Home Theatre System Question

[Keebler Elf]

Does a home theater system use the surround sound speakers when watching regular TV?

I just installed mine and the sound is great when watching a Blu-ray but it's the same as before when watching regular TV. Is this correct or do I have something connected improperly?

 

[Cycleguy007]

Does a home theater system use the surround sound speakers when watching regular TV?

I just installed mine and the sound is great when watching a Blu-ray but it's the same as before when watching regular TV. Is this correct or do I have something connected improperly?

I have the same issue... I think it depends on if the source is ALSO in a compatible format. e.g. 5:1, 7:1 etc.

 

[koreanenvy]

That's normal. Most stations only broadcast in stereo, so you would never get the surround with that. Some HD channels do broadcast in 5.1 Digital or better, so they will sound better.

 

[toughb]

I have the same issue... I think it depends on if the source is ALSO in a compatible format. e.g. 5:1, 7:1 etc.

***

I have a 7:1 AVR and as stated the source is the key.

...

 

[cynalan]

That's normal. Most stations only broadcast in stereo, so you would never get the surround with that. Some HD channels do broadcast in 5.1 Digital or better, so they will sound better.

Well, that's not quite true. For true surround, I agree that you need a source broadcasting in 5.1 Dolby Digital. Most of the HD stations broadcast surround in prime time, as do all the big sporting events. However, for a regular signal, there are options that your receiver should be able to deliver. The basic example is ProLogic surround that creates an "interpreted" surround. I have a Marantz receiver that includes a "Circle Surround" mode that gives a reasonably good home theatre sound, even with a 2 channel stereo source. Read the manual, you should find something similar with your system.

 

[tboy]

Keeb: are you REALLY asking a question or have you already made up your mind???

Just about EVERY newbie to surround sound has a similar complaint. As stated, the rear surround speakers will only work properly on a 5.1 or 7.1 SOURCE.

For eg: when playing the radio, the signal is only stereo so the amp is trying to decode the signal and put it to all speakres. That is why you will hear them cut in and out a LOT. (it can be quite annoying).

One other thing: even during a playback of a 5.1 or 7.1 signal the rear speakers won't be on all the time. They are there to reproduce sounds that are occuring behind you. (determined during the mixing of the sound during the recording process).

Imagine a car racing towards you on screen then passing to your right. The sound should build in front of you via the front speakers, then the sound should transfer from full front, to partial front/partial rear, to full rear (mostly the right rear since it was passing to the right).

 

[Keebler Elf]

Keeb: are you REALLY asking a question or have you already made up your mind???

Don't know what you're talking about. My OP is clear as day.

 

[tboy]

Don't know what you're talking about. My OP is clear as day.

Yeah, you thought your OP on an Iphone was clear as day too but got all snippy when people were giving you reccommendations you didn't want to hear.....

 

[Garrett]

For eg: when playing the radio, the signal is only stereo so the amp is trying to decode the signal and put it to all speakres. That is why you will hear them cut in and out a LOT. (it can be quite annoying).

Uhhhh wtf are you talking about this time? As cynalan says, you can choose a decoding option for two channel sources that can give you a surround experience. Some are quite good. Some are horrible. There should be no cutting in and out (and it has nothing to do with the amplifier section).

 

[Keebler Elf]

Yeah, you thought your OP on an Iphone was clear as day too but got all snippy when people were giving you reccommendations you didn't want to hear.....

Boy, you just can't get over yourself...

p.s., it was pretty clear to everyone but yourself... you were the one who couldn't let it go that the thread was about iPhones and not alternatives (which is something I never asked for to begin with). But hey, I'm sure you'll have lots of rebuttals in this thread too.

** Keebler hits ignore function **

 

[tboy]

Uhhhh wtf are you talking about this time? As cynalan says, you can choose a decoding option for two channel sources that can give you a surround experience. Some are quite good. Some are horrible. There should be no cutting in and out (and it has nothing to do with the amplifier section).

Never disagreed that the amp couldn't be set to "interpret" some rear signals, just the most common complaint is that they switch from DVD over to radio without changing anything. That is when the cutting in and out occurs. If you don't believe me, that's your problem. It does happen and after installing quite a few systems for people it is the FIRST thing they complain about.

Even IF the amp does have a "virtual" surround processor to send some signals to the rear speakers, you really shouldn't be listening to a stereo source that way. The source was produced to be REproduced in stereo and to hear it properly, it should be listened to in stereo. Depending on the source, you could ruin the staging and imaging arranged during the production of the piece.......

I'm a firm believer in accurate reproduction. If the DVD or BR is produced with a 5.1 audio track, it should be replayed in 5.1. If it has a 7.1 audio track and you have a 7.1 system? It should be replayed that way.

