5.1 Channel Home Theatre

[whooliggen]

Have just bought a 5.1 channel home theatre system and as all the instructions are in Thai (+ I've never owned one before) a few things have me a little stumped. First and foremost is that I don't seem to be able to watch UBC and hear the audio feed from all the speakers - just through the 2.1 channel? When watching DVD's it automatically reverts to the 5.1 audio distribution.

So is this merely a matter of my ignorance or is it an issue with the UBC audio feed (in that its not possible to get the full 5.1 channel sound feed from them?)???

Any help/suggestions/prompts much appreciated as ever.

Thanks.

[Thairish]

As far as I can see, UBC is broadcast in stereo or mono, so 2.1 is the norm. Though with most AV receivers/amplifiers nowadays, you have pseudo surround through Dolby or DTS, on my one, an Onkyo 7.1, I have 4 options for pseudo surround, Dolby PL II - 2 options and DTS Neo:6 - 2 options (Options are Cinema or Music).

Hope this helps..

[dave_boo]

Like ThaiIrish was alluding to, look on your remote; there should be a Dolby Prologic button on there. What it does is 'matrixes' the sound. Basically, it splits the difference between the front channel and sends it to the centre one and then generates a rear sound for the back speakers. It isn't proper 5,1, but will add a LOT more ambiance.

Note that the ProLogic II and the DTS are for 7,1 channel setups.

[whooliggen]

Thanks guys. Found the appropriate button and have found the psuedo/split audio setup. Enjoying the Ryder Cup with it right now!

Cheers

[dave_boo]

Thanks guys. Found the appropriate button and have found the psuedo/split audio setup. Enjoying the Ryder Cup with it right now!

Cheers

That's too bad. Generally I like the Scots, but I do hate them for inventing a game that takes away so much good pastureland.

Have fun with it. Another thing that you may want to do is to root around in the UBC settings and see if there's an option to turn on Dolby {anything} which will improve the surround sound that your reciever has to generate and make it more 'natural'.

[mdechgan]

UBC does not broadcast in digital audio.

Most of their programming is in Mono.

A few channels are in stereo.

You can see depending on the reciever stereo ones have a red light on.

However teh sound still sucks. Its like listening to mp3 quality audio.

Cannot compare to DVD.

[Digitalbanana]

That's too bad. Generally I like the Scots, but I do hate them for inventing a game that takes away so much good pastureland.

Get the heck out of here, I think I'll head over to Samut Prakan and play at Bang Poo golf course just for the fun of it!

[grtaylor]

Thanks guys. Found the appropriate button and have found the psuedo/split audio setup. Enjoying the Ryder Cup with it right now!

Cheers

That's too bad. Generally I like the Scots, but I do hate them for inventing a game that takes away so much good pastureland.

Have fun with it. Another thing that you may want to do is to root around in the UBC settings and see if there's an option to turn on Dolby {anything} which will improve the surround sound that your reciever has to generate and make it more 'natural'.

Don't quite get why golf sounds better in 5.1 stereo . . . . . . .

[whooliggen]

Don't quite get why golf sounds better in 5.1 stereo . . . . . . .

As previous poster noted, the 5.1 pseudo setup adds a LOT more ambiance. The more the better in my book...

[dave_boo]

That's too bad. Generally I like the Scots, but I do hate them for inventing a game that takes away so much good pastureland.

Get the heck out of here, I think I'll head over to Samut Prakan and play at Bang Poo golf course just for the fun of it!

[astral]

As you are not getting the full effect then UBC must be transmitting with Mono sound.

If the audio is stereo, then you will get the surround info if it is there, particularly films.

As far as I know there is no way to filter out the surround info and still leave a stereo signal.

The best way to get the full benefit from your system is to obtain your programmes

direct from the supplier's satellite. Not the dumbed down version from UBC.

[dave_boo]

As you are not getting the full effect then UBC must be transmitting with Mono sound.

If the audio is stereo, then you will get the surround info if it is there, particularly films.

As far as I know there is now way to filter out the surround info and still leave a stereo signal.

Agree about the Mono comment. However, Dolby Pro Logic uses phase shift to matrix surround sound into a stereo sound track. Now, since that's done by the publisher, as long as UBC transmits in stereo you should be good to go assuming your reciever decodes the Pro Logic. If it doesn't, the stream will simply appear as a stereo stream and the out of phase information is ignored.

The best way to get the full benefit from your system is to obtain your programmes

direct from the supplier's satellite. Not the dumbed down version from UBC.