Configuration: Combo Drive Flat Panel iMac, Standard Equipment Mac OS X 10.2.4 DVD Player 3.2
I just bought Lilo and Stitch for my fiancee Lisa for Valentine's Day. This is the first "THX Certified" disc I've ever ran in my iMac. My only speakers at this time are the original Apple Pro speakers that came with the machine. Still, I was under the understanding that there were certain standards Dolby expects to be met for mixing down the 5.1 channels to two. When I ran the THX Optimizer and ran the Audio tests, I ran into a couple of not so pleasant surprises. First, I discovered that the test signal for the surround channels, both left AND right, came out of BOTH channels. Shouldn't the left surround come out of the left channel and the right surround out of the right channel? That was my understanding of how Dolby Digital 5.1 mixdown is supposed to work when you have only two channels. Second, when it got to the Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel, I heard NOTHING at all. Isn't the LFE channel supposed to be mixed down to the two channels along with the other five when there is no subwoofer present? The LFE channel problem concerns me most, because I suspect that the Sound Manager handles all Dolby Digital mixdowns the same. I'd like to get an iSub to take the signal from the LFE channel, but I'm concerned that, if DVD player's configuration ignores the LFE channel entirely, then the iSub would be useless (I'm actually quite satisfied with the Apple Pro speakers alone for music, so the Dolby LFE channel would be my primary concern if I got an iSub). Is there anyone out there who has both the iSub and at least one THX certified disc with the THX Optimizer? If so, can you tell me if the LFE channel test gets any reaction out of the iSub? Also, can anyone tell me if it is normal for both left and right stereo surround channels to come out of BOTH channels on two channel mixdown? John A. Ardelli Owner/Moderator BIFIDA-L: The Original Spina Bifida Discussion List The Crystal Corner - The Original Dark Crystal Discussion List -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