Put it another way: you can play Blu Ray discs on a 720P screen, but why would you want to? Same as you could play a SD DVD into a 1080P screen, while it is better, it still isn't correct.

 

[thecuriousgeorge]

on a slightly off topic note....

Focal makes some really good speakers run them off a high end tube amp and u will know what music/movies/gaming was meant to sound like...
though they can run u a few G's up to $90,000!

 

[Garrett]

Never disagreed that the amp couldn't be set to "interpret" some rear signals, just the most common complaint is that they switch from DVD over to radio without changing anything. That is when the cutting in and out occurs. If you don't believe me, that's your problem. It does happen and after installing quite a few systems for people it is the FIRST thing they complain about.

Uhhh, genius, your original statement was "when playing the radio, the signal is only stereo so the amp is trying to decode the signal and put it to all speakres. That is why you will hear them cut in and out a LOT.". There is not a planet where that even makes sense (even ignoring your "decoding amp").

As for your weighty comments on imaging/staging/and integrity of sources, I am not sure how much imaging you expect with a TV source. Well defined imaging actually takes a fair bit of know how, and I think Keebler with his HTIB simply wants the surround experience. However, once again, don't let Keebler's original request get in the way of your, uhhh, stellar advice.

 

[tboy]

Uhhh, genius, your original statement was "when playing the radio, the signal is only stereo so the amp is trying to decode the signal and put it to all speakres. That is why you will hear them cut in and out a LOT.". There is not a planet where that even makes sense (even ignoring your "decoding amp").

As for your weighty comments on imaging/staging/and integrity of sources, I am not sure how much imaging you expect with a TV source. Well defined imaging actually takes a fair bit of know how, and I think Keebler with his HTIB simply wants the surround experience. However, once again, don't let Keebler's original request get in the way of your, uhhh, stellar advice.

You're SO dumb that it isn't even worth a response....you can get imaging from ANY source in stereo and it is during the production phase that imaging is created and it is with a properly set up stereo that you can achieve it during playback. THIS is the very REASON you have a stereo to begin with. Otherwise you should just get one speaker....

As for where that makes sense, obviously you're not from planet earth because it makes perfect sense and is 100% accurate.

I'd suggest you do a little more research before commenting......

 

[tboy]

Uhhhh wtf are you talking about this time? As cynalan says, you can choose a decoding option for two channel sources that can give you a surround experience. Some are quite good. Some are horrible. There should be no cutting in and out (and it has nothing to do with the amplifier section).

Just how dumb are you? It does NOT give you a surround experience as the source is not a true 5 or 7 channel mix. You will get SIMULATED surround sound from the rear speakers but the amp cannot reproduce what isn't there.

Even THEN you shouldn't get full sound from the rear speakers because that is NOT what they were designed to do......

 

[thewheelman]

Does a home theater system use the surround sound speakers when watching regular TV?

I just installed mine and the sound is great when watching a Blu-ray but it's the same as before when watching regular TV. Is this correct or do I have something connected improperly?

Wow, did this thread ever get fk'd up fast.

First off , it is possible your cable box is not connected properly or setup in the settings menu correctly for 5.1 sound.
You must use either HDMI, or one of the digital audio output ports on the cable box; and the Audio Output settings in the settings menu must be set to HDMI or Dolby Digital to match the connection.

Next, your AVR. Surround sound modes are applied by the receiver only to Stereo (2-ch) sources. You must select a mode for your TV audio input to apply surround processing when the source(cable box) is only sending 2-channels.
This way you get all speakers working and some surround effect on 2 channel sources
Most set this to Dolby Pro Logic Cinema (movie) mode.
When a TV channel provides 5.1 audio , the AVR switches to decode and process each channel seperately, and does not use any surround processing.

Lastly, there is the source. More and more broadcasters now send out all their programs with the audio encoded to 5.1....even if the original audio was only stereo or mono.
They may apply a bit of surround processing to go from 2 to 5.1 channels before broadcasting, but generally these are rather lame effects.
Programs that are recorded in 5.1, processed and broadcast in 5.1, then arrive at your AVR as 5.1, are the best.
Nascar on FOX is an example of a good 5.1 broadcast. As cars go past the camera the sound goes with the cars, either from one side to the other or front to back.

PS> I don't think Rogers provides 5.1 audio on any broadcast channels below 300.

 

[in d lover]

Wow tboy you certainly are the 'resident smartass' that is 'way out in left field', proof that little knowledge is dangerous.

1) the signal is only stereo so the amp is trying to decode the signal ... ok just how dumb are u? Amps don't decode signals, that is the processors job. Guess what, amps increase the amplitude of a signal (power) and delivers it to the load (speaker).

