Got my first DD 5.1/DTS reciever and need some advice.

[nick101181]

I got the Sharp sd-at1000 home theatre reciever. IT has 5 speakers and a subwoofer and says 600 watts total power. Says a hundred watts are delivered to each speaker and sub. When I turned it on and pushed stereo mode it shows little square icons saying SW ,L, R ok so it's in stereo mode so these should be on. Now when I tried playing a dvd (hooked up just with composite for now until I can get a optical cable tomorrow), 3 more additional square icons light up but it doesn't say SL,SR,C like the book shows it when it's supposed to be playing surround left , surround right, center ; but I get sound out of the surround and center. I'm not sure because the sound coming out of the surround and center is very weak. It says in the book " The surround sound recorded in dolby digital or DTS cannot be enjoyed if the system is connected to a dvd player in analog", ( guess meaning my composite audio cables). For some reason I still get the sound thru the surround and center though but what's really comfusing me is the standard and surround modes on the reciever.

The book says for standard setting: The maximum of 5.1 surround sound is reproduced to provide three-dimensional-effect.The system automatically emits 5.1 sound according to the recorded channel. Then for surround it says : This mode provides an expansive listening area by emitting 2-channel sound. Shouldn't this be the other way around? shouldn't standard mode be 2 channel and surround setting be 5.1 ? because when playing a movie with 5.1 I picked standard mode and it sounded ok but the surround channels seemed a little lower but when I selected surround mode the surround left and right speakers had more volume and were clear but still faint (maybe due to not using an optical cable yet) . I tried DTS from one disc and it didn't work ( once again maybe because no optical cable) but the 5.1 worked fine ( but i thought the book said I couldn't enjoy it with the analog connection)?

Another question is this, There is one optical connection on the back and then there is another digital connection but different it's coaxial digital audio input. Now my dvd player has optical out also so I know I will want to be using this but my other problem is my motherboard has optical out too and I would like to use this for watching my Satellite DVB-S card when some channels have 5.1 ac-3. Since it only has one optical connection is there some kinda optical to coaxial digital adapter or a two optical input adapter so I can have both devices hooked up digitally to the reciever? Also what settings do you recommend for the speakers like when setting up the DB on them? for the back surround and the rest , should it be like -6DB or what. This I have no clue in since I've never had a reciever before. Thanks

[adam]

Your "standard" setting is most likely the typical "automatic" setting on most receiver. It will output audio to all your speakers, but this does not mean you are getting true 5.1 surround sound. If the source is not 5.1 then it is creating the surround effects using some sort of matrix. Its simulated. You are only sending your receiver 2 channel audio since you are not using the proper cable so this is what is happening. Just use optical and it should work fine.

Your receiver only has one optical input? Wow, mine has like six. I doubt there is any kind of converter. The cheapest thing to do would probably be to buy a sound card that has coaxial digial out.

As for the settings you use for your receiver, man I don't think its possible for anyone to tell you. The sound is going to depend on lots of factor's, mainly the size and shape of the room. Most receivers have some sort of automation that at least gets you in the ballpark. For instance they have options for small or large speakers, small or large room, etc... Does your manual for the receiver and the speakers not tell you some typical settings to use? My reciever has a mic and it runs tests and sets itself up...I love it.

[nick101181]

Thanks adam. Yeah It's kinda late right now to play around with the settings but tomorrow I'll give it a shot. I just read that digital coaxial is like optical but it has a higher bandwith. What I might do is get a optical to digital coaxial converter so i can hook up the dvd player using the digital coaxail so the dts should sound good then. Then I'll have the optical port free for hooking up the audio coming from the pc while playing the satellite dvb-s card. Thanks

[Deekkeed]

The book is right, DTS and Dolby 5.1 will only work through a digital line (optical or digital coaxial). I would guess the reason you are getting surround sound from the surround channels when playing a DVD is that your receiver is decoding the Dolby Pro logic or (pseudo pro logic) from the analog stereo inputs. All DVD players down mix Dolby 5.1 to stereo for the analog outputs, but most do not down mix DTS.
As for optical VS digital coaxial, I have tried both and can not hear a difference. But digital coaxial is probably more likely to pick up stray RF which could degrade the signal.

Deek

[nick101181]

I was soooo sure my dvd player had optical out because in the damn setup menu it says spdif raw or spdif pcm and analog for output but then I buy the optical cord thinking it was what i needed already cut open the box and everything then go to hook it up only to see a coaxial output on the back of the player. Don't think the store will take it back now, so I guess I'm out of 15 bucks.

[anzimike]

Does your dvd player have a coax digital out? If so you can plug this into your coax digital in on your reciever. It's basically the same as the optical, though some will argue the advantages of one over the other. Then you can use your optical to your computer. The digital coax out will carry your digital signal containing your dts and dd. Stereo coax is simply stereo and will be decoded as prologic. Some players and/or recievers you have to enable the digital streams in a setup menu. Likewise your weak sound in the center means you will have to calibrate your speakers. I personally use a Radio Shack spl meter to calibrate my Mac processor, but some recievers include a mic and can auto calibrate. I suggest that you spend some time with your manual. Many of your answers will be there. Best of luck and enjoy!