Sony 1200es - how do i change from Dolby Pro Logic to DTS?

[admin_exported]

Sorry if i sound thick but i hear a lot of people comment that DTS is better that Dolby Pro Logic but i can't seem to know when i am on DTS with my Sony Receiver.

I have an A.F.D button which gives me options of all the pro logic options but how to i get DTS option? I also have a Music and Movie button which then flashes up Digital Cinema Sound is this DTS? but when i look in the handbook it says NEO & ES and i am not sure what this is or how to get DTS ES?

Again sorry for being thick but i am pretty new to home cinema set up and i am just trying to work out how to get DTS sound.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Ok think i have sussed it! but can someone please advise should i just stick to my auto pro logic ****tion or go with the DTS? or is it just personal taste?

 

[professorhat]

Are you going between Dolby Digital and DTS on a DVD soundtrack or just watching standard TV? If you're just watching Pro Logic TV, you can switch to one of the DTS modes which might process the signal to make it "surround sound" - personally I just leave it on Pro Logic, this is definitely just a personal preference.
If you do mean the difference of switching between the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks available on a DVD, in theory the DTS soundtrack should be better as it has a slightly higher bandwidth meaning there should be more detail available in the soundtrack. However, again, this is down to how the DVD was mastered (if it in fact even does carry a DTS soundtrack). If you prefer the Dolby Digital version, there's no reason to stick with the DTS one.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

andytucker:
Sorry if i sound thick but i hear a lot of people comment that DTS is better that Dolby Pro Logic but i can't seem to know when i am on DTS with my Sony Receiver.

I have an A.F.D button which gives me options of all the pro logic options but how to i get DTS option? I also have a Music and Movie button which then flashes up Digital Cinema Sound is this DTS? but when i look in the handbook it says NEO & ES and i am not sure what this is or how to get DTS ES?

Again sorry for being thick but i am pretty new to home cinema set up and i am just trying to work out how to get DTS sound.

Thanks

Right I might be missing the point here but.....Your source has to have the option of Dolby Digital or DTS for you to get sound with that format. Watching normal tv, you can hit the AFD Auto button and get a "surround" sound like Pro Logic, DTS Neo etc., With these surround options, you get the same sound split to all your speakers. With Dolby Digital and DTS you get different sounds to each speaker - like you get sound from a crowd in a football match from the rear speakers and the commentary from the centre speaker.

On dvds, it will tell you which format is on offer. Normally one of DD 2.0, DD 5.1 and DTS. I think DTS ES is a 6.1 codec.

I hope this helps. Also, if you want surround sound for all your viewing, you should just press the AFD Auto until you get Pro Logic - you won't notice any difference between that and DTS Neo and the others. I always set mine to auto so that you get what you are supposed to get.

 

[Anonymous]

As we on this subject and I have the 1200ES can anyone tell me if Neo: 6 is better than the normal Pro Logic 2 I watch moves and HD television. Also what is Neo and is it DTS.

After watching the Dark Knight yesterday on blu ray I was trying out the Neo and it sounds like it has a little more impact.

Also I think Dark Knight on blu ray is just the best and with my new AV kit being updated in New Year I look forward to even better views of DK

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Jackandy i have been playing around with my Sony 1200es all night and all morning! i think i have found that if the Blu-Ray Disc says its play DTS sound then the best options is to use the "MOVIE' button on the front and i prefer Cinema B option but you can use any of them and this is DTS. Make sure in the audio options on the menu of the disc is selected DTS sound as well.ÿ

I Just put a Live U2 concert DVD in the playstation 3 and selected DTS sound on the PS3 menu and the U2 DVD menu and then played it using the Cinema B mode and it sounded increadiable!

I am not sure about what to use with SKY HD as i have not played around with this yet but i would guess that Sky broadcast in Dolby Pro Logic but i could be wrong!ÿ

 

[Gerrardasnails]

andytucker:
Hi Jackandy i have been playing around with my Sony 1200es all night and all morning! i think i have found that if the Blu-Ray Disc says its play DTS sound then the best options is to use the "MOVIE' button on the front and i prefer Cinema 2 option but you can use any of them and this is DTS. Make sure in the audio options on the menu of the disc is selected DTS sound as well.ÿ

I Just put a Live U2 concert DVD in the playstation 3 and selected DTS sound on the PS3 menu and the U2 DVD menu and then played it using the Cinema 2 mode and it sounded increadiable!

I am not sure about what to use with SKY HD as i have not played around with this yet but i would guess that Sky broadcast in Dolby Pro Logic but i could be wrong!ÿ

Normal Sky channels are broadcast in stereo. HD channels are Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1. The majority of the film channels, HD or not are in DD 5.1.

