DD-EX auto - detect

[smalone]

C2 is not detecting, then when I select it it stays on even when I play a DVD that is not flagged with EX?

[smalone]

Oh... C2 is running version 6.52

[Scarp]

Are you sure the DD EX flag is on there? Many dvd's aren't flagged and you need to turn it on manually. As long as you have a 6.1/7.1 setup selected in your speaker configuration you can turn DD Ex on manually on any DD 5.1 source disc.

Take a look at the nice and comprehensive table in the manual, where it states which modes are allowed when.

[Chris CRt]

I've been having a weird problem as well. Are you using "Direct" and THX Surround EX? Or are you wanting "Dolby Digital EX" to show instead of "Direct"?

I was watching a DTS demo disc the other day, and it went from DTS-ES on ES tracks to DTS NEO:6 on DTS 5.1 tracks on my C1. Does this have to deal with the flags? I was a bit shocked when it did that. I knew something wasn't sounding right and that's what it was. Any suggestions?

And is it better to run "Direct" and slap THX Ultra 2 Movie or THX Surround EX on it, or to put it in "Dolby Digital EX" mode withouth THX?

The manual is detailed, but a bit lacking in this department. Any help would be appreciated.




_______________________
Parasound C1
Parasound A51
Parasound A21
Parasound T3
M&K S-150 (L,C,R)
M&K SS-150 x 4 (Surrounds)
M&K MX-350 Sub x 2
DWIN TV3
Stewart Studiotek 130 - 110"

[smalone]

The last disc I tried was Freddy Versus Jason. Perhaps it is not flagged correctly? Which DVD's have the correct flag and I will give it a try again.

[Chris D]

I was doing 7.1 testing with Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition yesterday. In DTS, the C1 automatically went into DTS ES. But when I selected DD EX on the DVD, the C1 just went to DD, and I had to hit the THX button a few times to select THX EX manually. I wonder what's up there.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Scarp]

Here is an overview of EX/ES discs which have been flagged or not.
http://www.docdvd.com/exdvds.shtml

I tested the following:
T2 - Ultimate edition, no DD EX flag and indeed it doesnt detect it. Manually THX EX can be turned on. It does have a DTS ES (matrix) flag and this is autodetected.

Starwars Episode 2: no DD EX flag and indeed no autodetect. THX Surround EX can be turned on (in fact it was on since I turned it on with the T2 disc, so indeed the setting is kept, which is a good thing).

Pirates of the Caribbean: it has a DD EX Flag and when in Direct mode it doesn't display Ex or something.

Lord Of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings. No detection, while it should autodetect.

Freddy vs Jason is also supposed to have an EX flag. Please verify with another disc that it really isn't using your back surrounds on flagged discs.

I use firmware version 6.37. I also switched one cable from my normal surround to the C2 output of one of the back surrounds for testing purposes. And obviously changed my speaker setup to reflect that I'm using 7.1.

Btw. I've send parasound an email about it, so hang on

[Scarp]

I got the reply back from Parasound. Its a direct answer from the Finnish design team. However Parasound also send emails to THX and Dolby, so when their answers come in, I will post them too.

Dolby EX or DTS-ES flags are detected only once when a source is selected. When processing mode is automatically enabled or if the user changes the processing mode, the unit enters a "lock mode" which prevents auto-enables from happening. This is because if the user wants to use certain processing mode, then it would be overridden every time for example a track is skipped on a DVD. Lock mode is released, when a fresh source is selected and after that the autoenabling can happen once.

You may verify the functionality of the autodetection with following procedure: put on a disc with Dolby EX flag, turn the unit to Direct mode, change source to other and back. DVD should now be played back in Dolby EX mode.

[Chris D]

This is interesting. I'll have to think about this some more. I think I can see some of the reasoning for that functional design, but it might make it inconvenient. I'm going to take some time to see how it operates in real life use.

Rolf, I'm trying to understand the last paragraph. Does that mean if I am playing a DVD with the Dolby EX flag and have the C1/C2 in direct mode, that if I switch over to something like my satellite receiver and then back to the DVD that the sound should then be in EX?




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Scarp]

I tested it on Pirates of the Caribean and it works.
So my normal use is always Direct mode. I have my source set to DVD and then start the dvd playing. First will get a menu in normal DD. Then when the movie starts there is no autodetection, since it already detected DD apparantly. Then I switch to some other source and back and voila its detecting DD Ex.

I couldn't get it to work on Starwars Episode I btw.

If its really like that, then I do think its a bit flawed. What should happen is that the machine should remember whether or not I have "manually" put it into some explicit mode. So if I have set it to THX Cinema2 by myself at some point for that source, then it should not do autodetecting (lock mode). But when I just turn on my unit and have it set to direct mode, then I expect it to go with the flow, i.e., switch to DD Ex when its needed.

For DTS ES it seems there is no lock mode.

Anyway... we need to further do some testing and think about it and see how it works. Also lets wait and see what THX and Dolby have to say about the matter.

[Scarp]

I did some more tests:
- Turn on C2 and A51
- Switch to any (except your dvd) input
- Switch to your dvd input.
-> This should remove the mode lock according to Parasound
-> C2 is now in "Direct" mode
- Turn on dvd player and start playing Pirates of the Caribean
-> C2 recognizes EX mode and plays that

This seems to be okay, but then
- Stop playing dvd
-> C2 reverts to PCM stereo mode
- Change to some normal DD 5.1 dvd and start it
-> C2 switch to Dolby Digital, but *with* EX

So, unit is still in lock mode. Even when the user has not explicitly set any mode. This is indeed as Parasound says. All subsequent discs play with EX enabled.

However, if I want to get out of EX mode, I need to explicitly set it back to direct. Re-entering Pirates of the Caribean again will not make it recognize the EX flag, since its locked in normal DD mode. Switching to another source and back will change this again.

I could not get Starwars episode I and II to autorecognize THX Surround EX. I tried the same procedure.

So, what this teach us ... it is not possible to have direct mode stay on whatever is directly playing. Once you put an EX disc in it, it sticks to EX unless you set it back to a normal mode, but then it sticks to non-ex.

I did not test if turning on and off will release the lock.

I can see that it locks the mode when you explicitly set, but why would it lock once it autorecognises something?

[Chris D]

bump