Home Theatre systems?

[SEAWOLF97]

[quote=Tom Brennan;214939]the center channel in phantom mode works fine. [/quotefrom SR - tech Q&A

[Tom Brennan]

Well SW I don't find that opinion you posted to be true in my case. One can sit quite a bit off center and still hear sounds anchored correctly in the stereo spread. Indeed, when as far off center as anyone will be.

And I have used center speakers so when I say the system isn't suffering not using one my opinion is well informed.

[JBL 4645]

Yeah, lots of multi-track pictures from the 50s and early 60s had the voice following the actor's on screen position, this is especially noticeable in Fox pictures like Demetrius and the Gladiators and Cleopatra.

One of the beefs some had with the DVD of My Fair Lady is that the sound was remixed to the modern style of placing dialogue in the center.

Dead wrong you must be thinking of, ”2001 A Space Odyssey” that was really messed up for DVD and no doubt the perfect so called poor format Bluray.

The mix on "My Fair Lady" is smashing lots of dialogue moving between and in and out over the LCR. It’s original propose was to have dialogue moving over the five-screen fronts with one single monaural surround channel.

This is discussed in the audio commentary on chapters 23 and 24 with restoration team Robert A. Harris and James Katz, mostly by (Robert A. Harris) who sets the record straight.

The soundtrack is perceived in the original form except its got split-surrounds so you lose stage channels 2 and 4 which had some parts of the dialogue moving from centre to left-centre and centre to right-centre and right and so forth.

You can try this in the home with a few extra Dolby pro-logic decoders and matching five-JBL speakers up front a bit re-plugging is involved but you, what get you’re hands real dirty, just a bit of re-plugging to do that’s all.

All the above has to be connected to the main Dolby or dts doesn’t really matter which just as long as its connected to the main AVR or AVP.

This idea was published in (widescreen review magazine) back around (2000-2001) the diagram on the internet is lost only text remains. Fortunate enough I brought the magazine around the same time. I’ll have to fish it out and follow the diagram and post it up, it’s real-easy to follow, and it does work!

[Tom Brennan]

Dead wrong you must be thinking of, ”2001 A Space Odyssey” that was really messed up for DVD and no doubt the perfect so called poor format Bluray.

The mix on "My Fair Lady" is smashing lots of dialogue moving between and in and out over the LCR. It’s original propose was to have dialogue moving over the five-screen fronts with one single monaural surround channel.

No I'm not "dead wrong". I know exactly what I'm talking about. Regardless of the merits of the My Fair Lady sound mix I remember people having problems with it. I'm not a liar and I'm not deluded. Maybe the people who had beefs with the mix were deluded. I took no stand on it myself.

[JBL 4645]

No I'm not "dead wrong". I know exactly what I'm talking about. Regardless of the merits of the My Fair Lady sound mix I remember people having problems with it. I'm not a liar and I'm not deluded. Maybe the people who had beefs with the mix were deluded. I took no stand on it myself.

Well can you provide a picture A DVD cover of the version of “2001:A Space Odyssey” as there are 2 or 3 versions available on DVD.

[hjames]

Interesting thing, but I don't WANT to have to have 5 speakers and associated electronics across the front, just for that one special movie.
I'm for a more standardized approach - 5.1 will do just fine, thanks!

Heck, an awful lot of movies I've been renting don't even do 5.1 ...!

(And for most music, 2 channel stereo is a great approach.)

The mix on "My Fair Lady" is smashing lots of dialogue moving between and in and out over the LCR. It’s original propose was to have dialogue moving over the five-screen fronts with one single monaural surround channel.

You can try this in the home with a few extra Dolby pro-logic decoders and matching five-JBL speakers up front a bit re-plugging is involved but you, what get you’re hands real dirty, just a bit of re-plugging to do that’s all.

[JBL 4645]

Interesting thing, but I don't WANT to have to have 5 speakers and associated electronics across the front, just for that one special movie.
I'm for a more standardized approach - 5.1 will do just fine, thanks!

Heck, an awful lot of movies I've been renting don't even do 5.1 ...!

(And for most music, 2 channel stereo is a great approach.)

Didn’t you know that “5.1” is form of brainwashing and don’t tell they got to you. LOL you should really listen to six-track Dolby or dts mix more rather the primary five channels and how they work and what you can toy around with in-between those channels.

