 

[Josh LeClair]

In all honesty you can't put much blame on most of these BBY employees. Most of the information they relay is shit they probably picked up from their supervisor or senior. BBY REALLY lacks in the area of training and unfortunately it tends to fall on the supervisor to train all incomming employees in their department, if you get one sup who has no idea what their talking about, it can really cause soooo much disinformation in the department. Bash the supervisors/management/corporate for the lack of training, try not to bash the lowely employees. Best Buy is slowly getting better in their training but I still think it will be a while before its up to par.

 

[Doug_L]

Thanks to all for the replies. Glad to see that I didn't have to go back and brush-up on my HT 101 class
Yeah, it's not nearly as large an error as some of their (and other stores') misinformation, and they're directionally correct, and J6P probably wouldn't grasp the concept of discrete vs. matrixed, but... this is an official document explaining the facts on their website. There's really no excuse for a pre-meditated printed document to contain any wrong factual information.
Not the end of the world, but worth 10 minutes of my time, I think.

 

[MatthewJ S]

Without commision, what is their incentive to get better at what they do? Why learn more if it offers you no benifit?
I often recruit the ones that work their that have a clue and ask them if they'd like to triple (or even quadruple) their income...

 

[Ashley Burt]

For Pro Logic the *simplified* *basic* format is:
Center = Left + Right
Rear = Left - Right (or Right - Left can't remember)
For most effects the VCR tapes recorded their phase such that they would produce a strong sound from the rear or the center channel.
I've actually played with this on an old Pro Logic recvr several years back. I hooked up my PC to the Left and Right channels and played with the phase to make tones transition from center to the rear and back.
So yes I would agree with your concern on the term discrete. As technology becomes standard so does the terminology. I believe more and more people understand the difference between Matrixed versus Discrete. So they should update their site.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

May they feel the sting of the lash upon their collective pitiful shoulders.

 

[KeithH]

Is Best Buy Spreading Incorrect Information?

Well gee, it's never happened before....

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