Dolby Digital 5.1 on 2.0 Setup

baboon
baboon Posts: 60
edited March 2006 in Troubleshooting
I got into a discussion with a Computer nerd friend of mine. A DVD with a Dolby D 5.1 track will still play on a computer or system with only a 2.0 hardware setup with all 5.1 sounds outputed to the 2 speakers right?

correct me if i'm wrongo
Post edited by baboon on
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    edited March 2006
    No right or wrong answer here, with different hardware and software handling the choices differently. Most DD tracks give a 2 channel "stereo" choice and most of the center and surrounds are mixed into the 2 channels. If you chose 5.1 with only 2 channels, you will get only the L/R channels and all others will be lost. Many receivers have intelligent decoders that "see" the speakers hooked up and choose the proper number of channels.

    Then again, bass management is another animal with the .1 or LFE info depending on your choice of speaker size in the setup.
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Posts: 168
    edited March 2006
    It will play but it will not sound like it was recorded to.
    SuperDave
    Yamaha RX-V992 (Center,Rears)
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