Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


MarkX

109 posts

Master Geek


#150932 8-Aug-2014 10:10
Send private message

I flicked on TV3 last night and there was a problem with the Dolby Digital sound on the Paul Henry show and the show that preceeded the Paul Henry show.

There was no sound coming out of my centre speaker.  Voices came out of the front left and front right speakers and didn't sound very good at all.    It is not a problem with my set up because when I changed to TV1 and then TV2 the dolby digital soundtracks were fine with voices coming out of the centre speaker.

Did anyone else notice this problem last night.

Create new topic
jonathan18
7413 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #1104668 8-Aug-2014 10:38
Send private message

Are you sure the problem's new?

Typically I think this results from a non 5.1 soundtrack being encoded as such, so that audio that would otherwise be destined for the centre chanel under 5.1 is distributed between the two main front channels.

Most amps will just see the DD 5.1 signal and decode accordingly - given there's no data in the centre channel, there'll be no sound from that speaker. Of course, if the original content was in 5.1, dialogue will be encoded within the centre channel.

This has been dealt with in earlier threads on GZ a year or so back. As I said then, for me there's nothing more disconcerting than having a disconnect between the location of voices and the image - unless one is sitting dead-centre or using headphones, dialogue broadcast from the mains will not line up with the picture. As a result I leave our TiVos defaulted to downmix 5.1 content, and will manually switch it back to 5.1 as needed. I remember other posters disagreed with this, so I guess it's horses for courses...



Oblivian
7284 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

  #1104733 8-Aug-2014 11:21
Send private message

Had similar last weekend during one of my sleep in mornings channel surfing.

One of those American make-a-buck rich list property sale programs. Music from the surrounds near constant, no vocals. Now and then it would phase in for a few words then disappear again. Switching to the AAC Stream was fine.

It's done it on US show content in the past (which I assume has a proper 5.1 track), putting the dialogue through L/R, and the centre and surround audio through the surrounds at a normal centre like level. Meaning you had super loud footsteps in your ears all the time from the back etc

MarkX

109 posts

Master Geek


  #1104862 8-Aug-2014 13:35
Send private message

jonathan18: Are you sure the problem's new?

Typically I think this results from a non 5.1 soundtrack being encoded as such, so that audio that would otherwise be destined for the centre chanel under 5.1 is distributed between the two main front channels.

Most amps will just see the DD 5.1 signal and decode accordingly - given there's no data in the centre channel, there'll be no sound from that speaker. Of course, if the original content was in 5.1, dialogue will be encoded within the centre channel.

This has been dealt with in earlier threads on GZ a year or so back. As I said then, for me there's nothing more disconcerting than having a disconnect between the location of voices and the image - unless one is sitting dead-centre or using headphones, dialogue broadcast from the mains will not line up with the picture. As a result I leave our TiVos defaulted to downmix 5.1 content, and will manually switch it back to 5.1 as needed. I remember other posters disagreed with this, so I guess it's horses for courses...


You may be right.  I don't watch many shows on TV3 and the few that I do watch (The Blacklist, Hawaii five o) do come with a genuine 5.1 soundtrack.  I will see if I can find another show on TV3 that comes with a genuine 5.1 soundtrack and see if this issue occurs on this show. Hopefully it shouldn't do if it does come with a genuine 5.1 soundtrack.

Create new topic





News and reviews »

Māori Artists Launch Design Collection with Cricut ahead of Matariki Day
Posted 15-Jun-2025 11:19


LG Launches Upgraded webOS Hub With Advanced AI
Posted 15-Jun-2025 11:13


One NZ Satellite IoT goes live for customers
Posted 15-Jun-2025 11:10


Bolt Launches in New Zealand
Posted 11-Jun-2025 00:00


Suunto Run Review
Posted 10-Jun-2025 10:44


Freeview Satellite TV Brings HD Viewing to More New Zealanders
Posted 5-Jun-2025 11:50


HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14-inch Review
Posted 3-Jun-2025 14:40


Flip Phones Are Back as HMD Reimagines an Iconic Style
Posted 30-May-2025 17:06


Hundreds of School Students Receive Laptops Through Spark Partnership With Quadrent's Green Lease
Posted 30-May-2025 16:57


AI Report Reveals Trust Is Key to Unlocking Its Potential in Aotearoa
Posted 30-May-2025 16:55


Galaxy Tab S10 FE Series Brings Intelligent Experiences to the Forefront with Premium, Versatile Design
Posted 30-May-2025 16:14


New OPPO Watch X2 Launches in New Zealand
Posted 29-May-2025 16:08


Synology Premiers a New Lineup of Advanced Data Management Solutions
Posted 29-May-2025 16:04


Dyson Launches Its Slimmest Vaccum Cleaner PencilVac
Posted 29-May-2025 15:50


OPPO Reno13 Pro 5G Review
Posted 29-May-2025 15:33









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.