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[CountryBumkin]

I have 7.1 speaker setup with MC bitstreaming audio to an Onkyo 705 AVR. I currently don't use MC's DSP (channels are set to Source Number Of Channels). Everything works fine, except I think I could improve on 2-channel movie playback. A movie "in stereo" will send all the sound (and dialog) through the LF and RF speakers - but does not use center channel. It would be preferable to have sound coming from center channel too so dialog sounds like it coming from TV location.
How do I configure DSP to add center channel to stereo/mono only movies. I don't want to mess with the 5.1 or 7.1 setup though.

Should I try to add center channel in DSP, or should I try to do this on my Onkyo first (there may be a listening mode on the Onkyo to acomplish this - I need to dig out the manual)?.

[Matt]

My advice would be to turn off bitstreaming and use JRSS to mix to 7.1.

JRSS has some advantages a receiver can never have -- it knows if it's playing a music video, a movie, 2 channel audio, etc. and can adjust accordingly.

This would also allow you to use VideoClock.

[CountryBumkin]

Okay. That's what I'll do. Thanks Matt.

[Matt]

To build on what I'm saying, when upmixing from 2.0 to 5.1/7.1, JRSS uses a different system for movies (where you want dialog in the center) than it uses for music and music videos (where you want a larger soundstage).

A receiver often allows you to toggle modes to accomplish something similar, but it can't figure it out automatically.

And speaking of 2.0, there's an interesting anomaly that JRSS handles.  If 2.0 is converted to 5.1 by leaving the center, sub, and surrounds silent, Media Center will detect this "fake 5.1" and treat it like stereo.  I don't know how common this is, but the PBS station in Minneapolis has been doing this for years.  I have a wide angle between my front main speakers, and it sounds wrong if dialog isn't coming out the center speaker.

[fitbrit]

My advice would be to turn off bitstreaming and use JRSS to mix to 7.1.

JRSS has some advantages a receiver can never have -- it knows if it's playing a music video, a movie, 2 channel audio, etc. and can adjust accordingly.

This would also allow you to use VideoClock.

This is a HUGE advantage, Matt (as is the stuff in the post you followed up with). In one of my systems I have switched to decoding in MC. I'm still applying Audessey-DSX to upmix to 9.1 from  the 7.1 (MC) source, and so far it's great.

[nwboater]

We have a 5.1 system with internal soundcard sending analog outputs to power amps. Use JRSS upmixing to 5.1. We have a lot of movies recorded from TV via our cable box and HDPVR. A lot of the movies give us nice surround sound, or at least play the 3 fronts properly. But many only feed the center speaker. These are not old Turner mono movies. When I check the OSD they show as stereo. In fact the OSD shows identical information with the movies that only use the center to the ones that use all speakers. Seems very odd. Any ideas?

If this is OT let me know & I'll start a new thread.

Thanks.

Rod

[Matt]

We have a 5.1 system with internal soundcard sending analog outputs to power amps. Use JRSS upmixing to 5.1. We have a lot of movies recorded from TV via our cable box and HDPVR. A lot of the movies give us nice surround sound, or at least play the 3 fronts properly. But many only feed the center speaker. These are not old Turner mono movies. When I check the OSD they show as stereo. In fact the OSD shows identical information with the movies that only use the center to the ones that use all speakers. Seems very odd. Any ideas?

If this is OT let me know & I'll start a new thread.

Thanks.

Rod

If the movie has no differences between the left and right speaker (so it's mono encoded as fake stereo), this might happen when center-focused JRSS upmixing (the type used for movies) is used.

I'm not sure if some other approach for 1 channel to 5.1 channel upmixing might sound better?

[nwboater]

If the movie has no differences between the left and right speaker (so it's mono encoded as fake stereo), this might happen when center-focused JRSS upmixing (the type used for movies) is used.

I'm not sure if some other approach for 1 channel to 5.1 channel upmixing might sound better?

The no difference occured to me too, but it seems strange that many modern movies would be that way. Unless it's the particular cable channels.

When you mention "some other approach" are you referring to settings that I could now use - don't want to screw up all the good 5.1 source playback, or something that you might do differently? I'd say this happens on 30-40% of our recordings. They are from MC17 and Sage.

Does anyone else experience this issue?

Thanks.

Rod

[hulkss]

If the movie has no differences between the left and right speaker (so it's mono encoded as fake stereo), this might happen when center-focused JRSS upmixing (the type used for movies) is used.

I'm not sure if some other approach for 1 channel to 5.1 channel upmixing might sound better?

In general, upmixing mono audio will not produce good results. Just leave it as fake stereo or let it collapse to the center speaker. Which ever you prefer.

[AVTechMan]

I have I think two movies that are mono encoded, and those are two foreign DVD's I have. Currently I am testing using MC to do the decoding so my receiver (Onkyo SR-507) says 'Multich'. If what Matt says is correct then it seems that MC can automatically detect what the source is whether movie or audio CD and do the appropriate mixing. I only have a 5.1 setup (receiver is capable of 7.1 but needs a separate amp for the remaining 2 speakers).

I'll be experimenting further with MC on the audio mixing and decoding. I'm not that obsessed with seeing the HD light on the receiver; it can do the apply the room correction.

[AVTechMan]

Did a test earlier by playing one of the DVD's that I have that was recorded in mono, 'Hard Boiled'. In the DSP I changed the channel setting to 5.1. When the movie played, the source indicated that it was 1ch as it should. Internal showed as 32bit, 6ch. So it looked like it upmixed it to the 5 channels in my system.

When I changed the channel setting to 'Source number of channels', the internal showed it as 32bit, 2ch.

Either way, the dialog came through just fine on my center channel speaker.