Dolby Surround; Dolby Pro Logic Ii; Dolby Digital; Dts 5.1 - Rotel RSX-03 Owner's Manual

Dolby Surround

Dolby Pro Logic II

The most widely available surround sound
format for consumer audio/video is Dolby
Surround , available on nearly all commercial
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VHS tapes, many television broadcasts, and
most DVDs. Dolby Surround is the consumer
version of the analog Dolby Stereo system first
introduced in the film industry in 1972. It is a
matrix-encoding system that records front left,
front center, front right, and a mono surround
channel into a 2-channel stereo recording.
During playback, a Dolby Pro Logic
Logic II decoder extracts each channel and
distributes it to the appropriate speakers.
The original Dolby Pro Logic decoder deliv-
ered a mono signal with reduced high-fre-
quency content to the surround speakers. A
more advanced decoder in the RSX-03, Dolby
Pro Logic II, increases the separation and
frequency response of the surround channels
for significantly improved performance with
Dolby Surround encoded recordings.
Dolby Pro Logic II decoding should be used
for any analog recording labeled "Dolby Sur-
round" or any Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.
Dolby Pro Logic II does a superb job deriving
surround sound from conventional 2-channel
stereo recordings, using phase relationships
to extract front, right, center, and surround
channels. A "music mode" makes Pro Logic
II an excellent choice for audio CDs.

Dolby Digital

In 1992, a digital recording system, called
Dolby Digital, was first used in the film indus-
try. Dolby Digital is a recording/playback
system that uses compression techniques to
store large amounts of audio data efficiently,
much like the JPEG format stores large photo-
graphs in small files on a computer. Because
it is capable of performance beyond that of
audio CDs and can tailor its output for a
wide ranges of system configurations, Dolby
Digital is the standard audio format for DVDs
and for digital television broadcasting in the
United States.
The Dolby Digital system can be used to re-
cord up to six discrete audio channels, but
can also be used for fewer. For example, a
Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is a digital 2-
channel recording of a matrix encoded Dolby
Surround soundtrack.. To play a Dolby Digital
2.0 recording, use Dolby Pro Logic II decod-
ing as previously described.
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The most common use of Dolby Digital in
newer films, in both the film industry and in
home theater, is Dolby Digital 5.1. Instead
of encoding multiple surround channels on
a two-channel recording, Dolby Digital 5.1
records six discrete channels: front left, front
center, front right, surround left, surround right,
and a Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel
containing ultra-low bass signals intended
for a subwoofer. A Dolby Digital decoder
extracts the channels from the digital bit-
stream, converts them to analog signals and
routes them to the appropriate amplifiers and
or Pro
®
speakers. All channels provide full frequency
response with total separation between all
channels and large dynamic range capability.
A Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack can provide
more impressive surround sound than matrix
Dolby Surround.
Decoding of Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks
is automatic. When the RSX-03 detects a
Dolby 5.1 signal on one of its digital inputs,
it activates the proper processing. Keep in
mind that Dolby Digital is only available
from digital sources (a DVD, a LaserDisc, or
a Digital TV/Cable/SAT tuner). Also, you
must connect the source with a digital cable
(coax or optical) to an active digital input
on the RSX-03.
: Many DVDs have a Dolby Digital
NOTE
2.0 matrix soundtrack as the default, which
should be decoded with Pro Logic II. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack may have to
be selected as an option from the setup
menus at the beginning of the DVD. Look for
a Dolby Digital 5.1 selection under "Audio"
or "Languages" or "Setup Options" when
you insert the disc.

DTS 5.1

DTS (Digital Theater Systems) is an alterna-
®
tive digital format competing with Dolby Digi-
tal in both movie theaters and home theater
markets. The basic functions of the DTS sys-
tem are similar to those of Dolby Digital (for
example, 5.1 discrete channels), however
the technical details of the compression and
decoding processes differ somewhat and a
DTS decoder is required.
Like Dolby Digital, DTS can only be used on
a digital recording and, therefore, is only
available for home use on LaserDiscs, DVDs,
or other digital formats. To use the RSX-03's
DTS decoder, you must connect your DVD
player to the RSX-03's digital inputs.
As with Dolby Digital 5.1, detection and
proper decoding of DTS 5.1 signals is au-
tomatic.
: DVDs with a DTS soundtrack almost
NOTE
always have it configured as an option to
the standard matrix Dolby Surround format.
To use DTS, you may have to go to the setup
menus at the beginning of the DVD and se-
lect "DTS 5.1" instead of "Dolby Surround"
or "Dolby Digital 5.1". In addition, many
DVD players have the DTS digital bitstream
turned off by default and cannot output a
DTS soundtrack (even if selected on the disc's
menu) until you activate the player's DTS out-
put. If you hear no sound the first time you
attempt to play a DTS disc, go to the DVD
player's configuration menus and turn on the
DTS bitstream. This is a one-time setting and
need only be done once.

DTS Neo:6

The RSX-03 features a second type of DTS
surround sound decoding: DTS Neo:6. This
decoding system is similar to Dolby Pro
Logic II and is designed for playback of any
2-channel stereo recording, either matrix-
encoded or not. The Neo:6 decoder can be
used with any conventional 2-channel source
such as a stereo TV or FM broadcast or a
CD. It can also be used as an alternative
method of decoding matrix-encoded Dolby
Surround recordings or TV broadcasts. Acti-
vate the DTS Neo:6 decoding with the DTS
Neo:6 button as detailed later in this section.
DTS Neo:6 is not used with DTS 5.1 digital
sources and the button need not be pressed
for those recordings.

Dolby Digital Surround EX

DTS-ES
6.1 and 7.1 Channel Surround
In 1999, the first Dolby Digital soundtrack
was released to theaters with an additional
center back surround channel, intended to
increase the directional effects from behind
the audience. This additional surround chan-
nel is encoded into the two existing surround
channels in Dolby Digital 5.1, using a matrix
encoding process similar to that used previ-
ously in Dolby Surround. This new extended
surround capability is called Dolby Digital
Surround EX.
DTS has added a similar capability for re-
cording this extended surround information
called DTS-ES 6.1 Matrix. They have also
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English