Another DVD-A Question

I know that this has probably been discussed before, but my recent forum searchs didn't seem to totally answer my question. Anyway, I would like to know if any sound/information is lost when playing a DVD-A Surround mix through a stereo DVD-A setup. I'm guessing that you would still get the Surround mix, but only through the two speakers of the stereo setup, possibly similar to playing quad recordings through a stereo configuration, in which case, I believe that you don't lose any of the information, but that it is funneled into two channels. By the way, this question came about by me reading all of the reviews of ELP's "Brain Salad Surgery" DVD-A, and the complaints on it not having a stereo DVD-A mix.



Thanks,

Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

On a DVD-A disk with an actual additional stereo mix nothing is lost. On the few DVD-A disks where the stereo mix is derived from the 5.1 tracks the quality of the stereo mix depends upon the mastering. Avoiding phase problems and simulating the orignal stereo mix is possible.

Richard.

 

Holy cow, what a question...the difference between Quad and DVD-A, among other things, is the center channel. If you play a DTS quad mix into stereo, it should fold just as the quad Lp would have...which is to say, a denser, busier mix lacking in some nuance but offering an workable alternate mix all the same. Same with quad vinyl played through regualr stereo or Dolby Pro Logic I or II...not quite quad--with or without the proper decoding device--but an interesting variant that will please some listeners. DVD-A, like SACD multi, though, is a different situation. My brother's home setup--he lives in an apartment where a 5.1 system with woofer would probably be impractical--is stereo. He has borrowed my copies of L.A. WOMAN, BRAIN SALAD and MACHINE HEAD to play back in stereo, and he says they come out okay, but of course when he comes over to my house to hear things in their full splendor, well....no comparison. I'll have to ask him tonight--he's coming over--how things 'fold down' on his equipment. I'll also have to ask if he uses his TV as a 'center' or 'middle' channel, something you can do if you don't have a 5.1 setup but have a TV with the proper inputs. Of course, all the DVD-A discs with stereo hi-rez or regular DD stereo solve the problem for you. BRAIN SALAD is one WEA is going to have to remaster--no excuse for not including a stereo track there.
As for Richard's comments, most 2-channel stereo mixes on DVD-A's are from the original stereo master, not folded from the 5.1 source, so as he says, you're okay there. Even the Dead stereo mixes sound like remixes from the multis to make a stereo mix, not merely 'folded,' which, if not done right, could not only throw phasing way off but make a mess of the sound completely--some things too loud, some not loud enough, other sounds almost buried. What concerns me about a 5.1 fold to stereo on standard equipment is that problem, and phasing, specifically(if not exclusively)with the center channel. I suspect this would be a hit or miss, disc by disc situation.
Hope others can offer more insight than I'm capable of. It's just that 5.1 is meant to be heard just that way, whereas quad was mixed assuming many listeners would hear it folded down to stereo. While I suspect this is true when engineers master for movie soundtracks, I doubt it applies to DVD-A or SACD multi mastering.

ED

 

Dolby Digital is intended to be mixed so that it can be properly played back in mono, stereo 3.0, etc. DTS is intended to be mixed so that it is played back on a full 5.1 system only. In the real world this does not always work out.

Richard.

 

Richard/Ed,

Thanks for the responses. I now have a better understanding of how this all works; I was really thinking that I might possibly miss some music by playing a Surround DVD-A mix through a two-channel configuration.




Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion