Rotel RSP-1066 owner manual Surround Controls, Other Formats, DSP Digital Signal Processing

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 fully 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. Users with traditional 5.1 channel systems can play Dolby Digital Surround EX or DTS-ES 6.1 discs and they will sound ex- actly the same as 5.1 channel discs in each respective format. The extended surround recordings are 100% backwards compatible.

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.

The RSP-1066 also features Rotel XS (eXtended 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 proper surround decoding for the center back channel(s). Al- ways active in any system configured with cen- ter back speaker(s), Rotel XS monitors the sur- round channels, properly decodes them, and distributes the extended surround channels to the center back speaker(s). Rotel XS works with matrix-encoded surround signals (such as Dolby Surround EX discs and non-flagged DTS- ES) as well as non-matrix digital source mate- rial (such as DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and even Dolby Pro Logic II decoded Dolby Digi- tal 2.0 recordings) to derive superb center back channel surround effects.

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Other Formats

Three other digital formats are not surround sound formats at all, but rather systems for digital 2-channel recordings.

The first is PCM 2-channel. This is a straight 2-channel digital signal such as that used for standard CD recordings.

The second is HDCD® encoding for compact discs. This system uses a variety of enhance- ments to improve the sonic performance com- pared to standard audio CDs. These discs, labeled HDCD, can be played on standard CD players. However, when the digital sig- nal is decoded using an HDCD decoder like that in the RSP-1066, they will provide excep- tional musical reproduction.

The RSP-1066 also features a decoder for the digital MP3 (MPEG1- Audio Layer 3) compres- sion format. MP3 format recordings are avail- able on the Internet and can be played on por- table MP3 players or some disc players that can read CD-ROM discs.

PCM 2-channel, HDCD, and MP3 are digital formats. They can only be decoded by the RSP-1066 from digital sources connected to the digital inputs.

DSP (Digital Signal Processing)

Finally, one more related issue to be addressed is DSP modes. Unlike all of the formats men- tioned above, DSP is not a recording/play- back system. Instead, it is a digital process- ing feature of the RSP-1066 that adds special acoustic effects to any signal. DSP process- ing can be used with Dolby Surround record- ings, 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.

In general, DSP is used to create the ambience of a large listening environment: a jazz club, a concert hall, a stadium, etc. It uses digital processing to delay the signal to various speak- ers and mix in various levels of reverberation. Its use is strictly a matter of personal taste.

English

Surround Controls

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 RSP-1066 what decoding format is required. For example, when Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 channel surround is detected, the RSP-1066 activates the proper decoding, confirmed by a lighted indicator in the front-panel display.

The unit will also detect DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 or DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 discs and activate DTS-ES®Extended Surround decoding. Likewise, a digi- tal input from an HDCD® encoded compact disc, a standard CD, or MP3 player will be auto-detected and properly decoded to 2CH stereo operation.

Rotel XS processing is automatically active in all systems configured with center back speaker(s) and will ensure proper extended surround decoding of all multichannel digital signals, even those that might not otherwise trigger the proper extended surround mode.

In many cases, the RSP-1066 will also recog- nize a digital signal with Dolby Surround en- coding (such as the default soundtrack on many DVDs) and activate Dolby® Pro Logic II® de- coding. Additionally, you can configure a de- fault surround mode for each input using the ON-SCREEN DISPLAY menu system.

NOTE: A digital signal coming into the RSP-1066 will be recognized and properly decoded. However, on a DVD with multiple soundtracks, you must tell the DVD player which one to send to the RSP-1066. For ex- ample, you may need to use the DVD’s menu system to select the Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS

5.1soundtrack rather than the default Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby Surround soundtrack. If in doubt about what type of soundtrack is be- ing sent from the DVD, check the front panel indicator lights on the RSP-1066 to see which type of decoding is activated: Dolby Pro Logic (for Dolby Surround matrix soundtracks), Dolby Digital, or DTS.