Cambridge Audio 540D V2 - Manual (Page 10)

10
Dolby Digital EX
Known also as DD (3/3) or DD 6.1, an enhanced form of Dolby Digital.
On top of the discretely encoded 5.1 channels DD EX provides an extra
6th channel (Surround Back, giving 6.1 or 7.1 with mono rear surrounds)
matrix encoded into the rear surrounds. Decoding Dolby Digital EX
requires a Dolby Digital EX encoded DVD disc and a digital connection
from the 540D V2 to a suitable AV Receiver that can decode this format
as the 540D V2 itself cannot decode DD EX. If a DD EX encoded disc is
played back on the 540D V2 however 5.1 output will still be created as
DD EX is backwards compatible with DD 5.1 decoding. The 6th Surround
Back signal will be present in both Left and Right Rear Surrounds
(forming a phantom rear centre).
DTS 5.1, DTS-ES 6.1 Matrix, DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete,
DTS Neo:6, DTS 96/24
Various DTS technologies that provide (up to) 5.1/6.1 (and 7.1 with
mono rear surrounds) output from suitable encoded DTS material.
Some newer DVDs carry both the mandatory DD and an optional DTS
surround encoding on alternative audio tracks.
The 540D V2 cannot decode these optional DTS formats itself but can
pass them via its digital outputs for decoding externally by a suitable AV
Receiver. Decoding DTS requires a suitably encoded DTS disc and a
digital connection from the 540D V2 to an AV Receiver capable of
decoding the appropriate DTS encoding type.
Video formats
DVDs are encoded using the MPEG 2 lossy video format giving over 2
hours of high-quality digital video on single layer discs or over 4 hours on
dual-layer discs.
Note: Dual layer discs always exhibit a small pause or delay in playback
when the layer transition is made.
As well as the video itself DVDs are also capable of storing up to 8
alternative tracks of digital audio, 32 subtitle tracks and 9 camera
angles (where used by the film producers).
DivX is an even more compressed (than normal DVD) digital video
format a bit like MP3 for video. DivX compresses the video data to a
fraction of its original size using the more lossy MPEG 4 Part 2
compression. DivX enhances the basic MP4 encoding by allowing extra
features on the disc and various levels of quality/compression to be
applied at the encoding stage.
DivX or straight forward raw MPEG 4 files are supported by the 540D V2
on either CD or DVD discs.
The 540D V2 MAY also be able to play MP4 type files created with other
CODEC programs (such as Xvid ® ) but playback of these is not
guaranteed.
Via its analog outputs the 540D V2 can playback CDs in stereo and
DVDs in either stereo or up to 5.1 output when they have been encoded
with Dolby Digital or Dolby Pro Logic / Pro Logic II formats.
Dolby Digital EX 6.1 discs can also be played back but only 5.1 output
will be available (the 6th channel will be shared between the rear
surround left and right speakers).
The Stereo outputs of the 540D V2 always output stereo whether the
material is a stereo CD/DVD or multi-cchannel DVD.
The 5.1 outputs can be set for downmix (in which case the front left and
right only will be active) or 5.1 output (downmix off).
Note: If Downmix is set to ‘Off’ the default playback system is Dolby
Digital. If Pro Logic II is preferred this needs to be set to ‘On’ in the 540D
V2 Setup menus.
The optional DTS soundtracks on some discs cannot be decoded by the
540D V2, however the machine is able to send a raw bitstream version
of any soundtrack via its digital outputs for decoding by an external AV
Receiver and this is actually the preferred setup even if just Dolby Digital
decoding is required. This allows the decoding of the many other
surround-sound formats available in 5.1/6.1/7.1 and beyond.
We naturally recommend our own AV Receivers which offer many
decoding options and other facilities for the processing of surround
sound.
Below is a brief guide to common surround-sound formats you may
encounter:
Dolby Digital (5.1)
The mandatory soundtrack encoding for DVD movies. Known also as DD
(3/2) or DD 5.1, DD provides (up to) 5.1 output from suitable encoded
Dolby Digital DVD's. There are 5 main channels (Front Left, Front Right,
Centre, Surround Left, Surround Right) and a Low Frequency Effects
Channel for the subwoofer, all discretely encoded. Decoding Dolby
Digital requires a Dolby Digital encoded DVD disc (nearly all DVDs) and
either a digital connection from the 540D V2 to a suitable AV Receiver
(preferred method) or the 540D V2's own built in decoder can be used
in which case a 5.1 analog connection from the 5.1 Audio outputs to a
suitable amplifier/speaker package is required.
Note: Dolby Digital and DTS formats can sometimes carry less channels
than their maximum such as Dolby Digital (2/0) which means a Dolby
Digital encoded signal which is actually only carrying a two channel
stereo signal (other channels inactive).
Pro Logic II
Pro Logic II is a Dolby technology where 5 channels (Front Left, Front
Right, Centre, Surround Left, Surround Right) are encoded into a Stereo
mix by an analog matrix process.
Dolby Pro Logic II is also compatible with the earlier 4 channel (Left,
Centre, Right and mono Surround) Dolby Pro Logic system (which was
the decoding counterpart to Dolby Surround encoding) which was used
widely on TV material and earlier films. PL and PLII are present on many
early films and often also in the stereo soundtrack available as
alternative alongside the DD 5.1 on many newer films.
The 540D V2 can decode PLII via its own decoder or an external AV
Receiver can be used. Because the encoding process is analog an AV
Receiver can usually decode PLII from either an Analog Stereo or Digital
connection from the 540D V2 to the AV Receiver. Consult your receivers
manual.
If it is desired to use the 540D V2's own built in PLII decoder a 5.1
analog connection from the 540D V2's 5.1 Audio outputs to a suitable
amplifier/speaker package should be made, downmix should be set to
‘Off’ and Pro logic II decoding set to ‘On’ in the 540D V2 Setup menus.
Surround-sound formats