Better sound from cable?

[BJP]

I have a Yamaha HTR-5760, hooked up by fiber optic cable to Sony RDR-GX300 and Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000HD cable box. If I watch a 5.1 movie on cable it sounds very clear, loud, and forceful bass. If I watch a 5.1 movie on dvd and leave the volume the same, the sound is not as defined as cable. I would have to increase the volume. A big difference is with Gothika, the sound sucks on dvd. I don't know if it is a disk problem or dvd player problem or receiver problem. This is not a big issue for me, but has anyone noticed the sound difference between dvd and cable through your receiver?

Thanks,
BJP

 

[Taifun]

I had a similar problem with my setup. Check to make sure your DVD player is set to bitstream instead of PCM. Changing this made all the difference in the world on mine.

-G

 

[Shinerman]

I have a Yamaha HTR-5760, hooked up by fiber optic cable to Sony RDR-GX300 and Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000HD cable box. If I watch a 5.1 movie on cable it sounds very clear, loud, and forceful bass. If I watch a 5.1 movie on dvd and leave the volume the same, the sound is not as defined as cable. I would have to increase the volume. A big difference is with Gothika, the sound sucks on dvd. I don't know if it is a disk problem or dvd player problem or receiver problem. This is not a big issue for me, but has anyone noticed the sound difference between dvd and cable through your receiver?

Thanks,
BJP

Well, it could be a couple of things and #1 is a given.

1. Different sources (DVD, CABLE, SAT, CD,Etc.) play back at different volumes. I have to listen to DVDs and CDs at a higher volume than my Digital Cable to get the same SPL. On my RX-V1400 I listen to cable at about -25 to -30 on my volume dial. With DVDs and CDs, I listen to them at about -15 to -20.

or

2. Makes sure your DVD playback is set to PCM and not bistream.

Shinerman

 

[JohnA]

Also DVD's are recorded at different levels, one DVD will sound louder than another...Finding Neverland is a prime example of the audio being too low!

 

[Shinerman]

2. Makes sure your DVD playback is set to PCM and not bistream.

Shinerman

Whoops, switch that. I meant to say set it to Bitstream and not PCM. My bad!

Shinerman

 

[ducker]

Whoops, switch that. I meant to say set it to Bitstream and not PCM. My bad!

Shinerman

thanks for clairfying.. cause I was thinking... hm, I could of sworn I had to change my DVD player's bitstream to ON when I purchased my whole getup...

 

[Shinerman]

thanks for clairfying.. cause I was thinking... hm, I could of sworn I had to change my DVD player's bitstream to ON when I purchased my whole getup...

Yep, sorry about that. I'm not even drinking yet. Even the great Shinerman makes mistakes sometimes. Sometimes!

Shinerman

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Also DVD's are recorded at different levels, one DVD will sound louder than another...Finding Neverland is a prime example of the audio being too low!

We watched Finding Neverland last night. Awesome family movie. Johnny Depp is an outstanding actor. Anyhow, all the versions were dolby digital. Not even 5.1. When I put it in the dvd player, I was getting absolutely nothing from the center channel except background noise. How pathetic that Blockbuster wouldn't even offer a 5.1 version of this great movie (assuming it's offered in 5.1). I had to watch the movie in 5.1 stereo to get the center to work. I can't tell you how disappointed I was with the sound. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[MDS]

It's possible that it was never mastered in DD 5.1. If it is DD, it is likely DD 2.0 and you can always use PLII Movie or PLII Music to get 5.1 surround. Many movies are DD 2.0 and nearly all music DVDs I have are DD 2.0.

 

[Audioholics]

We watched Finding Neverland last night. Awesome family movie. Johnny Depp is an outstanding actor. Anyhow, all the versions were dolby digital. Not even 5.1. When I put it in the dvd player, I was getting absolutely nothing from the center channel except background noise. How pathetic that Blockbuster wouldn't even offer a 5.1 version of this great movie (assuming it's offered in 5.1). I had to watch the movie in 5.1 stereo to get the center to work. I can't tell you how disappointed I was with the sound. Has anyone else noticed this?

I am guessing you had an issue with your setup or selected the wrong track on the DVD. Just about all mainstream movies are mixed in Dolby Digital 5.1. You mentioned having "background noise" coming from the center channel. If you were listening to DD 2.0 you would hear nothing from the center channel unless you activated some sort of DSP mode. There's a lot to pay attention to to make sure you are in the correct mode and everything is working propoerly.

Dolby 2.0 = stereo. Dolby 5.1 = discreet surround.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I've got it right in front of me. The disc says Dolby Digital, the menu has the following:
play movie
set up - 2 options: spoken languages (english, french, spanish) and subtitles.
there is no selection for 2.0, 5.1 etc...
scene selection
special features
sneak peaks

I am as amazed as you are. The Denon wouldn't even allow the PLIIX or Neo 6. I'll try some other 5.1 and DTS discs. It's possible my 2yr old son played keyboard with my Denon and reset everything. I still think this Finding Neverland is only 2.0 though.

 

[Audioholics]

Now that you mentioned it, there was a disc I watched not two weeks ago that did the same thing and gave no indication of whether ot was DD 2.0 or 5.1.

Just realize that it has to be one fo the DD specs... haha, that narrows it down. Lots of receivers show you what mode it is in, some do not - that may help. The noise out of the center makes me think you were in some kind of DPL II mode while listening to a DD 2.0 tracker perhaps. We'll eventually rent that movie and I'll check it out myself.

I cna see it now - Hollywood starts doing DD 2.0 tracks on its DVD releases in an effort to revitalize theater ticket sales and set up the HD DVD "revolution".

 

[korgoth]

yeah it definately does have dd 5.1, i got mine from bb too.