Okay...bit of an unusual question here and I'm hoping for as technical or opinionated an answer as possible.

I'm writing a piece on surround sound format evolutions and comparing Dolby Stereo, Ultra-Stereo then on Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS etc. In researching this I'll be running several DVDs in the Dolby Surround format to judge the technology at that point and its limitations, etc.

While Dolby Prologic II is an upgrade from Dolby Prologic, which of them would more authentically replicate what the format was originally designed to sound like, warts and all? My gut instincts tell me Prologic, but can anyone confirm?

Of course, this presupposes the Dolby Surround tracks haven't been monkeyed with for the home video releases and for some I will be referencing theatrical screenings. Thanks!

My gut instincts tell me Prologic, but can anyone confirm?You'd probably want to e-mail Dolby Labs for some sort of official confirmation, but my quess would be the same as your's. Those soundtracks were mixed with a mono surround channel that was intended to wrap around the audience, which is what old Pro Logic delivers. Of course, this presupposes the Dolby Surround tracks haven't been monkeyed with for the home video releases and for some I will be referencing theatrical screenings.Some soundtracks were remastered/equalized for nearfield listening in the home environment, but that wouldn't change the nature of Dolby Surround encoding (e.g., the mono surround channel couldn't suddenly be encoded as stereo).

Sanjay