AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Surround Music Formats › Confused about Dolby VS (Virtual Speaker)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Confused about Dolby VS (Virtual Speaker)

post #1 of 4
5/23/12 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
On the Dolby website, it describes VS as virtual surround for 2ch setups:

Because Dolby Virtual Speaker works with any pair of stereo speakers, you can get great surround sound even in small spaces, and with almost any kind of devicePCs, A/V receivers, sound bars, TVs, and portable DVD players, just to name a few. Simply look for the Dolby Virtual Speaker logo and count on experiencing incredible surround soundwith just two speakersno matter where you are listening.

What I don't understand then is why my receiver has a 5 channel 'VS' mode. If all the speakers are active, what is the 'virtual' aspect of this? What's the effect? Also, what's the difference between VS 5 channel mode and the various Pro Logic modes?

I'm asking mostly because I actually prefer the 5 channel Dolby VS Wide over the Pro Logic modes, but there's not much info or discussion about it that I can find.

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/consumer/...r-details.html
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 4
5/23/12 at 2:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Costanza View Post

On the Dolby website, it describes VS as virtual surround for 2ch setups:

Because Dolby Virtual Speaker works with any pair of stereo speakers, you can get great surround sound even in small spaces, and with almost any kind of devicePCs, A/V receivers, sound bars, TVs, and portable DVD players, just to name a few. Simply look for the Dolby Virtual Speaker logo and count on experiencing incredible surround soundwith just two speakersno matter where you are listening.

What I don't understand then is why my receiver has a 5 channel 'VS' mode. If all the speakers are active, what is the 'virtual' aspect of this? What's the effect? Also, what's the difference between VS 5 channel mode and the various Pro Logic modes?

I'm asking mostly because I actually prefer the 5 channel Dolby VS Wide over the Pro Logic modes, but there's not much info or discussion about it that I can find.

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/consumer/...r-details.html

Here is what your link says:

"Two-speaker stereo sound has always been limited to just thatstereo. Two speakers, two channels. Now Dolby® Virtual Speaker changes all that by simulating an incredibly realistic 5.1-speaker surround sound listening environment from as few as two stereo speakers. So whether your content source is two-channel stereo or true 5.1-channel audio, you'll be immersed in rich, engaging Dolby surround sound. Your movies, TV shows, and music will sound better than ever".

The 5 channel VS is probably used to simulate surround sound effects of 2 channel sources.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 4
5/23/12 at 6:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Costanza View Post

What I don't understand then is why my receiver has a 5 channel 'VS' mode. If all the speakers are active, what is the 'virtual' aspect of this? What's the effect?

The 5-ch VS mode widens the effect of the front speakers when playing 5.1 content on 5.1 speakers. It was intended for cases like TVs where the speakers are close together. But you can use it in any case.

Quote:


Also, what's the difference between VS 5 channel mode and the various Pro Logic modes?

PLII can upmix 2-ch sources to feed 5.1 speakers. PLIIx can upmix 2.0 or 5.1 content to feed 7.1 speakers

VS cannot upmix, but it uses PLII plus virtualization to create the illusion that there are either more and wider speakers (when playing from a 2-speaker system) or that speakers are wider (from a 5.1-speaker system).
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 4
5/23/12 at 11:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, guys.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Surround Music Formats

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › Surround Music Formats › Confused about Dolby VS (Virtual Speaker)