dolby pro logic 2 questions

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:47 am

may i know what's the big deal with games made compatible with this? i have a home theatre with this function, but i just don't get how are the games made compatible with this utilizing this function. i mean when i plug in my saturn and run that mode it has fake surround sound running dpl2, not much different from any game with this logo printed as they still output that fake surround sound. or am i setting it wrongly?

it seems to me it's the hardware that's doing the job alone and those dpl2 logos printed on the games are just BS. please correct me if i'm wrong. thanks.

SuperPang · Post by **SuperPang** » Sat May 05, 2007 11:59 am

Firstly, DPL2 wasn't around in the Saturn days but if you use phono leads with any "Dolby Surround" game on a DPL2 amp you should get a surround channel at the back.

DPL2 often confuses as it'll create pseudo surround with any stereo source as well, depending how its set up.

Early Dolby Surround games weren't that impressive really. Gamecube makes a DPL2 setup shine.

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Sat May 05, 2007 1:54 pm

that's why i ask, since i can get the same result even from my saturn, why bother with dlp2 compatible? it's all the same anyway, right?

don't get me wrong, i just want to try to utilize this function for my games.. it could be my settings that's wrong as i really can't hear the difference

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:39 pm

I get the feeling that while every single DPL2 receiver will expand a stereo signal to surround, you get better results with DPL2-encoded sources. MGS3 sounds amazing on my brother's PL2 receiver, and way better than plain old surround, though Dolby Digital is clearly superior.

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Sat May 05, 2007 11:42 pm

Its not the same. If the game is encoded with DPL2 then there will be significant differences. Games like Metal Gear Solid 3, Resident Evil 4, God of War 2, Okami, etc. sound amazing in DPL2. Theres a list of what games support DPL2 at HDTV arcade website.

gundamalpha · Post by **gundamalpha** » Sun May 06, 2007 2:37 am

i see.. may be there's something wrong with my ears then. thanks guys for clearing this up for me

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:38 pm

If you were to compare Dolby Digital or DTS to Dolby Pro logic 2, its a big difference. Dolby Digital and DTS uses far less compression in audio than Dolby Pro Logic 2 not to mention Dolby Digital and DTS actually uses 5.1 or 6.1 discreet channels for each speaker as opposed to Dolby Pro Logic 2 matrixing 2 channels into 5.1 surround sound. The Saturn is just plain stereo audio. You wont get any surround from that system. Some dreamcast games use Dolby Surround so that was the beginning for console games to use the technology. The XBOX and 360 use Dolby Digital for the games and are really a step above the competition in audio. Dolby Pro Logic 2 is used in PS2 and Gamecube games and can sound quite good when using a optical cable. Keep in mind only certain games support it.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sun May 06, 2007 9:52 pm

A little bit of correction, sideshow. DPL2 can be completely lossless, whereas DD is a 384 Kbps stream, way below lossless quality (though very transparent), and DPL2 can be achieved through plain analog connections. Unless the cables or receiver's inputs are rusty, there will be no difference in DPL2 coming from the analog outputs or the optical one. And if I'm not mistaken, DPL2 CAN give you 5 discrete channels allright, but no dedicated ".1" bass channel. Fiddling with the receiver, you can expand even a mono signal (IIRC) to surround, but of course it's never as good as a real discrete or matrix surround source.

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Sun May 06, 2007 11:31 pm

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-yhN ... chart.html

DPL2 only has 2 discrete channels, 3 matrixed, 1 subwoofer. I've noticed also that when I use a optical cable for DPL2 games that I get better quality PCM audio instead of using standard RCA audio cables. My setup is a 7.1 surround system so actually my DPL2 audio is 2 discreet, 4 matrixed, and 1 subwoofer. I'm not quite sure what your saying about DPL2 being completely lossless compared to DD? I've compared playing games in DPL2 to DD and the overall sound quality is much louder, and trully feels like a surround sound experience. It actually sounds like something is behind me in a DD5.1 game.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:34 pm

By lossless I mean that Dolby Digital (AFAIK) is a compressed bitstream, while PL2 does not require compression to achieve multichannel. Thanks for the info on the matrixed channels. I had been told it was all discrete.

sideshow · Post by **sideshow** » Tue May 08, 2007 2:02 am

Understood.