Which dolby setting to use on receiver?

KCCO

Hi,

I am a total newbie fyi.

I have purchased a Pioneer VSX-1022-K receiver which has Dolby TrueHD and Pro Logic IIz as well as dts-HD.

I am unsure how to use them!?

I have done a little research and found that the Pro Logic IIz is utilized if you want to run the front height setup rather than back surrounds. Right?

I will be using back surrounds so I guess thats out?? Or no?

I really have no idea how to choose the correct setting.

Is it advantagous to change the settings for different components (blu-ray/game) or leave it on one setting that matches my speaker setup?

Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer!!!

bansheesho

I use the auto-surround setting. It will choose whatever is the best mode. Whether it is dts hd master or Dolby True hd depends on how the movie was encoded.

KCCO

Thanks bansheeho for the quick reply, will the auto setting also choose the best for my satellite and video games?

Lets say I'm watching a football game, then switch over to a movie all coming in from my satellite receiver, will the auto mode change settings even though its on the same input?

Thanks in advance!

teekay0007

Your receiver's Owner's Manual will have all the Listening Modes listed and described - some put out sound to only 2 speakers, 2 speakers and the sub, 5 speakers and the sub with the center channel (dialog) accentuated, all-channel stereo, mono, arena, concert hall, etc., etc. Try some with different applications and see which work best for you in the given settings. Also, most receivers will disable the listening modes that don't apply to the setup you initialized on it - ie. all the modes for a 7.1 setup will be disabled if you are using a 5.1 system.

Mon40CSMM10

Everything below assumes proper speaker setup. If not sure, make sure the speaker settings are set to Yes for front, center, surround, back surround, subwoofer, and height speakers are set to No.

To start with, keep it simple: look up Autosurround, Direct, Standard/Movie, and Standard/Music modes in the receiver manual.

If you use Autosurround the receiver will generally select the best mode for the media in use. Play a multichannel disc, it will play all discrete channels in whatever the disc codec was recorded in (also based on what is selected when playing the disc). Play two channel only media, it will usually be played in Stereo, for the most part.

If you use Movie, then like Autosurround it should play all the discrete channels in whatever the disc codec it was recorded in BUT ALSO it will upmix two channel into multichannel. (Here is where it might use Dolby Pro Logic IIz for two channel upmixing--check the manual to be sure.) Don't use Movie mode with a music source, however, since it will end up mostly center channel biased.

Music can be used with a Dolby Pro Logic II type upmixing of two channel content into multichannel sound (e.g., Standard/Music), if multichannel music is wanted. Don't like multichannel upmixed stereo? There is also the Direct mode available (it may be listed as Direct and also Stream Direct), or just plain Stereo mode (where any available tone controls can also be used, if desired, since they are usually locked out in other modes).

Once those modes have been read about and tried, then the rest of it is just to try it out. Don't like the Standard modes? Try the Advanced Surround Modes (although those are receiver specific rather than Dolby or DTS type modes). Don't like ANY of the modes for a music source? Stick with Stereo or a Direct mode for music, Autosurround for video content.

One mode I personally do not like is the Standard/Game (Dolby Pro Logic II Game mode). Too much surround activity, and I have a few CD games with stereo music that end up getting mixed mostly into the center channel. That said, that another mode to try with video games see if it works as well--that's just my opinion that I do not like the Game mode.

Your newer receiver will have a lot more modes, so don't go by what I have listed except for as an example of what is possible. I have an older Pioneer receiver (5.1 maximum), but in my setup I use one input per component except for where I have two video game systems sharing one input (one is analog, the other uses coaxial rather than optical digital). Something like this:

DVD/LD: Source Select: Digital. Audio mode: Standard, Movie. (Dolby Digital and DTS support with digital sources. Opt 1 set to DVD/LD.)
TV/SAT: Source Select: Analog. Audio mode: Standard, Movie (Dolby Pro Logic II Movie mode with analog 2-channel sources.)
DVR/VCR: Source Select: Analog. Audio mode: Advanced Surround, Expanded. Advanced Surround Effect Level: 20.
CD-R/MD/Tape: Source Select: Auto. Audio mode: Direct. (Note: Analog and digital video game consoles on this input. Coax input 1 set to CD-R/MD/Tape.)
CD: Source Select: Digital. (Connected using Digital Coaxial cable. Coax input 2 assigned to CD.) Audio mode: Standard, Music. (Dolby Pro Logic II Music mode.)
FM, AM: Audio mode: Standard, Music. (Dolby Pro Logic II Music mode.) Center Width: 6. Dimension: +3. Panorama: Off.

ViperZ

Find the 'auto' mode for your theater settings. Your Blu-Ray player will feed DTS-HD MA or Dolby TrueHD in most cases (if not, you should select those audio feeds from blu-ray disc menu in the movie setup). Receiver will automatically recognize those formats. Same for DVDs, if your receiver is in auto, it will recognize Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks, which are fed from DVD disc.

math wizard

Ditto. Use the auto setting and let the AVR dectect the signal and set the mode automatically.

Spiffyfast

I've got the 1015tx and the auto is what I use, haven't been a fan of any of the other surround sound assignments.