[hjames]

Didn’t you know that “5.1” is form of brainwashing and don’t tell they got to you. LOL you should really listen to six-track Dolby or dts mix more rather the primary five channels and how they work and what you can toy around with in-between those channels.

Actually, I don't need a paranoid rant about multichannel sound - my gear will do 7.1 stuff but 5.2 is working for me ... once I replace that single center ... and no, I don't want to add a rack-full of cheap processors and downgrade my fidelity with all that junk. I use a Harman Kardon AVR 345
as the control center and it does all that stuff. Between that and my current JVC DVD player, it does various dolby digital and DTS modes, plus DivX and such for all my offline captures.

I've got that Oppo 981HD upconverting DVD player on the way - with it I can feed video direct to the HDMI port in my TV - should be quite the visual improvement for all my standard discs.

Got the two L20ts as rear surround, not full sonic impact of course, but gives a nice ambience to most films.
With the M&K 12in on the left side, and the B380 (15) on the right side, we do get quite nice sub channel for films.

Yeah, I should have 3 4341s across the front, probably run 5 of them total,
but I just don't see that happening anytime soon - least not with our current budget and savings.

Besides, the room is only 14 x 18 - kind of crazy packing this much stuff in there as it is ...!

[Audiobeer]

I'm with Heather. I had the 7.1 setup with the additional 2 speakers up front the Yamaha reciever provides. In retrospect I would never have gone all out like that. I would do a 5.1 with speakers that are matched, but full range. In my opinion that is the most important part of the setup......matching the speakers, keeping all things equal and a good sub.

[Tom Brennan]

Well can you provide a picture A DVD cover of the version of “2001:A Space Odyssey” as there are 2 or 3 versions available on DVD.

No I can't, I throw the DVD boxes away. Why do you ask?

I recently bought the latest SD-DVD version of 2001, is there something remarkable about the mix?

[toddalin]

I'm with Heather. I had the 7.1 setup with the additional 2 speakers up front the Yamaha reciever provides. In retrospect I would never have gone all out like that. I would do a 5.1 with speakers that are matched, but full range. In my opinion that is the most important part of the setup......matching the speakers, keeping all things equal and a good sub.

The Yamaha "7.1" of which you speak with the two additional front speakers is not the same as 7.1 Dolby that uses two "side surrounds" and two "rear surrounds."

The additional front Yamaha speakers are for added ambience and are not encoded into any Dolby processor. Yes you can add their effect to the Dolby track, but Dolby did not encode these channels.

If you want a Yamaha to do the 7.1 Dolby, you need their "9.1" unit that includes all the side/rear surrounds AND the front ambience channels. Mine does this (RX-Z9), but I still only run the two rear surrounds, along with the two front ambience speakers, LCR, two subs, and for that "special movie," bass shakers in the couch.

[Tom Brennan]

I especially like 7.1 sound for the scene in Citizen Kane where Orson Welles outruns the explosion.

[JBL 4645]

No I can't, I throw the DVD boxes away. Why do you ask?

I recently bought the latest SD-DVD version of 2001, is there something remarkable about the mix?

Well a few years ago I heard from rumour control that this version has all the crazy wild dialogue panning and that the later version is the cowed up abomination. Its region 1 DVD so track it down because I wouldn’t mind that version, I’m wondering if it’s the same version that was used for the Dolby digital AC-3 laserdisc.



Hmm same jacket design as the laserdisc versions I have only mine is a Dolby surround version produced early 1990’s.

Note: the two versions have the same art-work expect one was produced many years later and look for the Dolby digital sign. And I’m right you’ve got the same DVD naff version as I have but, track down the first region 1 DVD you’ll be happier with that.

[JBL 4645]

“Here you are, sir. Main level please.” Now with the original mix this dialogue would be heard from the left channel not the centre channel, the video capture here is taken from the region 2 DVD first edition produced for the 2001 realise.

[hjames]

I've noticed that on many films I have a choice between Dolby Digital and DTS. Sometimes the Dolby is 2 channel and the DTS is 5.1, sometimes both are 5.1, but it seems pretty consistent that DTS is the more enjoyable sound, and the DD sounds flatter and duller?
I'm sure there may be exceptions, but that seems to be the case on a great MANY films.