can i play 7.1 audio on 5.1.....

[manu4panjab]

hey bros. i have 5.1 system if i play 7.1 hd audio do i loose something in sound department or its a must to add 7 speakers for hd audio

please guide

 

[santhosh]

Depends on the source material. Most Blurays and rips are only 5.1.

Even I have only 5 speakers currently connected although my Sound Processor is 7.1 capable. I have a spare set of floorstanders which I plan to connect if I come across a 7.1 movie. I will invest in another set of dedicated surrounds only when I come across more movies in 7.1.

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Hi,

Actually, some receivers won't get into the 7.1 mode unless you connect the additional surround-back channels physically.

Not sure about your AVR receiver; however, if it is so happening that the AVR still functions in 7.1 mode even without adding 2 channels, I am sure if you room is on the larger side, you would miss the "wide surround" that you get out of the 7.1 and enhancement of the surround that is done by the additional 2 channels. This can be easily felt in larger rooms; we have experienced this in Srinisundar's place. After adding dipoles, the sorround stage greatly improved. With the addition of 2 channels, it will definitely create a wide surround effect.

As Santosh mentioned, it depends on the source material and the way it is processed. For example, while we were watching Ayan (tamil movie by Surya), the left channel seemed louder and functioned like a front channel; we thought it could be due to some issues with speakers, but the same thing happened in other setups as well and even in the blu-ray rip and then we concluded that it was processed in that way.

Simply put, the difference will be obvious in bigger rooms, because of the sound the 2 channels are filling in and the speaker placements; otherwise, you would not miss much!

Cheers!

P.s.: I am sure some experts will render better information.

 

[manu4panjab]

thanks brothers

 

[elangoas]

Hi,

Actually, some receivers won't get into the 7.1 mode unless you connect the additional surround-back channels physically.

Not sure about your AVR receiver; however, if it is so happening that the AVR still functions in 7.1 mode even without adding 2 channels, I am sure if you room is on the larger side, you would miss the "wide surround" that you get out of the 7.1 and enhancement of the surround that is done by the additional 2 channels. This can be easily felt in larger rooms; we have experienced this in Srinisundar's place. After adding dipoles, the sorround stage greatly improved. With the addition of 2 channels, it will definitely create a wide surround effect.

As Santosh mentioned, it depends on the source material and the way it is processed. For example, while we were watching Ayan (tamil movie by Surya), the left channel seemed louder and functioned like a front channel; we thought it could be due to some issues with speakers, but the same thing happened in other setups as well and even in the blu-ray rip and then we concluded that it was processed in that way.

Simply put, the difference will be obvious in bigger rooms, because of the sound the 2 channels are filling in and the speaker placements; otherwise, you would not miss much!

Cheers!

P.s.: I am sure some experts will render better information.

If the source material is 7.1 (hardly found) and you receiver is only 5.1, you are still not missing anything... Be it Dolby Digital or DTS any source on 7.1 is backwards compatible to 5.1.. So you are not missing anything...

If you have 7.1 setup, u have 360 degress of sound setup. If u have 5.1 setup you have 180 degrees setup... But if you have dipole surrounds there is no need for full fledged 7.1......

 

[subhash]

hey bros. i have 5.1 system if i play 7.1 hd audio do i loose something in sound department or its a must to add 7 speakers for hd audio

please guide

if you are playing a 7.1 source and have a 5.1 set up ,you do miss out on sound from sorround back channels ----this does make a difference provided the source is 7.1

even 5.1 source played back in 7.1 (ES mode) will make a difference .The back sorrounds will be output in mono mode for 5.1 and and proper 7.1 if source is 7.1



as said 7.1 sources (BD) are quiet few , a few i have watched are

Cut throat island
War
one of the Narnia movies (last one) ---and these did make quiet a difference in 7.1

 

[sanjay0864]

if you are playing a 7.1 source and have a 5.1 set up ,you do miss out on sound from sorround back channels ----this does make a difference provided the source is 7.1

I am sorry but your information is incorrect. Regardless of whether the source is 7.1 or not, you do not lose out on any part of the sound on a 5.1 system. In fact in the case of small rooms a 7.1 system is totally unnecesary. Basically all 7.1 codecs are totally backward compatible with 5.1 systems. In the absence of rear surrounds, the system mixes the rear surround channels into the surround channels. Thus you do not lose any of the sound.

