I spoke to Scott from Outlaw today and I believe that I can correctly describe what is happening and the possible workarounds on this issue. I should also point out that it is my understanding from Scott, that Outlaw has no plans to address this situation.

1) The 1050 can decode all current DD 5.1EX encoded DVDs in 6.1 mode today. Therefore if you have the option of using 6 or 7 speakers you should take that option.

2) The 1050's ability to correctly playback DD 5.1EX encoded DVDs in 5.1 mode is dependent upon the specific DVD that is being played and the flags used on that DVD. For example the two H.P. DVDs are both described as being DD5.1EX. While the 1050 plays back the the Sourcer's Stone correctly in 5.1 mode (at least on my 1050), it does not play back the 2nd correctly in 5.1 mode. Based upon the reports above, LOTR part 1 and 2 are probably similar. The 1050 seems to have problems decoding at least some other DD 5.1EX DVDs as well.

If you cannot use 6 or 7 speakers as described above for a problem DVD, there are some options (described as a - d below). However, I doubt that they will please everyone.

a) If the DVD includes a DTS audio track, play in back in that mode. This option needs to be selected manually. While I haven't tested it, Scott indicates this will work. Obviously this doesn't work for LOTR TTT or HP COS as they don't have DTS audio tracks.

b) For some and only some DVDs, the 1050 decoding logic can be fooled by using the speaker configuration option to add a 6th speaker (even though there really isn't one)and then still playing the DVD in 5.1 mode.

Unfortunately strategy b fails for DVDs that include flags to automatically place the 1050 in 6.1 mode. This includes H.P. COS and possibly LOTR TTT. Once the 1050 goes into 6.1 mode, it thinks it has a rear speaker. Consequently, it looks at the matrixed left and right surround signals and removes the portion that is intended for the rear surround(s) from the signals sent to the right and left rears. Furthermore, it also lowers the left and right signals by 3 db. So not only is the volume lower, but depending upon the DVD, a whole lot of surround signal may have been sent into the neverland of the non existant sixth speaker.

c) Forget DD and use Dolby Prologic (the less said about this option the better).

d) Another individual's workaround was to use a DVD player that can decode DD 5.1 signals and input these directly into the 1050. However, the DVD player I looked at for this (a Denon) cost more than the 1050, so if you are not into DVD Audio, I am not sure this makes a lot sense. Potentially, you might also lose the LFE channel.


[This message has been edited by 73Bruin (edited September 04, 2003).]