Do I have to get Sky+ to get the Dolby Digital Movies

Max

I'd like to connect my Sky box to my 5.1 surround system.
Do I have to get the Sky+ box to do this?

I don't really want the other Sky+ features such as recording other channels or pausing live TV.

I'd like to just get the full effect of the surround sound movies.

Thanks for any help

Mossy Monk

yes, Sky+ is required for 5.1

MrPudding

It is a bit annoying but yes. I had a Sony box that had a optical out but Sky required Sony to disable it.

Also, you only think you don't want the other Sky+ features. It is actually very very handy. I highly recommend it.

MrP

pH

If you're looking for 5.1 out then I'm presuming you have Sky Movies.

Sky+ subscription should be waived so there's only the outlay on the box (plus maybe a new LNB and cable).


If you have Sky+ the card must have the (+) part activated to allow the recording, but is this also the case for the Oprical Out.

I.e. if I tie a normal Sky card to a plus box it won't have recording but will it have the digital out?

pH

Yes you will have the dolby digital .
But its only available on the first 3 movie channels and on the disney channell

Theres no dolby digital as far as I'm aware, on the family pack channels for instance, just normal dolby surround.
So if you are getting it for DD then you must really sub to the movies and go the whole hog

ShaneOC will know more and hopefully reply later

ShaneOC

Yes, you do not have to have the Sky+ functionality to get the dolby digital on the 3 movie channels (and Disney). No sign of any other channels broadcasting in DD at the moment.

Max

Thanks guys for your replies to my query.

One last question!

What is the difference between 'DS' and 'DD' on the info box for Sky Movies.

Thanks again

sceptre

Max wrote:

What is the difference between 'DS' and 'DD' on the info box for Sky Movies.

DS is Dolby Surround. For full info you're probably best off going straight to Dolby's info. For more basic info read the difference between this and this - as you can see there's a substantial difference.

dil999

If you are only looking for Dolby Digital from Sky+ then don't waste your money.
From Experience: DD is definitely clearer and crisper but DS filtered though Dolby Prologic II is close as makes no real difference. Also Sky+ DD volume levels are woeful. You need the amp vol up nearly to full. (I have a good quality Yamaha Amp)

But to echo some other comments, Sky+ functionality, i.e. record, rewind, pause, is brilliant. and if you have the Movies, its not going to cost you any extra per month

(Good link Sceptre. although I interpret it slightly different than you)
"...Second difference: the six channels are the same as those found after decoding and filtering in a Dolby Surround ProLogic amplifier (right, left, centre, Surround right, Surround left and bass), but they are not obtained in the same manner......"

navi_5445

dil999 wrote:

From Experience: DD is definitely clearer and crisper but DS filtered though Dolby Prologic II is close as makes no real difference. Also Sky+ DD volume levels are woeful. You need the amp vol up nearly to full. (I have a good quality Yamaha Amp)

I can't agree with the above, DS PL II is nowhere near DD, esp WRT the subwoofer (LFE) channel i.e. the ".1" in "5.1".

As regards the volume somewhere around -20Db on my amp is more than adequate...and mine goes all the way to 11 :-) I don't know if the digibox volume setting has any bearing but I have this set at the lowest level.

Do Sky still broadcast Box Office material in DS? I take it from the above they do, shame on them.

ShaneOC

Yeah the Box office stuff is only in Dolby Surround. The two old Box Office Widescreen channels used have Dolby Digital.

I think it is a bit better this way as more people will get the benefit of DD through the first three movie channels rather than a tiny few on just two box office channels.

P.S. I've no problems with the volume levels of DD movies.

dil999

As regards the volume somewhere around -20Db on my amp is more than adequate...and mine goes all the way to 11 :-) I don't know if the digibox volume setting has any bearing but I have this set at the lowest level.

To me that's pretty close to max volume. (11 or not :-)) I have the box volume up to max. I was told in a thread ages ago that the DD vol problem was broadcaster issue.

Maybe I don't have as discerning an ear as some of the other posters, but the point I was trying to make was that, If you are going for Sky+ just for the DD you have got to ask the question :Is it really worth the €400+ cost. You'll buy a lot of DVDs for that! :-)

Also, don't forget, that your amp needs to have an digital input, optical ideally, but you can get a optical to coax converter for another €30 (two more DVDs :-))

From my own experience, the Sky+ functionality is brilliant. It really does change the way you watch TV.

Regds
Dil

navi_5445

I watch DVDs and play Sky+ DD movies at the same amp level, both are optical connections. Do you have to adjust the volume by much when watching a DVD Vs Sky DD? If so I'd say you may have a HW/setup problem. Could be your digibox sound output is set to Stereo and not to Dolby Digital, but that's just a guess.

dil999

Yes there is a huge difference. I watch Sky+ DD movies with Vol at -20dB and DVDs at -45dB on a 100w per channel amp.

The sky sound output is set to DD with max volume. I went and bought an expensive Toslink cable, but no difference. Sound, via the optical input, on other non DD channels is fine.

The DVD player is connected via coax to the amp. I haven't tried the DVD player using the optical input (I am not sure it has an optical output - will try tomorrow if it has) but on my old JVC surround sound DVD system, the volume from a DVD was a lot higher than the sky+ input for the same vol setting .

I asked the question in a thread about 6 months ago, and was told it was a broadcaster issue. But I can't find the thread now. If you do think it a H/W issue from what I've clarified above, I may contact the supplier 'cause the box is still under warranty.


Thanks, Dil

navi_5445

That's interesting. All my Amp inputs play between -30Db and -20Db. MD, CD, DVD, VCR, Sky FTV, Sky+, Tuner etc. I can never hear much at a -45Db setting. It's a Marantz Sr5200, probably similar in power to whatever you have.

Do you have anything else connected to your Amp? Are they all -45Db with Sky+ DD being the exception?

Edit : On a rearead of the above do you mean that the sound level will increase when you change from watching a Sky DD broadcast to, say, Sky News?

dil999

I have a dvd recorder connected via analog inputs, it plays around -45 also, The Tuner is around the same. Other Sky+ channels are comfortanble around -45db

Dolby Digital quality is fine and the amp shows up 'Dolby Digital' on the display, only issue is the vol

Do you get a noticable difference if you are watching a DD movie on Sky movies 1 and then change to Sky movies 5 for example. I see a big difference.


I have a Yamaha 530 or 540 ( can't remember exact model number)

navi_5445

dil999 wrote:

Do you get a noticable difference if you are watching a DD movie on Sky movies 1 and then change to Sky movies 5 for example. I see a big difference.

I have zero volume difference when switching between a Sky DD Movie and Sky News. I would have thought most other people would say that same...that's why I suggested you may have a HW/setup issue. Odd huh?

dil999

I'll test the DVD in the optical input of the Amp tonight (although it now definitely does sound like the sky+box) I'll give the supplier a call after that.

Thanks for the info
Dil

navi_5445

I took a look last night and maybe the volume would change by +/-4Db but nothing significant. This guy appears to have a similar issue. Read this too.

Audio level too low.
In truth the audio level is too high on everything else. Movie soundtracks are extremely dynamic, ranging from near silence to intense explosions. In order to support an increased dynamic range and hit peaks (near the 2V RMS limit) without distortion, the average sound level must be lower. This is why the line volume from DVD players is lower than from almost all other sources.