 

[manu4panjab]

thanks again bros.

 

[subhash]

I am sorry but your information is incorrect. Regardless of whether the source is 7.1 or not, you do not lose out on any part of the sound on a 5.1 system. In fact in the case of small rooms a 7.1 system is totally unnecesary. Basically all 7.1 codecs are totally backward compatible with 5.1 systems. In the absence of rear surrounds, the system mixes the rear surround channels into the surround channels. Thus you do not lose any of the sound.

but if the sound comes out of the back sorrounds as it was intended to from a 7.1 mix thro a 7.1 set up it sounds different, in fact a lot better from being downmixed to 5.1 and output thro 5.1 set up

 

[Blankman]

I too am upgrading just now through a Bluray player with 7.1 analog outputs. Although I have a 5.1 system, I intend to use the bluray player's decoders to output lossless format rather than a lossy compression. My concern is more on the quality of the sound than adding more channels. Set-up, including speaker size and delay times will be done via the player.
So my question is-- assuming the bluray disc that I play contains material in 7.1 format-- if I let the player decode 7.1 lossless format, then turn the rear 2 channels OFF, will the decoder:
1. Still output a lossless audio format and just omit the rear surround information? In which case I only lose the 2 rear info but still get lossless audio. OR
2. Output a lossless audio format and matrix the rear surround information into the side surrounds? In which case I still get all information through the side surrounds. OR
3. Downgrade the output to a lossy 5.1 compression, which I don't want to happen as my main purpose is to improve on fidelity? If so, what's the best workaround?

Inputs, please. Appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[venkatcr]

So my question is-- assuming the bluray disc that I play contains material in 7.1 format-- if I let the player decode 7.1 lossless format, then turn the rear 2 channels OFF, will the decoder:
1. Still output a lossless audio format and just omit the rear surround information? In which case I only lose the 2 rear info but still get lossless audio. OR
2. Output a lossless audio format and matrix the rear surround information into the side surrounds? In which case I still get all information through the side surrounds. OR
3. Downgrade the output to a lossy 5.1 compression, which I don't want to happen as my main purpose is to improve on fidelity? If so, what's the best workaround?

If you understand how the process works, you will get answers to your questions yourself.

Decoding of audio signals is done by a piece of firmware. The decoding can be done either in the player or in the AVR. When you decode in the player you have two ways to send the data to the AVR. One is analog, where you connect upto 8 pairs of audio interconnects between the player and the receiver. In this scenario, the receiver acts as just an amplifier. If it receives 6 channels, it will amplify 6 (5.1) channels. If it receives 8 (7.1) channels, it will amplify 8 channels.

Another way is digital where you use a coaxial, optical, or HDMI cable. In this the data is send as PCM - decoded but in digital form. The receiver, in addition to amplifying, also does DAC conversion internally. Otherwise it again amplifies as many channels of data it gets.

When you do the decoding in the receiver, the player transfers raw data to the receiver. The receiver uses an internal firmware to decode the dat and then follow the same process I explained above.

In essence, the pre-amp (sound processor)/power amp combination within the AVR will amplify as many channels of data as it gets from the decoder.

It is in the decoding that you decide whether the audio is to be decoded as is, or 'downgraded' from one format to another. As long as the decoding is done properly, you will have no loss of data whether you are using a 5.1 system or a 7.1 system.

Cheers

 

[Blankman]

It is in the decoding that you decode whether the audio is to be decoded as is, or 'downgraded' from one format to another. As long as the decoding is done properly, you will have no loss of data whether you are using a 5.1 system or a 7.1 system.

Cheers

Thank you. Mr venkatcr! I think you answered the question in the last 2 sentences above. I do plan to utilize the built-in 7.1 decoder in the player-- not the preamp/receiver-- using 6 analog cables. So the way i understand it, even if you turn off the rear speakers in the player's set-up configuration, it will still output lossless audio.
Whether or not it will matrix the rear and side channels is a different function(?)

 

[ontherocks]

. So the way i understand it, even if you turn off the rear speakers in the player's set-up configuration, it will still output lossless audio.

Yes.
Lossless IN ---Decoder--->Lossless OUT.
You can switch off/disconnect any number of speakers. The remaining speakers will output lossless audio.

Similarly
Lossy IN ---Decoder--->Lossy OUT.

 

[Blankman]

Thank you! That clears it up...