Help re: surround decoding Neo 6/ Prologic

geggis

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I posted this question in the thread for the Yamaha DSP AX763 but didn't get a full answer so thought I'd ask the generality. If any one could help I'd be very grateful.

My question is regarding the surround decoder option for Neo 6 and Prologic/II. Recently I sat down to watch a film encoded in 2.0 (2.1?) Dolby Digital, decoded by the PS3 and hooked up to a 5.1 system. I hoped/wondered if I could use the surround decoder to interpret the stereo signal into all the channels. Am I misinterpreting what Neo 6 and Prologic do? Weirdly when I enabled Neo 6 Cinema, Prologic or PrologicII Movie I only got sound through the center channel :confused: yet Neo 6 Music and PrologicII Music gave me stereo. I don't really want the 7ch Enhancer as that's effectively stereo in each channel!

I tried bitstreaming the signal to the receiver but that didn't make a difference and unfortunately I can't find any DD stereo-only dvds to test. I seem to have got the impression that people were using Neo 6 and Prologic with freeview and Sky audio for their surround systems. Is Neo 6 and Prologic another type of specific encoding? :(
 
Neo:6 and Dolby Prologic are means of turning stereo signals into surround sound, with mixed success. They will not "work" on a mono source, so if your 2.0 was in fact a mono soundtrack (both channels are the same), they will - quite correctly - end up putting all of the signal into the centre channel. The music modes will leave things alone of course. I rather suspect that this is what happened with your anonymous DVD of the unnamed film.
 
I rather suspect that this is what happened with your anonymous DVD of the unnamed film.

Haha, the film was The Incredible Shrinking Man and last night I watched Rosemary's Baby which also had a DD 2.0 soundtrack. Both films did just that which you mentioned under Prologic and Neo 6; all sound from the center channel. Would Prologic and Neo 6 typically work with newer stereo sources? These films are more than 40 years old so that probably explains a lot.

Many thanks for your help Mark.
 
Yes, the stereo -> surround modes will work a lot better with a true stereo source. That said, you may find that letting a stereo film play in stereo still works better. It seems rather funny when a character walks out of the door, you're still inside, and a bird then chirrups behind your head...
 

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