ROTEL RSP-1570 - Manual (Page 31)

30 31 English RSP-1570 Surround Sound Processor 30 31 English RSP-1570 Surround Sound Processor
Note: Many DVDs have a Dolby Digital 2.0 matrix soundtrack as
the default, which should be decoded with Pro Logic II. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack may have to be selected as an option from
the setup menus at the beginning of the DVD. Look for a Dolby
Digital 5.1 selection under “Audio” or “Languages” or “Setup
Options” when you insert the disc.
DTS 5.1
DTS 96/24
DTS ® (Digital Theater Systems) is an alternative digital format competing
with Dolby Digital in both movie theaters and home theater markets. The
basic functions of the DTS system are similar to those of Dolby Digital
(for example, 5.1 discrete channels), however the technical details of
the compression and decoding processes differ somewhat and a DTS
decoder is required.
A recent extension of the DTS encoding system is DTS 96/24 and
the 6.1-channel version DTS-ES 96/24. These recordings provide the
performance of a 96kHz sampling rate while still using the actual 48kHz
sampling rate of standard DTS discs.
Like Dolby Digital, DTS can only be used on a digital recording and,
therefore, is only available for home use on LaserDiscs, DVDs, or other
digital formats. To use the RSP-1570’s DTS decoder, you must connect
your DVD player to the unit’s digital inputs. As with Dolby Digital 5.1,
detection and proper decoding of DTS 5.1 signals is automatic.
Note: DVDs with a DTS soundtrack almost always have it
configured as an option to the standard matrix Dolby Surround
format. To use DTS, you may have to go to the setup menus at
the beginning of the DVD and select “DTS 5.1” instead of “Dolby
Surround” or “Dolby Digital 5.1”. In addition, many DVD players
have the DTS digital bitstream turned off by default and cannot
output a DTS soundtrack (even if selected on the disc’s menu) until
you activate the player’s DTS output. If you hear no sound the
first time you attempt to play a DTS disc, go to the DVD player’s
configuration menus and turn on the DTS bitstream. This is a one-
time setting and need only be done once.
DTS Neo:6
This Rotel processor features a second type of DTS surround sound
decoding: DTS Neo:6. This decoding system is similar to Dolby Pro
Logic II and is designed for playback of any 2-channel stereo recording,
either matrix-encoded or not. The Neo:6 decoder can be used with any
conventional 2-channel source such as a stereo TV or FM broadcast
or a CD. It can also be used as an alternative method of decoding
matrix-encoded Dolby Surround recordings or TV broadcasts. Activate
the DTS Neo:6 decoding with the DTS Neo:6 button as detailed later in
this section. DTS Neo:6 is not used with DTS 5.1 digital sources and the
button need not be pressed for those recordings.
Dolby Digital Surround EX
DTS-ES 6.1 and 7.1 Channel Surround
In 1999, the first Dolby Digital soundtrack was released to theaters with
an additional center back surround channel, intended to increase the
directional effects from behind the audience. This additional surround
channel is encoded into the two existing surround channels in Dolby
Digital 5.1, using a matrix encoding process similar to that used
previously in Dolby Surround. This new extended surround capability is
called Dolby Digital Surround EX.
DTS has added a similar capability for recording this extended surround
information called DTS-ES
® 6.1 Matrix. They have also taken it one step
further and developed the capability to record this extended surround
information as a discrete channel in a system called DTS-ES
® 6.1
Discrete.
All of these systems are extensions of the existing Dolby Digital 5.1
and DTS 5.1 digital surround sound formats. Users with one center
back speaker (a 6.1 configuration) or two center back speakers (a
7.1 configuration) can take advantage of this extended surround
information. On traditional 5.1 channel systems, Dolby Digital Surround
EX or DTS-ES 6.1 discs sound exactly the same as 5.1 channel discs in
each respective format.
