Tivo and Surround sound

[sortsol]

Hi,

I'm hooking up a surround sound system next week for my dvd watching. My question is concerning the ability for a directv tivo to record in dolby 5.1. Is there enough content broadcast on directv to worry about buying the digital audio cable and hooking it up? Looking through the guide, I come across a show every once in a while that says dolby surround, but they are few and far between. Are those the only shows that are broadcase in surround sound (I'm assuming yes)

Sorry if this has been hashed over before. I tried searching and couldn't come up with much.

Thanks,

Mike

[HD_Dude]

Hey...good question!

Virtually every show on broadcast TV except the news is in 5.1

80% (my guess) of DirecTV shows are in 5.1 also.

EVERY DVD is in surround.

GO for it!

[Human123]

Hey...good question!

Virtually every show on broadcast TV except the news is in 5.1

80% (my guess) of DirecTV shows are in 5.1 also.

EVERY DVD is in surround.

GO for it!


80%???

Not in my experience. Some of the main movie channels are 5.1 and alot of the PPV's. As far as most other channels...nada

Surround is almost everywhere. The difference between surround and 5.1 is significant in my opinion.

I may be confused as to how this post is going as I consider surround and 5.1 completely different things. Get the cable. The difference in quality between surround and 5.1 is significant, even if not prevelant on DTV broadcasts

[sortsol]

Cool. Thanks for the responses. So, what I'm guessing from the responses is that most shows are encoded for pro logic II decoding, but not many are tru 5.1 broadcasts. Is this correct? If so, is there a major difference in sound when using pro logic II compared to true 5.1? FYI, my receiver is 7.1 capable so I should be set that way.

Thanks again,

Mike

[SLOmike]

Somebody responded that most shows are in 5.1. This is true if you have HD feeds of the networks.

DirecTV's network feeds which are sent out are the same as you would get from a nearby local station using an analog tuner. There is no Dobly 5.1 sent out with the local station's analog signal. The Dolby 5.1 is included only in the HD digital signal.

Because of this non-HD network channels do not include Dolby 5.1. To include 5.1 direcTV would have to pull the 5.1 audio signal out of the HD signal, sync the audio with the analog signal and merge the 5.1 audio signal into the DirecTV signal.

HBO, etc deliver their signals to DirecTV differentlly and have the Dolby 5.1 included from the start.

I hope this helps explain this.

-Mike

[sortsol]

Thanks SLOMike for the explanation. That makes sense. So, my next question is whether anybody is using the Pro Logic II or Pro Logic IIx setup on regular shows broadcast in stereo. Does it sound good enough when watching movies or shows compaired to true Dolby 5.1? I'm sure it's not as good, but does the pro logic decoding do a pretty good job?

Thanks,

Mike

[JimSpence]

It may be true that the HD networks are using 5.1, but I have heard big differences in what they do with it. Many times the center channel either has nothing or is at a low level. For example, while watching the Golf Skins Game this past weekend on ABC HD I had to switch my HR10 to PCM audio. The commentators were not on the center channel and the sides were much too low. The networks need to get their act together.

[MarkEHansen]

[ snip ]

HBO, etc deliver their signals to DirecTV differentlly and have the Dolby 5.1 included from the start.


I hope this helps explain this.

-Mike

Is this true only for the HD versions of the premium channels?
When I first got DirecTV, many of the premium movies included
DD (5.1) sound. However, I haven't seen any programming which
uses 5.1 sound in several months. I assume DirecTV is using the
bandwidth for the HD channels.

[Human123]

Is this true only for the HD versions of the premium channels?
When I first got DirecTV, many of the premium movies included
DD (5.1) sound. However, I haven't seen any programming which
uses 5.1 sound in several months. I assume DirecTV is using the
bandwidth for the HD channels.

I haven't really been recording movies lately so I am not sure if it is less now.
One thing you can do is to search for movies that are in DD 5.1 with the search functions.
In the old days this is how I picked my movies because DD made all the difference to me.

I still think the OP should invest in the optical cable. Even if it makes a difference for just a few movies, it is worth it.

