Probably. They had a little picture of the speaker setup and it had a rear center speaker, as well as all the other speakers for the 5.1.
Anyone have any guesses when we might expect seeing DVD players coming equiped to play DVD Audio? I’ve read some that it’s assumed this wil be the new format to replace CD players, with much better sound. One of the reasons I held off picking up a dvd player this year is the fear that these new audio players are just around the proverbial corner.
Monty, looks like a good choice. I’m considering starting to build my Home theater this X-mas as well, but I persoanlly can’t rationalize buying the DVD player until I can afford the Dolby Reciever and at least 1 pair of good speakers. I’m thinking about buying the Sony 5-Disc version of that player. I don’t have a component CD player anymore so I’ll use that changer as my primary CD player as well. I have about a dozen DVDs that I only watch on my PC as well, and I would buy a DVD if I was confident that there were no new technologies that were bound to crop up in the next 6 months. I’m not confident of that. Things like DVD-Audio and other goodies aren’t worth missing by a few months in order to watch a DVD with mediocre sound right away.
The two points I’ve learned however.
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The built in Dolby 5.1 Digital Decoder is a waste of money (but good luck finding a player without it, and still having the rest of the options) since any reciever is going to have the feature. Just make sure it is Dolby Digital Ready…NOT Dolby Pro-logic!!!
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Use the remote and GUI as much as possible before buying it. These are the factors which will possibly irritate you later on since the other differences in sound and picture among the leading brands are not discerneable to all but the most devout (or deluded) video/audiophlies. I have always prefered Sony’s remotes and on screen menus over other brand VCRs and stereos, and the DVD’s carry over alot of the themes.
Good luck, and I’ll be following the “Digital Reciever Advice” thread you start in the very near future. 
PS. I think Best Buy is far superior to Circuit City
DVD Audio is supposedly the wave of the future for audio but I seriously doubt they will make as big an impact as CDs eventually did (i.e. practically replacing tapes). A fairly small percentage of the population will be willing to spend the money these players will prolly cost and even fewer will want the superior sound quality. A lot of people have problems telling the difference between a low bitrate MP3 and CD-Audio. Will they be able to tell the difference between the CD-Audio and DVD Audio? Well, maybe they might since I hear that a main point to DVD-Audio is multi-speaker support a la Dolby 5.1 and thats pretty noticeable. Guess its “wait and see” time.
One question for all you audiophilic dopers. What, if any, difference can you discern between DTS and “mere” Dolby Digital versions of movies? I haven’t read a review yet that came up with an answer as to which is definitely “better,” at least without directly contradicting another review that favors the other. (For instance, I read a review that claimed much clearer, deeper base for DTS and then another that claimed the exact same thing for Dolby Digital.)
So, that being said, does anybody have any personal experience that says one is preferable to the other? Or an authoratative review for me to add to my collection?
The only DVD I have is the one my dad bought so I don’t know if it is standard, but look into a DVD player that can zoom in. It’s a neat feature.
The next thing in DVD players is progressive output. The last generation of DVD players only produce an interlaced output. Apparently, the movie studios lobbied hard to prevent DVD players from outputting true progressive video, which is much higher in quality. But they don’t seem to care much anymore, so companies are starting to release DVD players with progressive outputs.
I will not bid on a DVD player at eBay…
I will not bid on a DVD player at eBay…
I will not bid on a DVD player at eBay…
I will not bid on a DVD player at eBay…
I will not bid on a DVD player at eBay…
KKBattousai said:
Well, it’s not as if Doly Digital is some sort of inferior format. It and DTS are just different. IIRC, in a theater, Dolby Digital is encoded into the filmstrip itself, whereas DTS is a separate mechanism consisting of a CD played in snyc with the film. I wouldn’t say one or the other is better; it really is a matter of personal preference. I do agree that the low bass notes in DTS hit a bit harder. I prefer Dolby for dialogue-driven moves, and DTS for action movies with big explosions.
But don’t take my word for it, check it out yourself. Most decent-sized cities will have more than one movie theater, one using one format and one the other. If you can, see the same movie in both houses and decide for yourself.
When you do shop for a receiver, Montfort, don’t overbuy. Depending on the size of your digs and the speakers you buy, you can get an affordable low-wattage Dolby Digital/DTS receiver that is perfectly functional. These things become more affordable every day, and sooner or later the Dolby Digital EX 6.1 systems will be affordably priced, so if you buy something less expensive now, you won’t get burned having to buy a new one in the future.
You’ve seen the size of my apartment, and my receiver is an inexpensive Aiwa 75w model. (Dolby Digital only–no DTS. I just don’t hear the difference.) It delivers the full 75w to front, rear and center, and the subwoofer output is as clear as can be. The 100w model was not much more expensive, but frankly, 100w was not necessary for my place. The separation is great, very clear and wide; there are some great rear-channel effects on the “Toy Story” and “Fantasia” collections I bought recently, and this receiver handles them nicely with the digital output from my DVD player, a Toshiba.
It’s got enough inputs for 3 video sources, CD, tape, and phono, a good interface for adjusting the Surround levels, audio input levels can be independently adjusted +/- 3dB, and the right and left front speaker outputs can also be adjusted independently to compensate for speaker placement.
This is a really interesting discussion, so keep it up, folks.
My apartment isn’t much bigger than your’s, pldennison, but I’m not planning on staying here really much longer. The salesperson at Circuit City took me into the high-end audio room and showed me what he recommends: Onkyo receivers running from $400-$1000. I took a look at them and was blown away: I haven’t bought a receiver since 1988 and the inputs and features blew me away; you now run video signals through the reciever?!?
I won’t be buying a receiver, anyway, for a few months, I’m sure. I have to figure out if I’m moving, and if so, where, and how to factor all this in with my trips to Sweden.
(BTW, did your Toy Story 2 DVD have the flaw we discussed? Mine didn’t. Also, are you coming to the Lunch Bunch tomorrow?)
both out links are gone… (for SONY)
tell me you cant handle the compatability of a SONY system/