When channel surfing on DIRECTV with my 1050 set to surround (pro logic, pcm) I'm amazed at the range of audio quality. Sometimes it sounds great (good sound coming from all 5 speakers). Other times everything comes from the center channel (I know this is common). What has me concerned is everything between.

The worst is a chirping or gurgle type sound coming from the mains and rears. This seems to happen when most of the sound is coming from the center channel which remains distortion free. This can range from when there is very little sound coming from the fronts and rears (almost sounds like bleed through) to when there is a fair amount of sound coming from them.

Other times the dialogue seems like its trying to come out of the mains but just seems to cut in and out.

None of this is really that audible from the sitting position. You have to get close to the speaker to hear it.

Is this distortion normal or is my 1050 having trouble decoding certain signals?

Stereo mode solves all this but you lose center speaker dialogue which sounds more natural to me.

Is this what pro logic II is supposed to solve?