Checking if Yamaha YHT-196 is set up right

King Mustard

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We bought it, plugged it all in (it all works fine) and pressed the "Enhanced - Stereo" button on the stereo, which displayed "5ch Enhancer".

Is this right for standard 5.1?

When watching films (via. WD TV Live - configured for 5.1 via. HDMI), most voices appear to be coming out of the rear speakers - which surely isn't right?
 
It doesn't sound right it should say Dolby digital or dts when playing a film, if the film has the correct sound that is !

Have you set the wd tv to output 5.1 also do your films have 5.1 ? If the film only has stereo audio set the amp to Dolby pro logic that will give you good pseudo surround
 
Actually from your wdtv and your setup I think you will get lenear pcm show up on your amp ! On my onkyo I just have a direct setting not sure what the Yamaha equivalent is but it certainly isn't stereo
 
What setting do I use on the amp. if I'm steaming a 5.1 movie from Netflix?

I just want standard 5.1 sound.

I believe the "Stereo/Enhancer" button on the remote is 2.0 sound pushed to the back speakers.
 
Try straight first this should give you 5.1so voices should come from.the centre speaker !
Then try straight enhanced see what it does. Don't forget when you watch normal tv though you may want to try pro logic or another dsp to make use of all the speakers
 
I just down loaded the manual for films with 5.1 use the straight buton so it says straight on the screen ! Don't bother with enhancer ( maybe use for music in mp3 formatt ) then when watching normal tv press the sur.Dec button and try pro logic or plii movie ( I use plii movie)
 
I connected my laptop to the amp. via. HDMI and, by using the sound card's utility (where you can click on individual speakers to test them), I can confirm using Straight correctly routes 5.1 (this also confirmed I had the speakers connected correctly).

However, when playing 2.0 content using Netflix via. my WD TV Live box (which is set to 5.1 HDMI output in Settings), it's very quiet when Straight is used. As soon as we tap the "Stereo/Enhancer" button on the remote when watching 2.0 content, the sound volume goes back to normal (and it also pushes the sound out of the rear speakers).

Also, when watching 5.1 content after watching 2.0 content, we sometimes forget to switch back to Straight. Is there a way for the amp. to use Stereo/Enhancer when playing 2.0 content and Straight when using 5.1 content?

Or, instead of using Stereo/Enhancer when playing 2.0 content (which we are doing to make it louder), should we instead be using a different setting on the amp.? Perhaps I should be using the "Sur. Decode" button (Pro Logic)? (what does Pro Logic actually do?)
 
Leave it in straight and then select Prologic on 2.0 sources. When the amp detects a proper 5.1 format it should then switch to this automatically and then back to prologic when a stereo source is detected again.
 
I used Straight with Mission: Impossible III on Netflix (Netflix said the film was in 5.1) and the amp. displayed 3/2/0.1 (which I believe means 5.1) but there is no sound coming out of the rear speakers!

This system is winding me up more by the hour.
 
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What are you expecting to come.out the rear speakers ? Remember only slight sound effects come out of them ! Take top gun not much happens in the rears till the mig fly by then you should get the sound come thru the rears.

Also have you set the levels of the speakers so they are all the same volume.

By the way it gets more annoying the more you play with home cinema but its worth it once you have it set to how you like it
 
What are you expecting to come.out the rear speakers ? Remember only slight sound effects come out of them ! Take top gun not much happens in the rears till the mig fly by then you should get the sound come thru the rears.

Also have you set the levels of the speakers so they are all the same volume.

By the way it gets more annoying the more you play with home cinema but its worth it once you have it set to how you like it

They're all set level (in the center), yeah. I may push the rear speaker levels to max, just to see if Straight is working correctly.

EDIT: I just did this and there is only sound coming out of the rear left speaker - nothing out of the rear right! As soon as a press Stereo/Enhancer however, full sound is out!

EDIT 2: I think the above was an issue with Netflix's encoding of M:I3 as another Netflix film I tested used the rear speakers just fine.

There is a scene in M:I3 when they're shooting up a glass building with a sentry gun (or several). It's pretty intense - so I expect at least something out of the back speakers.

What is the point of the rear speakers if they're extremely quiet in films?

I think it's more likely something is set wrong as they seem absolutely silent :S
 
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Rear speakers are more of a presence speaker you hear clapping or slight talking however in some scenes there used to create effects like flybys !

Have you got a DVD player setup to.it that you can try a DVD
 
How did you set the levels of each speaker?
Did you run the test tone on each speaker and then set the level so the same volume is heard from each speaker from the listening position? Did you do this by ear or using an SPL meter? Have you set the distances each speaker is away from the listening position within the receiver?
 
Rear speakers are more of a presence speaker you hear clapping or slight talking however in some scenes there used to create effects like flybys !

Have you got a DVD player setup to.it that you can try a DVD

Try the new Muppets movie, half the music track is routed through the rears!

