Hello all,

I'm kind of new to this whole Home Theater stuff, and I don't know too much about the different hardware yet. I was looking at this system below at this link from best buy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...cat=2&scat=242

The details say it is Dolby Digital-ready, however, in the product details, it says it doesn't have a Dolby Digital Decoder. Can someone tell me how this is possible? I thought, in order for a receiver to be Dolby Digital, it had to have a Dolby Digital Decoder? How can this Sony system from Best Buy be Dolby Digital ready and not have a Dolby Digital Decoder? Or, could it just be a typo on Best Buy's part at their website? Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Mike

A "digital ready" receiver means that it must be connected to a DVD player which has an onboard DD/DTS decoder to produce DD/DTS sound. They are connected using the 5.1 ouputs on the DVD player to the 5.1 inputs on the receiver.

If you are going to go this route, make sure that you buy a DVD player which has an onboard DD/DTS decoder (many Sony units typically do)

That said, I think most folks here would recommend that you just buy a DD/DTS receiver, considering that there are plenty of decent ones in this price range. Depends on your budget, of course

I agree. For the same price at bestbuy.com, there are Yamaha and Aiwa systems that have DD, as well as Philips and Panasonic systems with DD and DTS. I'm not endorsing any of them, but for the same price they'd be much smarter purchases (at that price range).

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...cat=2&scat=242 If you need to buy it a bestbuy look at this one for the same money. For the about the same money look for the Kenwood home theater.

Becareful with this statment because many Sony units DO NOT have DTS decoders built in. They have DD decoder but not DTS. For example SONY models 530D - 560D do not have DTS decoders. Model 570D and one other(?) does have a DTS decoder.
Keep in mind that the 530D - 560D have the DTS logo on them but that is only if you send the audio over coax or optical.

Thx for the info. I actually do already have a DVD player, a Toshiba, which is DTS/DD. So, to make sure I understand this. I can either have a DD/DTS DVD player, which decodes the audio and sends it to the non-DD/DTS receiver, and that will still work, or I can also have a non-DD/DTS DVD player, but the receiver decodes the audio? Is that correct? Is there any difference in the quality of the signal in either instance? Thanks.

Mike

So, to make sure I understand this. I can either have a DD/DTS DVD player, which decodes the audio and sends it to the non-DD/DTS receiver, and that will still work, or I can also have a non-DD/DTS DVD player, but the receiver decodes the audio?
You Also can have both a receiver that decodes DD/DTS signals and a DVD PLAYER that decodes DD/DTS signals. IN most cases the receiver does a better job of decoding. However the main reason that I have a receiver that decodes is in the long run it is cheaper. I at first went with a dvd player that decodes the signal and a receiver that was digital ready. Well the dvd player died than I had to buy another higher price dvd player to decode. In my mind its better to start off with a good receiver. Besides soon they will have progressive dvd players that can copy not just play. Most people will tell you buy a RECEIVER THAT DECODES DD/DTS SIGNALS. Again for the price range you are looking at check out the Kenwood dvd 307 home theater.