Audio Systems: sound problem, dolby prologic ii, sony str de597

Question
I have a Pioneer HDTV Projection Monitor, model: SD-533HD5. It offers excellent sound to include surround sound. Connected to it is a Samsung DVD-V4600 (DVD/VCR combo). When playing VHS tapes the sound is still awesome. The problem arises when playing DVDs. When watching cable tv the volume is set at around 18 or 20 and the sound is at a perfect level; same when playing a VHS. However, when using a DVD the volume has to be increased to about 29 or 30 to hear what people are saying and the sound effects are then overwhelming. When the volume is adjusted down for sound effects, you can't hear what people are saying. Have tried using coaxial cable from DVD/VCR player to monitor, RCA cable and left/right audio lines from "DVD only" part to monitor. Have spent plenty of time on phone with Pioneer and Samsung only to find one is blaming the other. Have tried a different DVD/VCR player (Panasonic); same problem. Any advice is greatly appreciated.  

Answer
Dear Michael,

Small wonder that Pioneer and Samsung point mutual fingers. My guess is that neither is the culprit--oh, there's a problem, but not one you can trace back to the manufacturer.

DVD players are designed to render sound with a number of digital signal processing algorithms. I'm sure you're familiar with the terms: Dobly Digital, DTSDigital, Dolby ProLogic II, and so on. However, when you play back a DVD with one of these *surround sound* decoding algorithms through a simple 2-speaker TV, the DVD player puts the extra sound wherever it wants. Hence, you're getting very strange sound.

There are two remedies to this.

First, get an audio/visual receiver (the Sony STR-DE597 is $200) and some surround sound speakers (PSB Alpha line is excellent and low cost--www.psbspeakers.com for a dealer) and enjoy the surround sound through them. The receiver has an on-board speaker calibration facility which will set the sound level for all speakers from all sources. Okay, that's a bit expensive, and maybe you're not ready for it.

The second option is to go into the "setup" menu when you boot up a DVD and select "PCM 2-Channel Stereo" as your sound option. Now the DVD player knows that you have only two channels and will direct the sound accordingly.

Of course you should try the second option first, but if you really enjoy modern movie making, surroung sound is becoming essential.

Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!

Kindest regards,

Kevin