If you have configured your system with one or two center back
speakers, decoding of DTS-ES discs is automatic, just as it is with
standard DTS soundtracks. Likewise, decoding of Dolby Digital Surround
EX discs is automatic with one exception. Some Surround EX titles do
not have the detection “flag” encoded on the disc. To activate the Dolby
Digital Surround EX features for these discs (or for standard 5.1 channel
Dolby Digital discs), you must manually activate Dolby Surround EX
processing.
Dolby Pro Logic IIx 6.1 and 7.1 Channel Surround
The latest technology from Dolby uses advanced matrix decoding for
the surround channels in a 6.1 channel or 7.1 channel system. Working
with any 2.0 channel or 5.1 channel recording, Dolby Pro Logic IIx
processing distributes the surround channel information among three
or four surround channels, with a Music mode optimized for musical
recordings and a Cinema mode optimized for film soundtracks.
Rotel XS 6.1 and 7.1 Channel Surround
This RSP-1570 also features Rotel XS (eXtended Surround) processing
provides extended surround performance on 6.1 and 7.1 channel
systems. The key benefit of Rotel XS is that it works at all times with all
multichannel digital signals, even those that might not otherwise activate
Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES surround decoding for the center back
channel(s). Always available when center back speaker(s) are configured
in the system setup, Rotel XS decodes the surround channels and
distributes the extended surround channels to the center back speaker(s)
in a way that tends to create a diffuse surround effect. Rotel XS works
with matrix-encoded surround signals (such as non-flagged DTS-ES and
Dolby Surround EX discs) as well as digital source material that is not
Dolby Surround EX encoded (such as DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and
even Dolby Pro Logic II decoded Dolby Digital 2.0 recordings).
Dolby Digital Plus
Built on Dolby Digital, the multichannel audio encoding standard for
DVD and HD broadcasts, Dolby Digital Plus was designed for the new
high-resolution delivery formats, but remains compatible with current
A/V processors. It is supported by the HDMI digital connection standard.
Dolby Digital Plus can provide up to 7.1 channels with discrete channel
output at higher bitrates than Dolby Digital. Dolby Digital Plus is an
optional sound format for Blu-ray, and a mandatory inclusion for HD
DVD discs.
Dolby True HD
Dolby TrueHD is based on lossless coding technology to deliver studio
master-quality sound. Dolby TrueHD supports up to eight full-range
channels (the maximum allowed by Blu-Ray) of 24-bit/96 kHz audio.
Dolby TrueHD is supported by the HDMI v1.3 digital connection.
Additional features include Dialogue Normalization, which maintains
the same volume level when changing to other Dolby Digital and Dolby
TrueHD programming, and Dynamic Range Control (or ‘Night Mode’),
reducing peak volume levels to allow late-night viewing of high-energy
surround sound without disturbing others. Dolby TrueHD is an optional
sound format for Blu-ray Disc, and a mandatory format for HD DVD.
DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
Like Dolby’s TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio is an advanced lossless
audio codec which is an optional sound format for Blu-ray discs, again
delivering the original recorded sound ‘bit-for-bit’. It is also an optional
format for HD-DVD disc recordings. DTS-HD Master Audio is compatible
with the HDMI v1.3 connection standard, and supports a maximum of
192kHz sampling at 24-bit depth in two-channel mode, and 24bit/
96KHz resolution for eight channels in multichannel mode. A DTS-HD
capable processor can also decode discs recorded with DTS-HD High
Resolution Audio. This format is not lossless but delivers virtually all of the
original recording, though not literally identical to the studio master.
DSP Music Modes
Unlike all of the formats mentioned above, the RSP-1570 offers four
surround modes that are not part of a specific recording/playback
system. These modes (DSP 1–4) use digital signal processing that
adds special acoustic effects to any signal. DSP processing can be
used with Dolby Surround recordings, Dolby Digital recordings, CDs,
radio broadcasts, or any other source material; however, typically DSP
settings would be used with source material for which there is no specific
surround decoder.
