q about onboard dd decoder for dvd player? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

hey all -

i'm sure i'm missing something silly, but here goes.

i'm using my sony dvd player's onboard dd decoder, feeding it to the 5.1 inputs on my onkyo receiver.

i recently bought the futurama dvd (which is 2.0 surround). however, when i play it via my setup, i'm not getting any center channel sound.

is this because the receiver isn't "getting the chance" to convert the 2.0 mix since my dvd player is doing it? i guess i'm confused because when i watch it on tv i get center dialog.

thx!

ted

 

[Michael Reuben]

is this because the receiver isn't "getting the chance" to convert the 2.0 mix since my dvd player is doing it?

Pretty much (although the player doesn't "convert" the 2.0 mix; it just passes it through). Using the 5.1 inputs typically bypasses all of the receiver's processing, which, in this case, includes whatever ProLogic mode is being used when you watch the TV broadcasts.

M.

 

[Ted Lee]

...pretty much what i figured. thx michael.

 

[Ken Chan]

But if the player has a DD decoder, shouldn't it properly decode the matrixed 2.0, as a receiver would? (If not, one reason not to rely on an on-board decoder.) Maybe the Futurama soundtrack is not flagged as Dolby Surround, and the DVD player is adhering to that.

Do you get the center channel for any movies with their 2.0 Surround tracks?

//Ken

 

[Ted Lee]

i don't think so ken. but i'm not 100% sure. just about all the movies i buy are 5.1 - so the decoder works fine.

i did just buy "the breakfast club" - which i also think is 2.0, but i haven't played it yet.

i hate using the onboard decoder, but my receiver is too old - it doesn't have dd/dts processing.

 

[Michael Reuben]

If not, one reason not to rely on an on-board decoder.

One of many.

M.

 

[Brian L]

ProLogic decoding is not the same thing as DD decoding.

True of course,, but I always that that a DD decoder would support Pro Logic decoding for 2.0 stuff. Obviously not true in my 45A.

I would have expected that the decoder does its thing based on how the bit stream is flagged.

Curious how old your Sony is. I have a 650D (a few years old) that has a built in decoder, and when I was using it, I am pretty sure that it automatically engaged Pro Logic for anything with 2.0 channels.

BGL

 

[Ted Lee]

i have the 560d...it's probably about 3-4 years old. regarding specifically the futurama dvd, it doesn't give me any audio options (other than foreign language), so i would have thought the flag would have been correct???

 

[Michael Reuben]

but I always that that a DD decoder would support Pro Logic decoding for 2.0 stuff

Sorry, but that's like saying you expected your car to vacuum your floor, because -- well, hey, it's got a motor, right?

DD decoding and ProLogic processing are completely different animals. The fact that they usually coexist in a receiver doesn't make one a part of the other.

M.

 

[Ken Chan]

and DD is REQUIRED on DVD-V, regardless of the number of channels, is it not?

An NTSC DVD is supposed to have at least one PCM or DD soundtrack. So a disc with PCM and no DD is OK.

//Ken