Questions on AVR 3805... (1 Viewer)

[ChrisPen]

I just set up my new home theatre with the Denon AVR 3805 and I have a question. When I watch a movie that flags as Dolby Digital EX it shows the surrond back channel light on the receiver but it says Dolby Digital + Dolby PLIIx C. Shouldn't I want it to be set to Dolby Digital EX? I'm not sure exactly what the difference is here.

Also, if I'm watching a DTS 5.1 movie and want to get sound out of my two surround back speakers I set it to ES matrix for the surround back channels. The display then reads DTS + DTS:Neo 6. Is that the right setting?

Finally, if I'm watching a movie in Dolby Digital EX that does not flag properly and I manually set it to Doly Digital Ex, I do get sound out of my surround back rears, however the surround back channel light does not come on. Does the light only come on if the movie is flagged?

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Chris,

I've got a 2805, a sorta 3805 Lite. It's display reads the same as yours in respect to DD EX and DTS ES. When playing DTS-ES discrete it says DTS-ES Disc.

If I force back surround decoding on 5.1 sources the speaker icons on the right side of the display all light up (7 plus sub in my case), but the ones on the left only light up for the 5.1 channels that are being input.

If I'm playing a properly flagged EX or DTS-ES I get the same 7 icons on the right, but on the left only one back surround icon.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shiu]

When it says Dolby Digital + Dolby PLIIxC, you can press the surr back button (on your remote) repeatedly to select matrix, non-matrix, PLIIx, and off etc. If you select it to off, then it will only show Dolby Digital, or DTS.

 

[ChrisPen]

Thanks for the replies What exactly does Dolby Digital + Dolby PLIIX C mean? If the movie is properly flagged then this is what comes up, not Dolby Digital EX.

 

[Shiu]

Chris, that means the movie is Dolby Digital 5.1, and you may have pressed the "surr back" button and selected PLIIxC. Denon AVR3805 has PLIIx that uses information in the surround L/R channels to create 2 more channels for your surround back speakers. If you don't want those simulated back surround effects, you can press the surr back button on your remote until it shows "off".

If you do not select PLIIx, then the remaining choices are: "MTRX OFF" for Dolby D (back channels off), "NON MTRX" for Dolby D (but back channels on), "MTRX ON" for Dolby D EX, so yes, you can set it to Dolby D EX if that's what you want.

PLII means "Prologic II". PLII is used to create 6 channel effects from Dolby 2 channel materials. PLIIx goes further to create 7 channel effects from 2 channel materials. The "C" means "cinema" mode because you can also select PLIIxM or PLIIxG, M means "music" and g means "game". With the AVR3805, you can select PLIIx even when playing 5, or 6 ("discrete", as opposed to "simulated")channel materials. That is when it displays Dolby Digital, or DTS plus PLIIxC (or M, or G). In this case, you are still decoding the 5 or 6 discrete channels but PLIIx will only have to simulate the two back surround channels. This is the way I understand it. Hopefully others will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[ChrisPen]

So which should I use for DD EX movies? Should I use the DD + DPIIxC or use the DD EX setting?

 

[Shiu]

Try both, and then pick the one you like.

 

[Octavio]

Chris:

Assuming you are using two surround back speakers and you set your Receiver accordingly, then:

1. If you select PLIIx Cinema for DD EX movies you should notice different sounds from surround back left than surround back right speakers, which in turn are different than the sounds coming from SL and SR (side surround) speakers. This is because the PLIIx decoder retrieves the surround back channel information, and matrix it with the surround left an right signals, in order to produce sound to the SBL and SBR channels. This is done in a different way respect to DD Ex Decoder.

2. If you select "Matrix On" using the surround back button, then DD EX will show in your display. In this case, when playing DD Ex movies you should notice the same sound coming from SB left and SB right speakers, which in turn is different than the sound coming from SL and SR (side surround) speakers. Here the DD Ex decoder is used which is intended for 6.1 speaker configuration.

Which one is better? Impossible to say. As Shiu said, you should try both.

In a DD Ex movie, the surround back signals are decided by the creators of the movie (Example: SB channel sound in Star War movies is decided by George Lucas or someone he gives the responsibility to create it). If you want to enjoy the soundtrack of the movie exactly as was produced by its author you should use the DD Ex decoder (select "Matrix On"). In this case you would get pretty much the same experience than someone using a 6.1 speaker configuration.
But, if you want to take advantage of using a 7.1 speaker configuration, and get a different thing, you have the option to use the PLIIx decoder (meant to use with two surround back speakers). In this case, you do not get exactly what the soundtrack author created, because you are changing a 6.1 (matrix) movie to a 7.1 movie and the way the modification is done was decided by Dolby Laboratories engineers and not by the author of the soundtrack.

With DTS movies is the same thing. A 5.1 DTS movie can be modified by the DTS Neo6 decoder to "produce" a rear surround channel. This is done if you select "ES Matrix".
If you don´t like it, you can:
1)Select "non matrix" and the sound that comes from the "side" surrounds (both SL and SR) will also come from the rear surround; or
2)Select "Off" and surround back speakers would not be used, and the icons corresponding to SBL and SBR on the right side of your display will not light up.

Which one is better? You decide.

Octavio

 

[Houghton Andrew]

out of interest, which one did you prefer, PLIIx on or off? Did you actualy notice much difference with 7.1 sound from the DPIIx decoding?

Cheers.

 

[Octavio]

I didn´t notice much difference (between PLIIx and DD Ex)when I watched Star Wars Episode II.

With other movies, there could be noticeable differences, or not, but a case by case test should be made.

Octavio

 

[Kevin Beck]

Hey guys,...Just another idea to throw in the mix. I'm new to the PLIIx as well,..but I did read one suggestion a while back, where a guy said he uses the PLIIx-M for his movie viewing, as well as music, as he felt, with the parameter settings associated with PLIIx-M, he got a better front stage using the panoramic setting.
I would guess this will vary from system to system, but it's worth a go, and have fun doing it,....YMMV
GRCRY,...>>>--->