Not all HDTVs support DD 5.1

[Pyrrho]

I recently purchased an Ölevia 242T HDTV. It was on sale at what seemed like a very good price. It seems to work well except for one detail - it will not output a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal. I realize that most digital broadcasts are stereo only anyway, but even the channels broadcasting in DD 5.1 are output as PCM 2 channel via their audio digital outputs. I called their tech support earlier today, and after a bit of checking, they told me that their TV does not support DD 5.1. Back to the store it goes; I did not pay all that money for a good sound system to only have Dolby Pro Logic sound when DD 5.1 is available.

Anyway, the moral to the story is, if you care about the sound of your TV, check to see that it will output a DD 5.1 signal before you buy.

 

[obscbyclouds]

I recently purchased an Ölevia 242T HDTV. It was on sale at what seemed like a very good price. It seems to work well except for one detail - it will not output a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal. I realize that most digital broadcasts are stereo only anyway, but even the channels broadcasting in DD 5.1 are output as PCM 2 channel via their audio digital outputs. I called their tech support earlier today, and after a bit of checking, they told me that their TV does not support DD 5.1. Back to the store it goes; I did not pay all that money for a good sound system to only have Dolby Pro Logic sound when DD 5.1 is available.

Anyway, the moral to the story is, if you care about the sound of your TV, check to see that it will output a DD 5.1 signal before you buy.

I think you'll find this is the case with the majority of TV's that have digital audio outputs. Good luck though. I assume you are talking about OTA HD broadcasts?

 

[markw]

Well, that's bizarre.

Thanks for the heads up.

you're saying it only outputs stereo from OTA HD digital broadcasts, right?

Technically, it only says "digital out" so I guess legally thay are on solid groud. Morally, well...

 

[Pyrrho]

...
you're saying it only outputs stereo from OTA HD digital broadcasts, right?

...

Yes. And if using its tuner for unscrambled cable (which is possible with this TV), it still cannot output Dolby Digital 5.1. Simply put, its digital output cannot output Dolby Digital 5.1 no matter what.

Frankly, I think most professional reviewers of TVs miss this point when they test HDTVs. So you will want to check on such things for yourself before you buy anything.

By the way, otherwise, this TV seems pretty good, particularly for the money. Of course, it isn't the best that money can buy, but it looks quite good, and can be had for less than most other HDTVs of its size. For someone who does not care about sound, it seems to be a good value.

On the tech support line, they told me that the reason it would not output DD 5.1 is that they wanted to keep the TV as inexpensive as possible, so they did not want to pay the necessary licensing fees.

 

[Pyrrho]

I think you'll find this is the case with the majority of TV's that have digital audio outputs. Good luck though. I assume you are talking about OTA HD broadcasts?

That is depressing. I had previously thought DD was supposed to be the required standard for audio for HDTV.

And yes, I am talking about OTA HD broadcasts.

 

[MDS]

Many TVs have a menu setting that allows you to choose Dolby Digital or PCM for the digital output.

I don't quite get the explanation that the feature was dropped to save licensing fees. If the broadcast is DD 5.1 it still has to be decoded and downmixed to 2 channel PCM in order for it to go out as 2 channel PCM.

 

[Pyrrho]

Many TVs have a menu setting that allows you to choose Dolby Digital or PCM for the digital output.

I looked for that before calling tech support. Since I have a pdf of the manual, I even searched it for "Dolby", "DD", and "5.1". None of these were found.

I also visited their website, and searched it. From what it said in their Technical FAQs:

Q: When watching my Olevia Television on some channels I get the wrong audio for the station or no sound at all. How can I solve this?

A: Syntax-Brillian LCD Television is designed to receive Stereo broadcasts. It is also capable of receiving SAP or Second Audio Programs available from TV stations. Some stations broadcast radio stations, weather, foreign language or nothing at all on this frequency. If your TV was mistakenly set to receive SAP, then you may be getting the wrong audio or no audio on some stations. To alleviate this problem access the MTS STATUS screen of your TV MENU and make sure you highlight STEREO instead of SAP. This should solve the problem.

At:

http://www.olevia.com/support/faqs.aspx

From that ("designed to receive Stereo broadcasts"), I got a bad feeling about what the TV could do, so I decided to call their technical support. My guess is, all Ölevia TVs are incapable of outputting DD.

I don't quite get the explanation that the feature was dropped to save licensing fees. If the broadcast is DD 5.1 it still has to be decoded and downmixed to 2 channel PCM in order for it to go out as 2 channel PCM.

Yes, it seems screwy to me, too, but that is what I was told on the phone.