Not a dumb question at all.

The selection of Dolby Digital on your 950 means that you have selected that as the default audio format for that source.

Since the 950 also can automatically identify and switch to the incoming digital audio format it will change to whatever format it senses. You can see which audio format the 950 is receiving by looking at the front panel display. (This is assuming that your source is connected to the 950 with a coaxial or optical audio cable, NOT the analog L/F stereo -- or multichannel -- cables.)

If you choose Options or Audio Setup within the menu on your DVD (not the menu for your DVD player, but the Play Movie/Special Features/Setup menu that appears when you play a DVD), you can sometimes select alternate audio formats -- usually DD5.1 or DTS.

When you choose one of those, your player should output that audio format and your 950 will automatically switch to that format. Once the movie starts playing, look at your 950 front panel to verify that it is sensing the format you chose.

Part 2:

I would assume that the bass management on your DVD player is only operative through the audio-out connections from the player, so if you're using a digital audio cable to connect the player to the 950, the settings on the DVD player shouldn't matter.

If you DON'T have your 950 connected to your DVD player with a digital audio cable, go get one NOW! It's the way to get the optimum performance from the 950 AND the player.

[This message has been edited by boblinds (edited July 24, 2004).]