Which to Use for Processing?

[RickC3C4]

I'm kind of new to this whole home theater thing and I'm hoping some of you can help me with a few questions.

I have a Pioneer DV-F727 DVD changer, an Onkyo DV-SP502 DVD player and an Onkyo TX-SR602 AV receiver. Both DVD players as well as the receiver process surround sound (Dolby & DTS) as well as other audio adjustments and I'm not sure which one I should use for processing and which one to set neutral.

I also have a powered subwoofer (Klipsch RW-12D) that has its own built-in digital processing and crossover and again so does the receiver so which one do I use and which one do I set neutral?

Thanks,
RickC3C4

 

[MDS]

Use the receiver for all processing - it is the brains of the system.

- Set the dvd player to output 'bitstraeam' for Dolby Digital and DTS.
- Set the receiver's xover to an appropriate setting (80 Hz is a universally good choice) and turn the subwoofer's xover all the way up or disable it if possible.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Technically speaking, DVD players dont process anything in that sense. For the most part, they just spit the signal out. All you need to worry about with your DVD player is to make sure DD5.1 and DTS are both activated, and it will send the correct signal to your receiver for processing.

You'll also want to check the setup/language menu on the disc itself before playing, because several DVDs will have more than one soundtrack to choose from. IE... a choice between DD or DTS tracks for playback. More often than not with DTS movies, you'll need to manually select that option for playback on the movie setup menu before the movie begins.

 

[RickC3C4]

Mds

This was exactly what I was thinking, I just wasn't sure if the receiver would be better at processing the signal than the unit that is actually designed to and is producing the signal. This same thought was even more prevalent when it came to the subwoofer because I figured the built-in digital processor and crossover was designed specifically to work with this combination of driver/cabinet/amplifier where as the electronics in the receiver would be more "generic" per se. Somehow I'm sure I'm simply overanalyzing this.

 

[RickC3C4]

Buckeye

But that is the question, yes the DVD player is capable of simply spitting out a straight digital signal BUT it also has alot of adjustments for the audio and video signal. But I'm definitely getting the message here to leave those settings alone and use the receiver to make any necessary adjustments.