 

[Anonymous]

So your saying i should put the receiver on AUTO on the pro logic option?ÿ

Its strange cus i never really knew how to get DTS sound on my receiver until i did some searching on the net and came up with i should use my movie button to get DTS sound which i must admit sounded much better whilst playing the U2 Live DVD

 

[Anonymous]

I think i am even more confused than when i started!

Why not have 1 button for Dolby and 1 for DTS now that would be easier! ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

So many questions sorry!

So will my AUTO option on my AFD ÿbutton use DTS as well as Dolby Pro Logic? as i thought it would only search for the best Dolby sound?

Someone please help!ÿ

 

[The_Lhc]

andytucker:
Its strange cus i never really knew how to get DTS sound on my receiver until i did some searching on the net and came up with i should use my movie button to get DTS sound which i must admit sounded much better whilst playing the U2 Live DVD

Ok, listen carefully, you'll only get the full 5.1 channel DTS sound if what you're watching has a DTS soundtrack on it. Now it's entirely possible that the U2 DVD does have a DTS soundtrack, music DVDs do tend to because, arguably, DTS sounds better than Dolby Digital. This does rather presume that you're connecting your DVD player to your receiver using a Digital connection, and not analogue stereo connections.

Assuming the DVD does have a DTS soundtrack on it and that you've actually selected this soundtrack from the film's menu (DVDs rarely, if ever, default to DVD, they usually default to Dolby Digital), you're better off leaving all the other buttons on your amp alone, just let it get on with with the standard soundtrack, you only need Pro-Logic(II(x)) or Neo:6 when you're listening to stereo sources, otherwise it's just mucking up the careful mix that the film makers have laboured long and hard over.

As for your Sky box, again, assuming you've connected it to your amp with a digital connection, just leave the Amp in Auto Format Decode and it'll switch modes along with whatever the Sky box is outputting. I was watching the Star Trek movies on Saturday from Sky Movies, The Motion Picture was broadcast in Pro-Logic and my (Sony) amp played it as such, then the Wrath of Khan started, which was broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 and lo and behold the pretty blue light came on and the amp started playing in full 5.1, easy as that!

Did I mention using digital connections from your DVD player/Sky box to the amp? Yes I did, twice, because it's important, if you aren't using digital connections forget everything I just wrote because you'll never get "proper" DTS (or indeed Dolby Digital).

Apologies if this all sounds patronising but you sound like you're starting from the beginning so I'm trying to be as clear as I can.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply yes i am new to the world of home cinema!

I am connecting my PS3 and Sky HD via HDMI and Digital Optical so yes to Digital audio.

So long and short of it is keep it on AUTO for everything unless watching a DVD / Bluray disc which has the DTS sign on the back in which case turn it to the Movie Neo mode and set the disc to play in DTS sound.

Just to confirm yes the U2 disc clearly states DTS on the back cover and on the main menu of the disc it gives me an option of which audio i want to use if i remember the options were Dolby Pro, DTS, PSM or something similar. There was a def improvment when i choose DTS and played it through the Neo 6 option

And Yes my pretty Blue light comes on as well when i am watching Football on Sky HD, several programs on BBC HD and Discovery HD and most of my Blu-Ray Discs and the U2 DVD also shows the Blue light on.

 

[d4v3pum4]

It is easy. Set your amp to Auto. When you select TV, the amp will choose the best format i.e. if your sky hd box sends out DD5.1 (providing you have set it up accordingly in the sound settings menu). If it detects a 2.0 channel signal, it will mix it and give you DTS:Neo 6 or DPL2. Select one of those and leave it as default. The amp will then default to that mode when a 2.0 channel signal is detected and Dolby Digital when it detects a DD5.1 signal.

The same goes for the Bluray or DVD player. Select bitstream on the player. I'm assuming that your player is connected via digi-coax or optical. If the amp is in Auto it will select the best track that it receives. Before starting the film, select your preferred soundtrack and press play. Some players do ask you to enable DTS for some reason.

I never touch my amp once it's setup. I leave it on DPL2 for normal viewing, use DTS/DD5.1 etc. for movies from the PS3 and use the external inputs for my HDDVD player. The amp is on auto at all times and I never ever bother with Cinema, Hall, Music etc. modes, they're a waste of time IMHO.

There are handy glossaries on the various audio formats at dts.com and dolby.com

 

[The_Lhc]

andytucker:
Thanks for the reply yes i am new to the world of home cinema!

I am connecting my PS3 and Sky HD via HDMI and Digital Optical so yes to Digital audio.

Ok, not sure it makes much difference in this case, SkyHD needs the optical connection, normally I'd have said the PS3 doesn't but your amp doesn't decode HD audio formats, so stick with the optical.

So long and short of it is keep it on AUTO for everything unless watching a DVD / Bluray disc which has the DTS sign on the back in which case turn it to the Movie Neo mode and set the disc to play in DTS sound.

NO! Sorry for shouting, just wanted to make sure you noticed that. If you set the disc to use the DTS soundtrack that's ALL you have to do, the Amp will auto-detect what type of audio is being fed to it (the PS3 will send it a signal saying "this is DTS"). You do not have to do ANYTHING with the amp to get it to play in DTS.

just so we're clear Neo:6 is the DTS corporation's version of Pro-Logic II, it's for use with analogue stereo soundtracks to create a feeling of surround sound by "guessing" (effectively) where the sounds should be. DTS 5.1 is a Digital audio format with 5 discrete channels of surround sound fully mixed to create a much more convincing surround sound effect than you'll ever get with Neo:6 or Pro-Logic II (as clever as they are). There is *no point* trying to use Neo:6 post-processing on a DTS soundtrack as the original DTS soundtrack already contains the audio fully mixed.

Just to confirm yes the U2 disc clearly states DTS on the back cover

Cool.

and on the main menu of the disc it gives me an option of which audio i want to use if i remember the options were Dolby Pro, DTS, PSM or something similar.

PCM I expect.

There was a def improvment when i choose DTS and played it through the Neo 6 option

there would have been even if you hadn't chosen the Neo 6 option.

And Yes my pretty Blue light comes on as well when i am watching Football on Sky HD, several programs on BBC HD and Discovery HD and most of my Blu-Ray Discs and the U2 DVD also shows the Blue light on.

good, there shouldn't be any need to do anything on the amp then, it sounds like it's working fine. The blue light incidentally simply means the Amp is doing multi-channel digital decoding, it DOESN'T mean it's using DTS (the blue light WILL come on when DTS is being provided to the amp though). All the Sky HD multi-channel audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 which is the same sort of thing as DTS but not quite as good (you might not even notice the difference though), Sky doesn't carry DTS so there's no way of getting the amp to "use" it.

In general the DTS Neo:6 Movie and Music modes are only really for use with stereo audio, such as CD, or broadcast TV (that ISN'T already being broadcast in Digital surround like the HD and Sky movie channels are) to give a pseudo-surround effect, you don't need them if the blue-light is on.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

andytucker:
Thanks for the reply yes i am new to the world of home cinema!

I am connecting my PS3 and Sky HD via HDMI and Digital Optical so yes to Digital audio.

So long and short of it is keep it on AUTO for everything unless watching a DVD / Bluray disc which has the DTS sign on the back in which case turn it to the Movie Neo mode and set the disc to play in DTS sound.

Just to confirm yes the U2 disc clearly states DTS on the back cover and on the main menu of the disc it gives me an option of which audio i want to use if i remember the options were Dolby Pro, DTS, PSM or something similar. There was a def improvment when i choose DTS and played it through the Neo 6 option

And Yes my pretty Blue light comes on as well when i am watching Football on Sky HD, several programs on BBC HD and Discovery HD and most of my Blu-Ray Discs and the U2 DVD also shows the Blue light on.

lhc is saying what I tried to convey. In short leave the AFD Auto button alone (set to auto) when watching Bluray or dvd. When watching Sky HD and you are not getting DD 5.1 and you want surround sound, click the AFD button and select either DTS Neo or Pro Logic.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help and advise!

 

[Anonymous]

Gerrardasnails:andytucker:
Thanks for the reply yes i am new to the world of home cinema!

I am connecting my PS3 and Sky HD via HDMI and Digital Optical so yes to Digital audio.

So long and short of it is keep it on AUTO for everything unless watching a DVD / Bluray disc which has the DTS sign on the back in which case turn it to the Movie Neo mode and set the disc to play in DTS sound.

Just to confirm yes the U2 disc clearly states DTS on the back cover and on the main menu of the disc it gives me an option of which audio i want to use if i remember the options were Dolby Pro, DTS, PSM or something similar. There was a def improvment when i choose DTS and played it through the Neo 6 option

And Yes my pretty Blue light comes on as well when i am watching Football on Sky HD, several programs on BBC HD and Discovery HD and most of my Blu-Ray Discs and the U2 DVD also shows the Blue light on.

lhc is saying what I tried to convey. In short leave the AFD Auto button alone (set to auto) when watching Bluray or dvd. When watching Sky HD and you are not getting DD 5.1 and you want surround sound, click the AFD button and select either DTS Neo or Pro Logic.

What Gerrard Has Said is correct, but you can leave the AFD to your preffered setting if you like, if DD or DTS is going in it will automatically change to those formats regardless to what the AFD is set to.
I personally keep mine on Pro logic II X music(you do need 6 or 7 speakers for this)for all normal tv to get surround sound, I do use auto on music channels this will give you stereo.