2) you can get imaging from ANY source in stereo ... ok I guess you don't Garrett's knowlegeable comment on quality of source being key in the ability for a sound system to image properly. There might be a difference between a Rogers Cable box and a dCS Verdi La Scala with its ability to image a stereo signal. A TV/Rogers Cable box maybe able to provide left/right channel separation, but how dare you say it can 'image' a stereo signal.

3)It does NOT give you a surround experience as the source is not a true 5 or 7 channel mix ... my oh my, guess you never heard of Dolby Pro Logic, Lexicon Logic 7. I've heard them and quite enjoyed their 'surround experience off of sources that are not true 5 or 7 channel mixes.

Mr. Keebler enjoy your surround experience however you do, fake it with the effects on non surround sources and enjoy it out of the proper ones.

 

[tboy]

Good post wheelman, I never considered that Keeb wouldn't be using the digital HDMI or toslink connections and or set up the cable box to output full 5.1. DOH my bad. But correct me if I'm wrong, but many DVD players and other source equipment are able to transmit 5.1 and more signals even through just 2 audo rca cables? I have a dvd player that does and my amp picks up the 5.1 from the DVD and plays it just fine.....

You said it though "They may apply a bit of surround processing to go from 2 to 5.1 channels before broadcasting, but generally these are rather lame effects." I have found that it is best to just set the amp to "stereo" as opposed to listening to a pseudo surround out of the rear speakers.....(that's the cutting in and out I was mentioning which doesn't happen on planet earth).

 

[tboy]

Wow tboy you certainly are the 'resident smartass' that is 'way out in left field', proof that little knowledge is dangerous.

1) the signal is only stereo so the amp is trying to decode the signal ... ok just how dumb are u? Amps don't decode signals, that is the processors job. Guess what, amps increase the amplitude of a signal (power) and delivers it to the load (speaker).

Seems I am as dumb as you. I was using the term 'amp' in the generic sense as another name for the receiver, processor, central hub, head unit, etc etc etc. The term 'amp' has been used for 30 yrs to describe a receiver. Yes, there are amplifiers that have no other job than to boost a signal, but they are rare in most surround sound systems (especially the one keeb purchased).

Just like many people call a desktop computer a CPU, where it really is NOT a cpu, but contains a cpu.

2) you can get imaging from ANY source in stereo ... ok I guess you don't Garrett's knowlegeable comment on quality of source being key in the ability for a sound system to image properly. There might be a difference between a Rogers Cable box and a dCS Verdi La Scala with its ability to image a stereo signal. A TV/Rogers Cable box maybe able to provide left/right channel separation, but how dare you say it can 'image' a stereo signal.

Well the source material has to be produced to make it possible for imaging to occur and have no signal loss throughout the distribution chain but since many audio channels are now digital, loss is kept to a minimum. But I never said a rogers cable box can IMAGE a signal, it does no such thing. It only delivers the signal as original transmitted. The AMP or RECEIVER processes that signal to a level that can move a speaker which converts it into analog so a human can hear it. You can rap all you want about dCS la Scala, but you can get an imaging signal over the radio. Listen to CBC sometime......

3)It does NOT give you a surround experience as the source is not a true 5 or 7 channel mix ... my oh my, guess you never heard of Dolby Pro Logic, Lexicon Logic 7. I've heard them and quite enjoyed their 'surround experience off of sources that are not true 5 or 7 channel mixes.

Mr. Keebler enjoy your surround experience however you do, fake it with the effects on non surround sources and enjoy it out of the proper ones.

Just because you enjoyed it means shit. Who gives a rat's ass about what process was used to convert a stereo signal into 5 or more channels? that is irrelevant.

I thoroughly enjoy upconverted DVDs on my 1080P plasma but don't you DARE try and tell me that it is as good as a true 1080P signal. Same as a pseudo surround "experience", if you think it is the same as a true 5.1 + ?? You're whacked......but then again, you probably have your AMP set to "hall" so that you get the same volume out of the rear speakers as you do the front. Probably sit there as happy as a pig in shit too thinking "this is a a a amazing"......

BTW: we haven't even touched on staging so I look forward to THAT discussion too lol.....

 

[thewheelman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Pro_Logic

Read it and then you will understand the difference between a normal Stereo signal and a Dolby Pro Logic Stereo signal.
They are not the same. Dolby Pro Logic Stereo is 4 or 5 channels encoded into 2 channels, to be decoded back into 4 or 5 channels by your AVR.
Most of Rogers channels are processed as DolbyPro Logic, and provide a surround experience if you have Dolby Pro Logic selected as your 2-channel mode on your AVR.
Not as good as true Dolby Digital 5.1, but it works.