Pioneer BDP-320 Downmix Audio Output question - Please Help

joeyjoey

Standard Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi everyone. Sorry to start a new thread, but I've been searching for more than an hour trying to find an answer to my question and just cannot figure it out.

I'd like to know which DTS Downmix option I should use for my setup - "Stereo" or "Lt/Rt". I basically have a 2.1 setup, with left, right, and subwoofer speakers that greatly outclass my older Yamaha receiver (RX-V493). The receiver is always set in pro-logic "phantom" mode, meaning any center channel data is split between the left and right channels.

My TV is the Pioneer 5020FD. Due to input limitations with my receiver, I have the HDMI cable going straight from the BDP-320 BD player to the 5020FD TV. I then send the audio from the TV to the receiver. (I do not use the TV speakers at all.)

What is the best audio option for me to use? (Someday I'll add more speakers, but not today.) Thanks so much for any help - I'm completely lost but just want as much audio information as possible in as high quality as possible.


...This didn't occur to me until now, but is there any chance I should just be sending the left, right, and sub channels (maybe center, too, for "phantom" mode) of the 7.1 analog outs from the blu-ray player to the receiver? I feel like that might result in less audio data compared to downmixing though, since there would be some used and some unused analog outs on the blu-ray player.
 
Last edited:
I don't think you lose any quality, LtRt just adds information that ProLogic can use to re-create surround effects. However, with a 2.1 system I'm not sure it makes any difference as you only have 2 speakers anyway.
 
Hi everyone. Sorry to start a new thread, but I've been searching for more than an hour trying to find an answer to my question and just cannot figure it out.

I'd like to know which DTS Downmix option I should use for my setup - "Stereo" or "Lt/Rt". I basically have a 2.1 setup, with left, right, and subwoofer speakers that greatly outclass my older Yamaha receiver (RX-V493). The receiver is always set in pro-logic "phantom" mode, meaning any center channel data is split between the left and right channels.

.

Welcome to the forum. :smashin:
I would have thought "Stereo" but i guess you've just got to go with sounds the best to you.
Cheers.
 
Thanks guys. So far that's one "probably doesn't matter", and one "maybe Stereo is better".

The mere fact that both "Stereo" and "Lt/Rt" would seem to be just two channels is what is confusing. Initially I thought the "Stereo" mode just played back a stereo track that's encoded on the blu-ray disc, but that doesn't make sense since both modes are "DTS Downmixes". To me, that means both are being reproduced from the DTS audio, and both are just two channels, right? So what's the difference in the signals? This would seem very simplistic, but is it just the case that one omits all of the rear and surround channels, while the other tries to somehow mix the rear and surround channels into the right and left channels???

I should have mentioned before that while there are number of other audio options (if you have the player you know this) these are all "grayed out" on my player because it seems to know that the only connection is the HDMI cable and that it is running to the 5020FD television. (It probably does not know that I then send the audio to my receiver, whether it's a straight pass-through from the TV I do not know.) So, in my mind, the blu-ray player is giving me two options that it thinks would work with the TV speakers alone, at least that's my guess about why the other options are not available.

Ian_S: I'm not sure I understand your comment that with only 2 speakers it shouldn't make a difference anyway. Aren't these both designed to be 2-channel modes, that must differ somehow? Or does Lt/Rt mean something else?

Actually, I'm really having to stretch my brain back in time a little here, but is this perhaps a decoding thing where "Stereo" mode just sends two discrete (already decoded) left/right channels to my TV/receiver, while the "Lt/Rt" mode sends some kind of stream that my TV/receiver is meant to decode into 2 channels? If this is the case, would one likely produce better LFE audio? (I will try to compare the 2 modes when I am free to crank it up a little, but it's pretty difficult to do since it takes about 2 minutes to stop a movie, switch settings, and start it up again...)

Thanks again. Those first responses are really appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys. So far that's one "probably doesn't matter", and one "maybe Stereo is better".

The mere fact that both "Stereo" and "Lt/Rt" would seem to be just two channels is what is confusing. Initially I thought the "Stereo" mode just played back a stereo track that's encoded on the blu-ray disc, but that doesn't make sense since both modes are "DTS Downmixes". .

Yeah Stereo mode will down mix multi-channel audio to 2ch output. :smashin:
 
What I mean by probably won't make a difference is that you are starting off with 7.1 or 5.1 on the disc, so you don't start with stereo. If you choose the straight stereo downmix option, your receiver gets just that, and will extract bass info to send to the sub. In LtRt mode, the player using old Dolby Surround techniques keeps as much of the surround info it can, but matrixed into the remaining 2 channels. So the player still outputs stereo in either case.

With prologic, if your receiver had a centre or rear speakers, it would guess what goes where from a straight stereo source, with stereo LtRt it would use the matrix signals to correctly place effects.

However, as you don't have any centre or rears, then prologic has nothing to do in either case apart from extract sub info. Hence I doubt you will notice much difference, because the signal isn't a 2.0 to start with (so it's not like you're polluting it) and without the extra speakers I don't know if you'll notice any difference from the matix info.

If you were to add a centre, or rears to your existing setup I'd definitely choose LtRt, but as you are I doubt you'd notice the difference. Let your ears be the judge though.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom