Brunt Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 My receiver, Onkyo HT RC180, seems to matrix DTS HD 5.1 content into 7.1 almost at random. If I play some 5.1 Blu Rays and want to matrix side surround info into the rears, what do I select on the receiver? I want to keep the DTS HD or TrueHD audio quality, but make use of my 2 rear surrounds. When I stick in Lord of The Rings, for example, it shows DTS HD on the receiver, but a little "matrix EX" is automatically lit up and the rear surrounds are also lit up on the little diagram of my setup to the left of the main info on the receiver. When I watched Sucker Punch last night (also DTS HD), the only way I could find to make use of rears was to select THX Cinema on receiver which changed the overall quality of the audio instead of just matrixing the surrounds and keeping the other channels the same DTS HD quality. Any thoughts? I'm researching what i can but it's hard to find a simple, direct answer on Onkyo forums. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxpurdue Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 I have moved out of state and have not moved my stereo yet (only have a little sansui six and a pair of heresys with me). I am going back home this weekend, and can let you know what setting I use on my Integra. This is a great question for those of us who want to use those rears with the 5.1 channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoman Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Using plain old Dolby Pro-Logic IIx: Movie is the most common way. Contrary to popular belief, Pro Logic doesn't alter everything, it just matrixes what isn't there to begin with. So it'll matrix stereo into all seven (or six) channels, but if it's a discrete 5.1 signal it will only touch the rears. Other proprietary options include Logic 7 on HK equipment, and less commonly, DTS Neo:6. THX Cinema usually uses the default Dolby Pro-Logic II algorithm, and then applies their proprietary filters on top of it. As for your random matrixing, if a disc is encoded with an EX tag, it automatically asks the receiver to matrix it. Content with EX tags have discrete content matrixed the other way (discrete sixth channel information downmixed into the side surround channels), that is then pulled back out by Pro Logic into 6.1 with the surround backs operating as one "channel". It's not quite as good as discrete 6.1 or 7.1, but it's an improvement. In your Onkyo receiver, there should be a setting that allows you to tell the receiver what to do with EX tagged material when it encounters it. By default, it's set to matrix automatically. "Matrix EX" doesn't change the inherent quality of the signal, it just mixes information from the surround sides into the rears... EDIT: For owners of recent Onkyo/Integra receivers, you can go into the menu, then go "3. Audio Adjust" -> "3-2 Dolby" -> "Dolby EX" and select either auto or manual. Setting it to manual will override the default EX tags and force your receiver to use the audio format you have selected as the default for that input... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 That's good info. I will see what my onkyo is set too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 So using Dolby Pro-Logic IIx: Movie will matrix the rears but not alter the quality of the other 5 channels in any way? If so, sounds like what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Using plain old Dolby Pro-Logic IIx: Movie is the most common way. Contrary to popular belief, Pro Logic doesn't alter everything, it just matrixes what isn't there to begin with. So it'll matrix stereo into all seven (or six) channels, but if it's a discrete 5.1 signal it will only touch the rears. Other proprietary options include Logic 7 on HK equipment, and less commonly, DTS Neo:6. THX Cinema usually uses the default Dolby Pro-Logic II algorithm, and then applies their proprietary filters on top of it. As for your random matrixing, if a disc is encoded with an EX tag, it automatically asks the receiver to matrix it. Content with EX tags have discrete content matrixed the other way (discrete sixth channel information downmixed into the side surround channels), that is then pulled back out by Pro Logic into 6.1 with the surround backs operating as one "channel". It's not quite as good as discrete 6.1 or 7.1, but it's an improvement. In your Onkyo receiver, there should be a setting that allows you to tell the receiver what to do with EX tagged material when it encounters it. By default, it's set to matrix automatically. "Matrix EX" doesn't change the inherent quality of the signal, it just mixes information from the surround sides into the rears... EDIT: For owners of recent Onkyo/Integra receivers, you can go into the menu, then go "3. Audio Adjust" -> "3-2 Dolby" -> "Dolby EX" and select either auto or manual. Setting it to manual will override the default EX tags and force your receiver to use the audio format you have selected as the default for that input... FYI, my Lord of The Rings is a Blu Ray...do Blu Rays have EX tags? I thought DTS EX was a DVD only format? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Using plain old Dolby Pro-Logic IIx: Movie is the most common way. Contrary to popular belief, Pro Logic doesn't alter everything, it just matrixes what isn't there to begin with. So it'll matrix stereo into all seven (or six) channels, but if it's a discrete 5.1 signal it will only touch the rears. Other proprietary options include Logic 7 on HK equipment, and less commonly, DTS Neo:6. THX Cinema usually uses the default Dolby Pro-Logic II algorithm, and then applies their proprietary filters on top of it. As for your random matrixing, if a disc is encoded with an EX tag, it automatically asks the receiver to matrix it. Content with EX tags have discrete content matrixed the other way (discrete sixth channel information downmixed into the side surround channels), that is then pulled back out by Pro Logic into 6.1 with the surround backs operating as one "channel". It's not quite as good as discrete 6.1 or 7.1, but it's an improvement. In your Onkyo receiver, there should be a setting that allows you to tell the receiver what to do with EX tagged material when it encounters it. By default, it's set to matrix automatically. "Matrix EX" doesn't change the inherent quality of the signal, it just mixes information from the surround sides into the rears... EDIT: For owners of recent Onkyo/Integra receivers, you can go into the menu, then go "3. Audio Adjust" -> "3-2 Dolby" -> "Dolby EX" and select either auto or manual. Setting it to manual will override the default EX tags and force your receiver to use the audio format you have selected as the default for that input... FYI, my Lord of The Rings is a Blu Ray...do Blu Rays have EX tags? I thought DTS EX was a DVD only format? Lord of the rings is dts-hd ma 5.1 ES (6.1) not ex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage_Head Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 Brunt I know this doesn’t help because it’s not onkyo but I set my avr mode to auto. And it reads the highest mode available. Pro llx will work really good though I have toggled to it and it sounds the same as auto to my ears. You will still have the lossless tracks with the added content in the rear. On blu rays with ES its basically 6.1. In fact on my screen ES shows as 6.1. Here is a movie that is dts hd 5.1 ES. (Just like lord of the rings) That’s what it shows on the ps3 blu ray player when I hit display on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunt Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 Thanks for the pic! Will experiment some more on my days off this week... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I quit 7.1 and went back to 5.1.........................diminishing returns galore. Besides, almost everything, including Blue Ray is still 5.1, even though they can do 7.1, very few producers do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang guy Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 I quit 7.1 and went back to 5.1.........................diminishing returns galore. Besides, almost everything, including Blue Ray is still 5.1, even though they can do 7.1, very few producers do it. I like 6.1 in a big room, and 5.1 in a small room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudeJ1 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I like 6.1 in a big room, and 5.1 in a small room. That would be a good compromise. I remember the Lord of the Rings being in 6.1, I think. But I still thing 7.1 is a waste when 6.1 or 5.1 will do. Now 10.2 makes more sense with overhead speakers, but very few homes have 9 or 10 foot ceilings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I quit 7.1 and went back to 5.1.........................diminishing returns galore. Besides, almost everything, including Blue Ray is still 5.1, even though they can do 7.1, very few producers do it. I have a small, less than 2,000 cu ft HT and prefer running 5.1 material in "7.1" using direct firing speakers (especially on 5.1 music) using only the matrixing function of my Denon AVR-4806. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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