surround mode for watching TV

my default audio setting on my 970 for watching TV is Dolby 5.1. But what happens if the broadcast is only encoded in stereo? is dobly the right setting to be in for watching general TV surfing? should I just leave it on stereo mode and when I want surround sound which to dolby? also, are there any shows on TV broadcasted in DTS? thanks. angelo

Dolby Digital alone will decode Dolby 2.0 sources as pure stereo, and it won't be used at all with PCM stereo. You won't see any TV broadcasts using DTS.

I use Pro Logic IIx-Movie for two-channel TV broadcasts (either Dolby 2.0 or PCM stereo).

gonk, what do you use to listen to tv broadcasts that are broadcast in surround sound? and while watching tv do you often switch between surround modes, or do you just stick with dolby logicIIX movie for all broadcasting including things like sportscenter and the news?

If they are in surround (Dolby 5.1), the 990 automatically engages Dolby 5.1 (it has no choice) and I have it set up to overlay Pro Logic IIx because I have a 7.1 speaker setup. The way I have it set up, we don't mess with our surround modes while watching TV.

gonk, i take it the 970 also can do the same. if the broadcast is in stereo then the 970 leaves it 2 channel, but if it is broadcast in surround then it which it to Dolby 5.1 automatically. is that right?

The 970 will behave basically the same as the 990. It will remember your preferences for different source types, so if you select Stereo and Dolby Digital for two channel sources (PCM stereo and Dolby 2.0, respectively) it will remember that even if you select something else entirely for Dolby Digital 5.1. Or, you can select 5 Stereo for PCM stereo, Pro Logic II for Dolby 2.0, and of course Dolby Digital for Dolby 5.1 - and the 970 will remember these choices for this specific input and revert to them when these types of inputs are received in the future.

Something that folks sometimes don't recognize: receivers and processors must automatically recognize and decode Dolby Digital and DTS sources using DD and DTS. If they don't, you don't hear anything. This is an automatic detection and adjustment process that happens every time a digital signal is first received by the processor. These days, however, we also have additional surround processing modes that can be used in conjunction with DD and DTS as well as with pure stereo sources (most notably Pro Logic II/IIx and NEO:6). When we start mixing in these additional modes, it's common for folks to get pretty confused.

gonk, let me get this right. if i'm wathcing tv and i want to use prologic II Movie mode for my surround should i pick that for my surround during set up, or should i pick stereo and when dolby is avialable the prologic II movie mode will kick in automaticlly? is that right? because i can only pick one surround mode during setup on the 970.

I'd disregard the option in the input menu - that's basically what I do with my 990, and the two have similar menu layouts.

The first time that you have a program playing that you want to use Pro Logic II-Movie for (whether PCM or Dolby 2.0), use the Dolby button on the remote to select it. The next time a program plays that is using the same type of signal (PCM or Dolby 2.0), the 970 will remember to use PLII. It will remember separately for PCM and Dolby 2.0, so depending on your cable/satellite provider you may have to go through this process twice.

i understand, but what happens if i want to listen to the program in just stereo? i guess i have to switch it manually. and if so, why not just leave the dolby pro logic II movie mode as the defualt in the setup config?

If you want to listen to a single specific program in stereo, you hit the "Stereo" button to switch to that mode.

one last thing gonk, when you say, "I use Pro Logic IIx-Movie for two-channel TV broadcasts (either Dolby 2.0 or PCM stereo)." does that mean you are watching the news or a talk show in surround sound because the dolby movie mode in enabled? do those shows sound right in surround. how about sports? are they broadcast in stereo or dolby, and do they sound ok to listen to in a surround mode? like watching football in pro logic movie? i know these are might seem like silly questions but im just trying to understand everything. i new at this. thanks again. angelo.

I'm lazy - I let the 990 apply PLIIx for any TV source. If we stumble across something that is essentially pure mono, then PLIIx can only do so much and a lot of it goes to the center. I do have the center width set up around 4 or 5 so some of the center data gets distributed all the way across the front.

You're not going to get any surround effects, but that's going to be true for anything short of something like 5/7 Stereo.

Thanks Gonk, like always, extremely helpful! Thanks again.