I like to watch older movies (e.g. 1960s and 1970s). The problem with this is that a lot of these movies have not had their audio tracks remastered. I have a Yamaha 5.1 surround sound system and I am wondering what setting would be optimal for me to use when viewing older movies (i.e. Pro Logic, Pro-Logic Enhanced, Pro-Logic 2, or the variety/sports TV setting) For example I am in the middle of watching DR. No (1961) and according to Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB)this movie is in mono and it sounds pretty poor when I am listening to it in Pro Logic 2 mode. Is there any optimal way to listen to these older movies, or am I just stuck with bad audio on these older movies?
I use the "Mono Movie Surround Mode" which works pretty well and is usually listed as a selection in the DSP effects mode. I have a Denon not a Yamaha but Yamaha is the king of DSP effects, I've got to believe they have it too. What you have to remember though is that it can't work miracles! The soundtracks are not very sophisticated in the first place ... even in the big budget movies which were better but not wonderful. They can only enhance it so much.
try pro logic 2 and see if in your options, it will allow surround ex whats the model # of that yammy? if its close to mine, it should be # 10 on the remote.
gear79, my yamaha is model # HTR-5630. I don't believe that it has a surround ex feature. what is surround ex? I forgot that this unit does have a mono movie feature, thanks for the reminder to the both of you that replied. What about watching older movies that are in 2 channel, what setting should I use then. thanks for the info
being that it is a HTR series.. you may be limited a bit, but i still think it has surround ex. is your remote long, has a digital display, (tiny window, glows orange) if so, then you should, while playing cd/dvd hit # 10 on the remote and it should give you that option. 2 channel, just watch it in stereo... you can play it in DD, but what sounds good for you may not be good for me and vice versa. i have the yammy RXV-1500 unit.
i was just reading the owner's manual and I found out that I have an enhanced mode, which is number 9 on the remote. I was thinking about upgrading my reciever because this was an entry level unit and it only has 75 watts per channel. I really like the yamaha set-up, do you have a particular unit that you recommend?
well, that all depends on your budget... what are you willing to spend? best buy has a nice one for a grand... 980 watts, hdmi inputs and out. tons of options... lets start with your budget and go from there.
I was thinking $300-$400. I was also thinking e-bay as a possibility. I am going to go watch more of Dr. No I will tell you how much of a difference the mono movie setting makes.\ thanks for your help
300 to 400 wont get you much better then what you have now... buyer beware of e-bay stuff. some is good, some is bad. you get a 50/50 chance of getting good stuff or total crap. now if you wanna step up to 500-600 range, we are talking. to give you an example, my yammy RX-V 1500 retails for almost 900 bucks, but i got mine at close out price for 650. do you have a circuit city where you live? ever try out Onkyo products? how bout Denon? what other electronic stores do you have that sells a/v equipment?
we have a best buy, circuit city, hh gregg, and sears. come to find out that Dr. No was 5.1 my dvd player said that it was 5.1 and I looked at the back of the dvd case and it said mono. Is there such thing as 5.1 mono. Anyway if it was 5.1 it was the most piss poor 5.1 I have ever heard. I used the mono movie and stereo settings on my yamaha. The mono added "depth" to the soundtrack and had good sounding voice audio. The stereo sounded better on action (e.g explosions) but lacked matched level of voice audio. I definitely enjoyed the movie better in mono movie than earlier when I was listening to it in Pro Logic.
well, at circuit city... i'd look at this one... http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Onky...99813/catOid/-12884/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do but the 703 is a $100 bucks more... slightly better. and at best buy, this one... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat03031&id=1125464988999 a bit pricey..... but then again, i have one of the elite series for a lot less, here is mine.. http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/RXV1500.htm
Just FYI. We are coming to the best time of the year to purchase equipment. In late February and the first couple of weeks of March, the new models come out so you can get some great deals on the stock the new models are meant to replace. So, around the beginning of Feb., start combing the stores and reliable web sites for deals; I've seen some equipment up to around 50-60% off. It isn't every single product but a lot.
but still post what you find, you may come across something good over there that we don't have here on this side of the pond. we can give you some feedback.
