I had a dedicated dvd player but moved it to another room. I have since been using the 360 as my main dvd player for movies and think that the sound is kind of understated or low. I have my 360 connected to my Sony STR DG800 via optical. Does the 360 have inferior dolby digital 5.1 capabilities compared to a standalone/dedicated dvd player?

I don't see how that's possible -- it should just be passing on the sound data unchanged to the receiver. Was your previous DVD player also connected by optical? Is the Xbox outputting 5.1 or 2.0 PCM?

I had a dedicated dvd player but moved it to another room. I have since been using the 360 as my main dvd player for movies and think that the sound is kind of understated or low. I have my 360 connected to my Sony STR DG800 via optical. Does the 360 have inferior dolby digital 5.1 capabilities compared to a standalone/dedicated dvd player?

definitely not. you must have one of your settings wrong. optical is optical, the receiver is doing most of the work.

My 360 always seems to go on the fritz after I try to play any DVD.. either it'll constantly skip, or refuse to play it at all.

while I think that digital is digital as well, I just started using my 360 as my primary DVD player as well, and I did feel that some of the sound is bland, and the dialogue blends together. Could just be psychological though, but I did notice it after the switch.

Also, I have heard the video upscaling and interlacing of the 360 is not that great. I plan to get a separate player, probably Toshiba HD DVD, in the near future. Plus, it will save the extra wear and tear on my 360.

I find especially the video to be subpar playing DVDs on my premium 360s. My $100 progressive scan Sony DVD player looks better IMO. My Elite with the HDMI hook up on the other hand is an awesome upscaling device for normal DVDs, well worth the extra dough.

It is outputting 5.1. The only reason I brought this question up was that my brother in law mentioned that the games on the 360 are so much louder compared to the movies. And I am using Paradign speakers(Phatom v4's, PDR-12 etc) for my surround, so there is no problem there.

Over VGA I think the DVD upscaling is pretty good. Component is not, mostly because the black level is different than for games.

It is outputting 5.1. The only reason I brought this question up was that my brother in law mentioned that the games on the 360 are so much louder compared to the movies. And I am using Paradign speakers(Phatom v4's, PDR-12 etc) for my surround, so there is no problem there.

games are going to sound different, as it's a different media. the sounds, espeically on a lot of games, are part of playing the game, whereas in movies, they are just texture, so you may be hearing, for example, footsteps, more loudly in games. i can see what you mean, though, when you explain it like that. it's mixed differently so different things stand out.

if you're still having issues, post your 5.1 setup on the audio forum, make sure you have good matches, if it's not a HTIB, and run an Avia or DVE setup guide. also the Pixar movies have a decent setup routine, but i'm not sure how good it is for sound vs. video.

the elite is great. the toshiba HDDVD XA2 is about the best upscaling SD player you can get out there. there are some ridiculous screenshots of Riddick SD (and others) on this thread... and that's only 480p!!

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=828835

the oppo is also good, but with the tosh, you get the dual functionality.

I don't have an HTIB anymore actually. But I did let the Sony reciever measure the room with a mic that came with it and had the mic in my sitting are on a nice Bogen tripod(I am a photographer). Other than that, I have not set the sound up much.

For my video I have a Sammy 4695D with the latest firmware. I had tried the VGA cable before the latest spring update for my 360 and my wife made me take it back. She said that she did not see a difference when the dvd was upscaled and did not think the color was that good. I would imagine with the new 360 update that the VGA cable would be light years better though. I have seen vga cables on Ebay for much less than the $40 that places like BB ask for.

I don't have an HTIB anymore actually. But I did let the Sony reciever measure the room with a mic that came with it and had the mic in my sitting are on a nice Bogen tripod(I am a photographer). Other than that, I have not set the sound up much.

For my video I have a Sammy 4695D with the latest firmware. I had tried the VGA cable before the latest spring update for my 360 and my wife made me take it back. She said that she did not see a difference when the dvd was upscaled and did not think the color was that good. I would imagine with the new 360 update that the VGA cable would be light years better though. I have seen vga cables on Ebay for much less than the $40 that places like BB ask for.

yup, the VGA/IRE stuff is fixed. 46" is pushing/on the border of when you will really see an difference upscaled, and that will also depend on how far away you sit.

it also depends on the quality of the transfer to SD DVD. a great transfer will look even better upscaled. a good/ok transfer will look pretty much the same, and a bad transfer can look worse.

I sit something like 10' away, as far as possible. I don't believe in sitting on top of my tv:)

I sit something like 10' away, as far as possible. I don't believe in sitting on top of my tv:)

ok at that distance, on a 46" screen, upscaling will not really be noticeable.

Would something like 14 ft be better?

You'd need to be closer, not farther away.

I thought that for a 40"+ LCD, that you had to be a fair distance away? According to here distance calculator (http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html#anchor_13194) , at least if I am going by width.

On a 40" - 50" tv, you'd need to be around 6' away to get the full benefit from 1080 resolution. Probably around 7-8' for 720 resolution. Fact of the matter is, that most people dont know this and sit too far away which negates the advantage of having a higher resolution.

I don't know if my wife would allow me to move the furniture closer. I will have to sit closer and see if I notice a difference.

i sit about 10' from a 106" screen. i can tell the difference between all the resolutions... i don't have 1080p yet though :(

I tried sitting closer while playing Gears of War and found it kind of overwhelming. I guess I am not used to sitting six feet from the screen:) My only problem is that this is the only room I can have the tv and moving the couch closer throws the room off. This room has a vaulted ceilings and my house has wood floors etc and there is no where else to have the tv, at least as far as my wife is concerned:)


Charlie97L originally posted: i sit about 10' from a 106" screen. i can tell the difference between all the resolutions... i don't have 1080p yet though

You know 1080p is nice and everything, but I don't think that you are really missing out on much. The added resolution is not earth shattering and to use a computer analogy, it is not like going from MGA to VGA.

I find especially the video to be subpar playing DVDs on my premium 360s. My $100 progressive scan Sony DVD player looks better IMO. My Elite with the HDMI hook up on the other hand is an awesome upscaling device for normal DVDs, well worth the extra dough.


I agree completely. My old Premium wasn't the best for regular DVDs, but the Elite does a great job of upscaling.

I tried sitting closer while playing Gears of War and found it kind of overwhelming. I guess I am not used to sitting six feet from the screen:) My only problem is that this is the only room I can have the tv and moving the couch closer throws the room off. This room has a vaulted ceilings and my house has wood floors etc and there is no where else to have the tv, at least as far as my wife is concerned:)


Charlie97L originally posted:

You know 1080p is nice and everything, but I don't think that you are really missing out on much. The added resolution is not earth shattering and to use a computer analogy, it is not like going from MGA to VGA.

We aren't saying that you necessarily need to sit closer, just that you aren't going to see much benefit to upscaling/high resolutions unless you sit closer. If you'd rather sit 10' back, great.