No voices with dvd's? Center channel isn't making any sound. I dont think the surrounds are either. Stereo 5 with cd's works...so not the amp or connections. Its having trouble going into Dolby Direct as well. Can anyone help? dvd player is a Toshiba and is set to Stream/PCM and 48khz. I use the DVD player for CD listening too, maybe part of the problem?

Is it set to PCM, or is it set to bitstream?

If it is set to PCM, the player is decoding the bitstream and downmixing to PCM stereo, which would explain why only the left and right channels are working. Also, what processing mode does the 950 report when this is happening?

When i put a DVD in it doesn't want to act like it use to. It use to always sound great and go to DOLBY D. NOw it randomly goes to other settings. Usually it goes to PLII-C, I have to try and try and try to get it to show DOLBY D, but then the center and surrounds are not coming on. The TV offers:
Dolby digital/PCM
Stream/PCM
PCM

Then

48 or 96kHZ.

What model of player do you have? I need to read the manual, because these settings by themselves aren't clear and I'm afraid you have gotten the player set to the wrong thing.

I have a Toshiba SD 2705. Its old but what I have until I'm rich again. This is awesome, your taking the time to look at its manuel... I really appreciate it! Part of the problem (I think)is I use teh Toshiba for CD's and DVD'S. It sounds better than my anolog cd player to me.

Gotta give Toshiba some credit - they had the 2705 manual available online with minimal hunting. It's not always that easy. Page 38 covers what we are interested in. The options certainly are odd, but I think that's partly the result of the player not having an onboard DTS decoder (in 2001 that was still something that entry level players didn't have the processing power to handle). Basically, either "Stream/PCM" or "Dolby Digital/PCM" would work for your needs, although "Stream/PCM" is preferred.

It's been a few years since I used a Model 950, so I'm going on fuzzy memories (and the pain pill I took a couple hours ago likely isn't doing anything especially good to help sharpen those memories), but I would suggest two things. First, watch the 950's front panel when you start watching a DVD - when you transition from the menu to the movie itself. The 950 will show what the incoming signal format is briefly: DTS 3/2.1, DD 3/2.1, DD 2/0.0, etc. Make sure that you are getting DD 3/2.1 or DTS 3/2.1, as this indicates a 5.1 source. If you have DD 2/0.0 or PCM, then something is wrong upstream of the 950 and the 950 is simply doing its job.

If you have a "3/2.1" input, then we need to scroll through the surround modes until you see something like "Dolby D" or (if you have a 6.1 or 7.1 speaker setup) "DD CR-C". It appears that you have a 5.1 speaker setup. In that case, you should just see "Dolby D" when listening to a Dolby Digital 5.1 disc. If that's not what you are seeing, I'd suggest using the remote to try cycling through Dolby modes to get to just "Dolby D" to be sure there's no downmixing going on in the 950.

You have gone above and beyond, I really appreciate it. I have already done exactly as you suggested before ever coming to the saloon though. It doesn't want to give you Dolby D. Movies I have watched before that always went straight to Dolby D no longer show it in the prompt. I scroll through but it wont offer Dolby D. After messing with it for a while, it finaly shows Dolby D, But no sound comes out of the center channel or the two surrounds.

As stated previously, teh 5.1 works with CD in stereo 5. It just wont do it for a movie???

I do wonder if its the player because I seem to remember noticing Its only showing 2/0.0 I will check today at lunch time.

Ok checked, once the movie starts it shows Dolby D 3/2.1 But no sound still from the center or surrounds. the background music is all that is heard. I tried two more movies and tried switching a CD in between...no luck. tried shutting it down and even unplugging for a few minutes then trying again....no luck.

So you are getting Dolby 5.1 from the player, which is good. When you have it playing, can you switch to Dolby Digital decoding with the remote? If it is defaulting to some stereo mode, you will need to change it while a Dolby 5.1 source is active.

Same issue.


OK
OK... It's working now....But I don't likethe fix. I kept turning it off and turning it all back on. I did it like 6 times in a row and suddenly it worked. I don't believe its a conection. teh wires are all less than 3 months old, all good quality. It worked for every day several hours for three months then stops one day?? I checked all the connections more than once. Could it be a bumb Optical? Or is this a decoder issue?

What were you turning off and on? The Model 950?

Do you have any other source that can feed Dolby Digital 5.1 into the Model 950? An HD cable box or HDTV with over-the-air tuner would work, or another DVD player.