Surround Sound

[RogerS]

Hi John

Are you sure you've got enough sockets on your Denon :wink: :lol:

Guess we're both right...

This reply from a contact in BBC R&D

Both the Radio FM system and the TV NICAM system, and now digital TV, are
able to convey Dolby Surround encoded material correctly. Most film sound
tracks have Dolby encoded stereo and we broadcast it unchanged. Many
in-house programmes are mixed with Dolby Surround encoding, almost at the
whim of the sound balancer. For instance, the sound balancer for Wimbledon
has created Dolby Surround for the last four years. And several Proms and
other programmes have been Dolby encoded. Dr Who was balanced in 5.1 for
the DVD release and was downmixed from that to Dolby Surround for the
broadcast service.

But you are also correct for other material. The use of spaced multiple
microphones on many programmes introduces sufficient phase information into
the stereo for the Prologic decoder to decide it is Dolby encoded, even
when not, and pipe such sounds into the surround channel. Fortunately,
this mainly affects the ambient (reverberant) sound elements and so the
decoded signals normally make sense - but not always.

 

[Neomorph]

Roger I dunno if it's my silly partial color blindness but that orange text is unreadable unless I highlight it heh. Perhaps you could edit it to dark blue so it's more easily read by bods like me.

My Denon isn't using a lot of the sockets because I'm not actually using composite and SVHS signals. Also a lot of the analogue audio inputs are not in use... it's all down to getting the best signals from your kit.

Most of my video sigs use component video and the ones that don't will be using the immeasurably better HDMI (not connected atm as I'm waiting for my new triple tuner, HD capable cable TV/PVR box.) All but one audio input uses either coax or spdif digital.

Now the downside to the Denon.... It weighs a ton... Cheaper amps this size you could lift with thumb and forefinger as most of the box is empty for air circulation (or just to make punters think they are getting more for their money). This Denon on the other hand nearly gave the courier groin strain when he picked it up off the back of the van. I swear to god it's either got a couple of lumps of lead in it or it's like a TARDIS and has more on the inside than it looks on the outside. Add this to the glass stand + DVD recorder + DVD Player + Sat box + TV media box + Pinnacle Showcenter and you can just imagine the weight of the stack. Moving it out to change wiring is a two person job I hear the next model amp up is even heavier lol... thank god I went with the 3805.

 

[RogerS]

Roger I dunno if it's my silly partial color blindness but that orange text is unreadable unless I highlight it heh. Perhaps you could edit it to dark blue so it's more easily read by bods like me.

Your wish is my command

Triple tuner? Which one's that going to be?

I've been looking at the Humax but been put off by lack of chase play (but must admit it's been a while since I checked and they may have added that now)

 

[Neomorph]

Unfortunately its only limited to people who are in a Telewest/NTL region.

http://www.telewest.co.uk/html/tv_drive/New_Tabs/

I've not actually ordered mine yet as I'm still in the middle of remodelling my living room and unable to do much as I'm still down with this sinus infection.

 

[special bone]

Just thought I'd clear up one question which seems to have been lost in the melee:

What's the difference between Home Cinema and Surround Sound?
A surround sound decoder is a silver (usually) box that looks like a stereo separates amplifier, because it does a similar job. It takes inputs from your other equipment (DVD, video, Freeview, etc) and sends the output to the speakers. As previously mentioned, they usually have 5 speakers and a sub-woofer.

A home cinema decoder does all of the above AND handles video signals, so it takes inputs from all your equipment and sends it to the TV (or projector, etc). It looks just like a surround sound decoder.

The main reason for a home cinema system over surround sound is the number of available connections on the TV. There are other reasons but I've tried to keep this as simple as possible to make it clear.

My advice is to go into a specialist AV shop during a weekday (it's quieter so they can give you more of their time) and ask them to show you some of the equipment and how it all fits together. They may not be the cheapest place to buy but they know how it all works and will look after you for many years to come.

A system is only as good as its interconnects, it makes a big difference if you buy good cables, just don't go for the best of the best unless you've got money to burn. In which case, may I interest you in some magic beans... (homer)