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-1098’s DTS decoder, you must connect your DVD player to the RSP-1098’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 se- lect “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 out- put. 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
The RSP-1098 features a second type of DTS surround sound decoding: DTS Neo:6. This decoding system is similar to Dolby Pro Logic
IIand is designed for playback of any 2-channel stereo recording, either matrix-encoded or not. The Neo:6 decoder can by used with any conventional 2-channel source such 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 de- coding 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.
6.1 and 7.1 Surround
In 1999, the first Dolby Digital soundtrack was released to theaters with an additional cen- ter back surround channel, intended to increase the directional effects from behind the audi- ence. This additional surround channel is en- coded into the two existing surround channels in Dolby Digital 5.1, using a matrix encod- ing 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 record- ing this extended surround information called DTS-ES®6.1 Matrix. They have also taken it one step further and developed the capabil- ity to record this extended surround informa- tion as a discrete channel in a system called DTS-ES®6.1 Discrete.
All of these systems are extensions of the ex- isting Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 digital surround sound formats. Users with one cen- ter back speaker (a 6.1 configuration) or two center back speakers (a 7.1 configuration) can take advantage of this extended surround in- formation. 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 stan- dard 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 manu- ally activate Dolby Surround EX processing.
The RSP-1098 also features Rotel XS (eXtra Surround) processing that automatically ensures optimum extended surround performance on
6.1and 7.1 channel systems. The key ben- efit 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 chan- nels and distributes the extended surround chan- nels 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).
DSP Music Modes
Unlike all of the formats mentioned above, the RSP-1098 offers four surround modes that not part of a specific recording/playback system. These modes (MUSIC 1–4) use digital signal processing that adds special acoustic effects to any signal. DSP processing can be used with Dolby Surround recordings, Dolby Digi- tal 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 MUSIC MODES in the RSP-1098 use digital delay and reverberation effects to simu- late progressively larger acoustic environments with MUSIC 1 being the smallest type of venue (such as a jazz club) and MUSIC 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-1098 also provides four modes that disable all surround processing and deliver stereo signals to amplifiers and speakers. There are three options:
2CH Stereo: Turns off the center channel and all surround channels in the system and deliv- ers 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 in- puts, there is a special stereo mode that by- passes ALL of the RSP-1098’s digital process- ing. The two front speaker receive pure ana- log stereo full-range signals with no subwoofer crossover, no delay, no level adjustments, and no contour adjustment.
5CH Stereo: Distributes a stereo signal to
5.1channel systems. The left channel signal is sent, unchanged, 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.
