HBO's HD station, regular HBO, and Starz all broadcast some movies in 5.1. I was wondering how they compare to dvds (bitrate, etc.)?

Good question!! I was wondering that too. I'm contemplating buying a direct tv and I'm not sure if the receivers that are free with certain promotions are digital or if there is an upgrade you need to do.

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The Sony SAT A55 receiver is the only one that does DD 5.1. I have this receiver. One thing to be aware of is that I have not seen any movies yet on Starz that are being broadcast in 5.1, nor have I on any of the HBO channels. The only movies I have seen yet that are broadcast in 5.1 are a few of the movies on the PPV channels. Very few though, only a couple. Now I'm only basing this on the little symbols codes the DirecTV guide puts next to each movie. If the moview is DD 5.1 there is a special code next to the movie in the guide that indicates this. It could be that the online guide is not marking the movies correctly, so there may be more 5.1 movies broadcast than what is listed.

I think any of the elliptical dish/receiver combos will get you the 5.1. That has 2 things(?) coming off it instead of 1. At least that's what you need to get the HD stations. Maybe not just for 5.1. It's probably mostly to do with your tv. My HDTV has the DirecTv reciever & HDTV decoder built in. Then it has a fiberoptic audio-out on the back of the HDTV. If your tv doesn't have a fiberoptic-out, you'd probably need a special DirecTv box with one, or an HDTV decoder would probably have one. I plug the HDTV into the receiver with the fiberoptic (thankfully my receiver has 3) and get 5.1 for the movies that have it. Usually on the newer movies on Starz1, HBO1, and HBO HD. Sometimes DirecTv shows Dolby Digitial in the info when it's just stereo, so I wouldn't go by what they say. My receiver always lets me know what it is. The 5.1 tracks do sound good, but they just don't sound the same as a good dvd. I was wondering if it was a much lower bitrate or something. Also over my antenna I get 5.1 for CBS & some ABC HD shows.

Thanks Kabong. I'd heard you got more with the elliptical dish, and I'd assumed it was more channels, but I'd never seen any channels that I couldn't get. That clears things up for me. For 5.1 I don't think I'll upgrade for a while though. I'm just going to let those new receivers and HDTVs drop for a couple of years until I can afford it.

I've seen several movies with 5.1 on Starz and HBO. Starz will have a little Dolby logo animation run before the movie (normally like Friday/Sat night). Sounds very good, imho.

I have the RCA 5451 Directv receiver (2+years old) and it too has Optical DD5.1 output. I have heard many movies on Starz (The Mummy)in 5.1 and they sound awesome!

I have also rented some Letterbox DD5.1 PPV movies and they too sound quite amazing. Compares quite nicely to DVD 5.1.


p.s.
You don't need any special dish to receive this, and there are many Directv receivers that are DD5.1 compatable nowadays, not just the Sony.


Alfer

Re: How does DirecTv's 5.1 compare to dvd 5.1?
 

You've only seen DVDs since 2001 or only Saw DVDs as in the 2-decent-movie franchise?

I'm not a big fan of this game.

Re: How does DirecTv's 5.1 compare to dvd 5.1?
 

This whole topic is from 2001. Hence your confusion.

Re: How does DirecTv's 5.1 compare to dvd 5.1?
 

I hate it when the mods come in and clear out Spam posts without clearing out the posts that follow, always makes me look like a confused old man.

Re: How does DirecTv's 5.1 compare to dvd 5.1?
 

Just report them, don't respond.