Audio formats
■Dolby DigitalDolby Digital is a digital surround sound system that gives you completely independent multi-channel audio. With 3 front channels (left, center, and right), and 2 surround stereo channels, Dolby Digital provides 5 full-range audio channels. With an additional channel especially for bass effects, called LFE (low frequency effect), the system has a total of 5.1-channels (LFE is counted as 0.1 channel). By using 2-channel stereo for the surround speakers, more accurate moving sound effects and surround sound environment are possible than with Dolby Surround. The wide dynamic range (from maximum to minimum volume) reproduced by the 5 full-range channels and the precise sound orientation generated using digital sound processing provide listeners with previously unheard of excitement and realism.
With this unit, any sound environment from monaural up to a 5.1-channel configuration can be freely selected for your enjoyment.
■Dolby Pro Logic IIDolby Pro Logic II is an improved technique used to decode vast numbers of existing Dolby Surround software. This new technology enables a discrete 5-channel playback with 2 front left and right channels, 1 center channel, and 2 surround left and right channels (instead of only 1 surround channel for conventional Pro Logic technology). Music and Game modes are also available for 2-channel sources in addition to the Movie mode.
■Dolby SurroundDolby Surround uses a 4 channel analog recording system to reproduce realistic and dynamic sound effects: 2 front left and right channels (stereo), a center channel for dialog (monaural), and a surround channel for special sound effects (monaural). The surround channel reproduces sound within a narrow frequency range.
Dolby Surround is widely used with nearly all video tapes and laser discs, and in many TV and cable broadcasts as well. The Dolby Pro Logic decoder built into this unit employs a digital signal processing system that automatically stabilizes the volume on each channel to enhance moving sound effects and directionality.
■DTS (Digital Theater Systems)Digital SurroundDTS digital surround was developed to replace the analog soundtracks of movies with a 6-channel digital sound track, and is now rapidly gaining popularity in movie theaters around the world. Digital Theater Systems Inc. has developed a home theater system so that you can enjoy the depth of sound and natural spatial representation of DTS digital surround in your home. This system produces practically distortion-free 6-channel sound (technically, a left, right and center channels, 2 surround channels, plus an LFE 0.1 channel as a subwoofer, for a total of 5.1- channels). The unit incorporates a DTS-ES decoder that enables 6.1- channel reproduction by adding the surround back channel to existing 5.1-channel format.
■Neo:6Neo:6 decodes the conventional 2-channel sources for 6 channel playback by the specific decoder. It enables playback with the full-range channels with higher separation just like digital discrete signal playback. Two modes are available; “Music mode” for playing music sources and “Cinema mode” for movies.
■PCM (Linear PCM)Linear PCM is a signal format under which an analog audio signal is digitized, recorded and transmitted without using any compression. This is used as a method of recording CDs and DVD audio. The PCM system uses a technique for sampling the size of the analog signal per very small unit of time. Standing for “pulse code modulation”, the analog signal is encoded as pulses and then modulated for recording.
Audio information
■LFE 0.1 channelThis channel is for the reproduction of low bass signals. The frequency range for this channel is 20 Hz to 120 Hz. This channel is counted as 0.1 because it only enforces a low frequency range compared to the full-range reproduced by the other 5/6 channels in Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1/6.1-channel systems.
