Poor sound from DVD movies

[ranchhand]

I have a Samsung 40" LCD 1080p television, and I am totally happy with it except for one thing that I can't find a solution to, and that is the sound quality from DVD movies rented at Blockbuster. I am not necessarily blaming Blockbuster, I am just giving the background information.

The problem is that you can't hear the words; sounds like the music is louder than the words, and the quality of the the music and voice is poor. Channels/movies coming in from the antenna are totally great, stereo sound crisp and clear. I put in a DVD movie and through the entire movie I have to turn up the volume almost max to hear what is being said (and sometimes even then it's not clear), then lower it when action sequenced/music starts.

Now the headscratcher: last night I rented The Pink Panther with Steve Martin and the sound was totally great! Music, speech, everything. Huhh? I looked at the cover and noticed "Dolby Digital Mastered In High Definition, English 5.1", but that is all I could see from the label. Also, when I run the home movies that I captured from my camcorder and burned to DVDs, the sound is fine. No problems.

Yes, I have been through the TV menu so many times I have it memorized. I have tried adjusting from the TV menu, the DVD menu, etc.

If anyone can offer suggestions I would sure welcome them.

[edDV]

You are listening only to the L and R channels of a 5.1 mix*. Go to DVD audio settings and select the 2.0 Dolby mix. You can do this in the player menus or in the DVD disc audio settings.

If you want to hear all channels of the 5.1 mix you need to add the rest of the channel amps and speakers.


* Voices are assigned to the non-existent center speaker.

[guns1inger]

How do you have your DVD player connected to your TV ?

[ranchhand]

sorry to take so long in answering. Ed, thanks and I will check it out ASAP. I don't remember seeing any menu like the one you describe but I will check again.

Hi Gunslinger... yes, the DVD is directly connected to the LCD. Incidentally, my son has his Playstation3 connected to the LCD, and the sound of his BlueRay games is great.

[edDV]

Your DVD player will have a menu or switch to send the 5.1 or 2.0 mix out your RCA jacks. Check your manual. This is only an issue for DVD players with internal Dolby AC3 decoders. Others default to 2.0 on RCA.

Another way is to select PCM or Dolby 2.0 in the DVD audio setup menus. Not all DVDs have a 2.0 option. If not, the player must downmix 5.1 to 2.0.

[ranchhand]

Do you think that I should just get a better DVD player that will default to 2.0? Evidently mine doesn't. Then I won't have to monkey around with settings. What brand player do you use?

[edDV]

Do you think that I should just get a better DVD player that will default to 2.0? Evidently mine doesn't. Then I won't have to monkey around with settings. What brand player do you use?

I just bought a Philips DVP5992 at Costco for $49.99. It works great for HDMI connect. I haven't tested analog component yet. Use this or Oppo ($150 up) if you have HDMI.

For my older "HD Ready" TV that lacks HDMI, I use a JVC XV-N650 that upscales over analog component as well as HDMI.

Your other option is to buy a 5.1 audio package and enjoy all six speakers.


PS: Your Samsung 40" LCD 1080p will have HDMI so go for the 5992 or one of the Oppo. Buy the HDMI cable online for under $10.

[ranchhand]

Thanks Ed,l I will check it out this week-end!

[MOVIEGEEK]

Some DVD players(Toshiba,Panasonic,etc) have a dialogue enhancer that boosts the center channel.
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DisplayTerm?termID=247&storeId=15001

[ranchhand]

Yes, I have "Music", "Voice", and "General" settings. Sometimes I can improve it a little by designating voice, but it is still pretty poor quality.

[edDV]

Yes, I have "Music", "Voice", and "General" settings. Sometimes I can improve it a little by designating voice, but it is still pretty poor quality.

That is beacuse you aren't hearing the center voice channel at all. Just spill sound to L and R.

[guns1inger]

You still haven't answered my question - HOW do you have it connected ?

Some players have standard L/R analogue and downmix out through thesde. Others have separate analogue outputs for every channel, and simply taking the L and R channels will produce the issue you have unless you tell the player that you are not using all output channels.

I suspect the PS3 is either running everything through HDMI, but even if you are using the analogue outputs, it only has L/R downmix anyway.