[chazz235]

Thanks SLOMike for the explanation. That makes sense. So, my next question is whether anybody is using the Pro Logic II or Pro Logic IIx setup on regular shows broadcast in stereo. Does it sound good enough when watching movies or shows compaired to true Dolby 5.1? I'm sure it's not as good, but does the pro logic decoding do a pretty good job?

Thanks,

Mike

I'm using Pro Logic II with most shows, and to answer your question, it does do a pretty decent job. You are right, it's not anywhere near the sound of real 5.1, but it's close enough to fool my wife :D

Actually, that ain't saying much.

I pulled the trigger on the optical cable just a few months ago after using the standard analog left/right RCA connectors for about a year. I'm on a Series 2 DirecTivo, no HD with a Sony 5.1 Dolby/DTS receiver.

To be honest, it's not a huge difference on the reguar PCM stuff, maybe a bit more "cleaner" sounding. I've found nothing on DirecTV is in Dolby besides some PPV movies, and premium channels. And not all premium channels are in Dolby, only the "main" channels in the package; like Showtime is, but not The Movie Channel, or Encore. Not all of the HBO channels are (or were when I had it). Also, taking Showtime for example, it's not just the movies, shows like Masters of Horror and Bulls#@$t! are in Dolby 5.1 as well. Some movies/programming on the premium channels are in Dolby 2.0. Every now and then one of the Freeview programs are in Dolby sound. The rest of the channels, including my locals and the XM stuff, are PCM sound.

Anyway, if you can get the cable for a reasonable price, and you have an open imput on your receiver, go for it if you get PPV or any premium channels. Otherwise the difference is pretty slight, at least in my setup, even with ProLogic II, between the regular stereo and digital optical connection.

[dtremain]

Thanks SLOMike for the explanation. That makes sense. So, my next question is whether anybody is using the Pro Logic II or Pro Logic IIx setup on regular shows broadcast in stereo. Does it sound good enough when watching movies or shows compaired to true Dolby 5.1? I'm sure it's not as good, but does the pro logic decoding do a pretty good job?
Varies with the program material. If there is Dolby Surround encoded in the program (as there often is), then you should hear surround similar to that on a VCR recording (not bad, but not as good as discrete 5.1).

I use an optical cable and let my receiver decode anything that begins as a digital signal. My Onkyo receiver has a better decoder than my Directv TiVo unit or my dvd recorder, so why not let it decode everything?

Receivers tend to have better decoders and using them cuts down on the amount of circuitry that adds distortion.

You can buy optical cables pretty cheaply and (without standing in the way of anyone who wants to believe in magic) bits are bits. A cheap optical cable is going to sound just like an expensive one.

[sortsol]

Thanks all for your input. I think I'll definitely buy the optical cable. Concerning that, even if a show is not in dolby 5.1, all sound will still come through the optical cable won't it? In other words, if I hook that up, I don't need to hook up the rca jacks also do I?

Thanks,

Mike

[classicsat]

All audio will come over the optical cable.

[DavePurz]

Yes, ALL audio is sent over the optical cable, including TiVo's "beeps", "boops" and "bongs."

The only thing you MAY notice is that the TiVo sound effects are not present when you playback a show that's recorded in Dolby Digital.

[luder]

I haven't really been recording movies lately so I am not sure if it is less now.
One thing you can do is to search for movies that are in DD 5.1 with the search functions.
In the old days this is how I picked my movies because DD made all the difference to me.

I still think the OP should invest in the optical cable. Even if it makes a difference for just a few movies, it is worth it.

I wish the old days were back 2 weeks ago I set the wishlist to find dolby digital under audio and i clicked on it 2 weeks later it didnt find anything so I checked out starz each week to see any movies and found four shows two weeks after

I totally agree with everyone with the optical cord even if it's not 5.1 it still sounds much better then regular audio cables make sure you set your listening position for each speaker for Dolby 5.1 and prologic

[luder]

hey guys i have a quick question what is satalite transponders?

[JimSpence]

This FAQ will help.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=55509

[luder]

Thanks Jim,
For the Faq list I can't belive i didn't see it in the first place.
what more to follow it with a question can audio be effected if there any fluctuation in strenths in transponders?