The four DSP MODES in the processor use digital delay and
reverberation effects to simulate progressively larger acoustic
environments with DSP 1 being the smallest type of venue (such as a jazz
club) and DSP 4 being a large venue (such as a stadium). Typically used
to add ambience and a sense of space when listening to music sources
or other sources that lack surround sound encoding..
2CH/5CH/7CH stereo formats
The RSP-1570 also provides four modes that disable all surround
processing and deliver stereo signals to amplifiers and speakers. The
four options are:
2CH Stereo: Turns off the center channel and all surround channels
in the system and delivers a conventional 2-channel signal to the front
speakers. If the system is configured to route bass signals from the front
speakers to the subwoofer, this capability remains in effect.
Analog Bypass: For 2-channel analog inputs, there is a special stereo
mode that bypasses ALL of the RSP-1570’s digital processing. The two
front speakers receive pure analog stereo full-range signals with no
subwoofer crossover, no delay, no level adjustments, and no contour
adjustment.
5CH Stereo: Distributes a stereo signal to 5.1 channel systems. The
left channel signal is sent, unchanged, to the front left and surround left
speakers. The right channel is sent to the front right and surround right
speakers. A mono sum of the two channels is sent to the center channel
speaker.
7CH Stereo: This mode is the same as 5CH Stereo described above
except that it also distributes stereo signals to center back speaker(s)
installed in the system.
Other Digital Formats
Several other digital formats are not surround sound formats at all, but
rather systems for digital 2-channel recordings.
PCM 2-channel: This is an uncompressed 2-channel digital signal such
as that used for standard CD recordings and some DVD recordings,
particularly of older films.
DTS Music 5.1 Discs: These discs are a variation of audio CDs that
include a DTS 5.1 channel recording. The processor decodes these discs
just like a DTS movie soundtrack when played on a CD player or DVD
player with a digital output connection.
DVD-A music discs: Taking advantage of the increased storage
capacity of the DVD disc, new high bit rate multichannel audio
recordings are available on DVD-A discs. DVD-A discs may include
multiple versions of the recording including standard PCM stereo,
Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and 96kHz/24 bit (or higher) multichannel
recordings using MLP compression. Several of these formats (standard
PCM, Dolby Digital, and DTS 5.1) can be decoded by the processor
when the DVD player is connected with a digital cable. However, the
existing optical and coax digital audio connection standard does not
provide sufficient bandwidth for multichannel high sampling rate MLP
recordings. Therefore, you must use the HDMI high-definition digital
connection to replay the high-resolution audio soundtrack of DVD-A
discs. Alternatively, the high-resolution audio can be decoded by the
DVD-A player and the resulting analog signals sent to the processor’s
MULTI INPUT.
SACD®: This is a proprietary high-resolution audio standard for use on
SACD compatible disc players. As with DVD-A discs, the bandwidth is
too high for today’s digital connection. Thus, these discs must be decoded
by a SACD compatible player, with the output sent to the processor’s
MULTI INPUTS.
MP3: MP3 format recordings, often downloaded from the Internet, can
be played on portable MP3 players or some disc players that can read
CD-ROM discs. These players can be connected to the processor’s digital
inputs, but must output a digital PCM stream.
Automatic Surround Modes
Decoding of digital sources connected to the digital inputs is generally
automatic, with detection triggered by a “flag” embedded in the digital
recording telling the processor what decoding format is required.
For example, when Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 channel surround is
detected, the processor activates the proper decoding.
The unit will also detect DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 or DTS-ES Discrete 6.1
discs and activate DTS-ES
® Extended Surround decoding. Dolby Digital
Surround EX recordings also trigger automatic decoding (although
not all Surround EX DVDs have the necessary flag and may require
manually activating Surround EX decoding).
Likewise, a digital input from a standard compact disc, a DTS 96/24
disc, or DTS-ES 96/24 disc, will be auto-detected and properly decoded
to 2CH stereo operation.
Dolby Pro Logic IIx or Rotel XS processing can be configured to be
automatically active in all 6.1 or 7.1 channel systems configured with
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