Rotel RSP-1069 Dolby Digital, DTS DTS 96/24 DTS-ES 96/24, DTS-ES

English

Dolby Pro Logic II decoding should be used

for any analog recording labeled “Dolby Sur-

round” or any Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack.

Dolby Pro Logic II does a superb job deriving

surround sound from conventional 2-channel

stereo recordings, using phase relationships

to extract front, right, center, and surround

channels. A “music mode” makes Pro Logic

II an excellent choice for audio CDs.

Dolby Digital

In 1992, a digital recording system, called

Dolby Digital, was ﬁ rst used in the ﬁ lm indus-

try. Dolby Digital is a recording/playback

system that uses compression techniques to

store large amounts of audio data efﬁ ciently,

much like the JPEG format stores large pho-

tographs in small ﬁ les on a computer. Be-

cause it is capable of performance beyond

that of audio CDs and can tailor its output

for a wide ranges of system conﬁ gurations,

Dolby Digital is the standard audio format for

DVDs and for digital television broadcasting

in the United States.

The Dolby Digital system can be used to re-

cord up to six discrete audio channels, but

can also be used for fewer. For example, a

Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is a digital 2-

channel recording of a matrix encoded Dol-

by Surround soundtrack.. To play a Dolby

Digital 2.0 recording, use Dolby Pro Logic II

decoding as previously described.

The most common use of Dolby Digital in

newer ﬁ lms, in both the ﬁ lm industry and in

home theater, is Dolby Digital 5.1. Instead

of encoding multiple surround channels on

a two-channel recording, Dolby Digital 5.1

records six discrete channels: front left, front

center, front right, surround left, surround right,

and a Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel

containing ultra-low bass signals intended

for a subwoofer. A Dolby Digital decoder

extracts the channels from the digital bit-

stream, converts them to analog signals and

routes them to the appropriate ampliﬁ ers and

speakers. All channels provide full frequency

response with total separation between all

channels and large dynamic range capabil-

ity. A Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack can pro-

vide more impressive surround sound than

matrix Dolby Surround.

Decoding of Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks

is automatic. When the RSP-1069 detects a

Dolby 5.1 signal on one of its digital inputs,

it activates the proper processing. Keep in

mind that Dolby Digital is only available

from digital sources (a DVD, a LaserDisc, or

a Digital TV/Cable/SAT tuner). Also, you

must connect the source with a digital cable

(coax or optical) to an active digital input

on the RSP-1069.

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 selec-

tion under “Audio” or “Languages” or “Setup

Options” when you insert the disc.

DTS 5.1

DTS 96/24

DTS-ES 96/24

DTS® (Digital Theater Systems) is an alterna-

tive digital format competing with Dolby Digi-

tal in both movie theaters and home theater

markets. The basic functions of the DTS sys-

tem 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 sys-

tem is DTS 96/24 and the 6.1 channel ver-

sion DTS-ES 96/24. These recordings provide

the performance of a 96kHz sampling rate

while still using actual 48kHz sampling rate

of standard DTS discs.

Like Dolby Digital, DTS can only be used on a

digital recording and, therefore, is only avail-

able for home use on LaserDiscs, DVDs, or

other digital formats. To use the RSP-1069’s

DTS decoder, you must connect your DVD

player to the RSP-1069’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 al-

ways have it conﬁ gured 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 ﬁ rst time you attempt to play a

DTS disc, go to the DVD player’s conﬁ gura-

tion menus and turn on the DTS bitstream.

This is a one-time setting and need only be

done once.

DTS Neo:6

The RSP-1069 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. Ac-

tivate 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 Surround

In 1999, the ﬁ rst 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 chan-

nel is encoded into the two existing surround

channels in Dolby Digital 5.1, using a matrix

encoding process similar to that used previ-

ously in Dolby Surround. This new extended

surround capability is called Dolby Digital

Surround EX.