Is it worth it to get digital audio on a sat receiver? (1 Viewer)

[jeff lam]

I'm new to this whole satellite thing and I have a receiver and sat from directv and I noticed there are dolby digital receivers avalible. Are they worth it? Does the sound really come in DD like on the DVD's? If I decide to get this, can I just change my receiver, or will I need to get a new dish and service program, etc...?

 

[Dan Joy]

I have digital optical out from my sat receiver. Currently, only some pay per view and hbo and starz offer DD movies. IMO if you have a dvd player you probably dont need this unless you pay per view alot or watch alot of hbo or starz. It does work very well, jusst like dvd only I have not seen any DTS yet.

 

[Mike I]

Showtime is also available in DD...

 

[Jerome Grate]

You shouldn't only look at it from the Dolby Digital point of view. Yes Starz, HBO, and Showtime has Dolby Digital but using the digital domain for other channels I find to be very effective and great sounding.

 

[Dan Stone]

I recently watched Pearl Harbor in letterbox with Dolby Digital. No DTS, but it was nice not having to switch from DVD 1 to DVD 2 to watch the whole movie uninterrupted as I would have had I rented. Not having to run down to the video store to rent/return the movie or wait on Netflix (or similar mail order rental service) is also nice.

Just my opinion,

Dan

 

[DarrellP]

And if you get one that has Dolby Pro Logic II it will synthesize DD 5.1 from a stereo source. I don't have it but have heard great things about it.

As far as DD is concerned, YES!!! Go for it.

 

[jeff lam]

How much would it cost to upgrade receivers? Can they be traded?

 

[jeff lam]

Sorry, I meant just the satellite receiver. I already have a Yamaha RXV620 with all the inputs I need.

Thanks!

 

[MichaelGomez]

Check your receiver. Some of them have a plug that a converter box can be plugged into. At least on Dish network receivers. The box plugs into the back of the receiver and then you can plug your receiver in and get 5.1.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Showtime has Dolby Digital, but not on DirecTV. Maybe on Dish Network. HBO definitely has Dolby Digital on DirecTV. For the majority of movies are 2.0 rather than 5.1. But it seems that most if not all new movies that have been on HBO since they started doing Dolby Digital have been 5.1. The "Band of Brothers" miniseries was 5.1, and if I remember correctly the most recent season of "The Sopranos" was 5.1.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Wait, I'm wrong. Showtime does in fact have Dolby Digital on DirecTV. I do not know when DirecTV started carrying the Dolby Digital signal but for a while they did not.

Note that only the main Showtime channel (East feed) has Dolby Digital. None of the other Showtime channels including the West feed have it. For HBO, only the main HBO channel has Dolby Digital, but on both East and West feeds.

I don't subscribe to Starz so I could be wrong, but I recall that only the main Starz channel, East feed, has Dolby Digital.