What you say certianly used to be true, but many newer films use the rears as full range surround speakers.

I would check your connections and the surround ability of the WD live again.
 
I just down loaded the manual for films with 5.1 use the straight buton so it says straight on the screen ! Don't bother with enhancer ( maybe use for music in mp3 formatt ) then when watching normal tv press the sur.Dec button and try pro logic or plii movie ( I use plii movie)
does yht-196 use dolby pro logic ii ? or does it use its own cinema dsp thing
 
does yht-196 use dolby pro logic ii ? or does it use its own cinema dsp thing

It has the ability to apply Pro Logic (or PLII) to stereo audio or use DTS NEO:6 Cinema, both of which would create pseudo 5.1. The receiver can decode discrete multichannel audio formats such as Dolby Digital or DTS as well as handle HD LPCM derrived from HD formats decoded at source. Discrete formats would not require the use of Pro Logic or similar to create pseudo surround sound, in fact such formats would override pseudo processing modes and result in you getting discrete multichannel audio as opposed to Pro Logic or similar even if such surround modes are engaged

Irrespective of this, the OP needs to first set up and calibrate his AV receiver. He should follow the instructions given in the manual on how to do this. It is only after this has been done that anyone here can assess his situation or advise on what modes to use. There's also the matter of ensuring that the source is actually configured to output and/or bitstream discrete multichannel formats? As I mentioned, his receiver cannot decode HD formats so he'd need to configure devices he wants to output HD audio from so that they output LPCM via HDMI rather than bitstreaming the formats.

When watching films (via. WD TV Live - configured for 5.1 via. HDMI), most voices appear to be coming out of the rear speakers - which surely isn't right?

It is right and what would be expected if using the 5ch Enhancer mode.

The voices are coming from the rears because of the mode you have it in. The 5ch enhancer basically outputs stereo audio via all 5 speakers and isn't required for true 5.1 or pseudo 5.1. It is a mode you'd ordinarily use in conjunction with stereo music as opposed to movies or TV.

Discrete 5.1 formats such as DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1 will override modes such as Pro Logic when detected by the AV receiver, but you can turn all modes off and get exactly what is coming into the receiver by engaging the STRAIGHT mode. This will result in you getting the exact audio format as output by the source.
 
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I mainly want to use this system for tv sound output(mostly 2ch stereo barring few HD channels which have dolby 5.1) and occasional blu-ray movies through PS3.Thus PLII seems like an important feature to have.I dont think it has DTS Neo:6 though,there's no mention on any sites or receiver manual.
 
Yes, you are correct and the receiver doesn't include an option for DTS Neo. Pro Logic will be sufficient though and should fulfil your requirements. If the receiver had Neo 6 then it would be in the same SUR DEC (Surround Decoder) options as the Pro Logic modes.
 
Why do we need AV receivers having DTS-HD and Dolby True HD when sources such as Blu-ray Players can decode themselves and send it as LPCM.Can someone explain how things actually happen...
 
Some features
Why do we need AV receivers having DTS-HD and Dolby True HD when sources such as Blu-ray Players can decode themselves and send it as LPCM.Can someone explain how things actually happen...

This may be helpful:


Onboard decoding vs. bit stream
Like we mentioned before, linear PCM is essentially the universal language for your home theater components. That means if you want to listen to, say, a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, it needs to be converted to linear PCM first. This process is usually called decoding, and it's performed either in your Blu-ray player or AV receiver. Let's take a look at the two options.

Blu-ray player with onboard decoding: If your Blu-ray player can decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio, it's said to have onboard decoding for that format. That means the player itself converts the soundtrack to linear PCM, which it can then send to a compatible receiver over its HDMI output. Blu-ray players with onboard decoding can also output soundtracks at their full resolution over multichannel analog outputs, if the player has such outputs.

AV receiver with onboard decoding: If your Blu-ray player doesn't have onboard decoding, it may have bit stream output capabilities. What this means is that it can pass, for example, a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack to a compatible receiver without doing any decoding. The receiver is then responsible for decoding it to linear PCM, which means the receiver needs to have onboard decoding.

If you're still confused, check out the AV receiver portion of the "What Do I Need" section to understand exactly what your home theater needs in order for you to listen to the new high-resolution audio soundtracks.

One last point: contrary to what you might hear elsewhere, there's absolutely no sound-quality difference whether the decoding takes place in the receiver or the Blu-ray player. The common analogy is to "zipping" a file on your computer; it's the exact same file if you unzip it on another computer. The only real difference is that if you use onboard decoding on your Blu-ray player, you won't see the "Dolby TrueHD" or "DTS-HD Master Audio" lights on your receiver. That's because the receiver only knows it's receiving a linear PCM signal; it doesn't know how that linear PCM signal was previously compressed.


Blu-ray soundtracks - Blu-ray: CNET's Quick Guide - CNET Reviews
 
Will a room having many open windows and doors significantly affect the home theater's performance
 

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