NTL - Digital & Dolby Pro Logic?

[Dry Bones]

Ive recently got NTL Digital, when the bloke came out and installed it, he said it was impossible to get anything better than stereo through it,
Is there anyway I can get Pro-Logic working again?

Cheers

[Greenstead]

Well hes correct that NTL do not transmit DD5.1 sound. Its all in stereo. Hopefully one day they will transmit in 5.1 .

However my understanding is that pro logic is encoded in the stereo sound and if you put if into your amp you will get pro logic out if it was transmitted with it. Our system often indicates pro logic when processing an NTL film. I'm not sure I've got this quite right though.

I put NTL through our home cinema sound system and get excellent output even though its not DD5.1 - you can use the cinema effects e.g. virtual sound, to give a good result (if you've got an amp that provides this).

[Cable Monkey]

You took advice from an installer? Nuff said...

[davidsi]

AFAIK it is encoded on the stereo signal, so provided you couple the audio out from the digi box to your amp it should work.

I've a sony amp but it won't actually detect when a prologic signal is present on an analogue input so I have to manually select prologic when a program has it present but best I can tell it does work.

[Dry Bones]

Originally posted by Cable Monkey
You took advice from an installer? Nuff said...

No, thats why I created this topic

[MikeK]

Originally posted by davidsi

I've a sony amp but it won't actually detect when a prologic signal is present on an analogue input so I have to manually select prologic when a program has it present but best I can tell it does work.

Don't worry - nobody else's amp can do that either!

[Squirtle]

Pro-logic is available whenever broadcast .

[LV426]

There is no TECHNICAL difference between a stereo signal and a prologic one. In fact they are both, just, stereo, ie consist of nothing more than a left signal and a right signal. There is no technical "trigger" within a prologic signal which might tell an amp that it is prologic.

A prologic signal is an ordinary stereo signal in which the contents of the left and right channel are manipulated at the time the track is mixed (by altering the phase of certain frequencies or components) so as to assist a prologic decoder in steering the sound around the four available channels.

But it is just a stereo signal.

I believe it is impossible to remove prologic information from a prologic encoded stereo signal, except by making it into mono.

[w_n_s]

ahhhhh.....so.....would i be right in saying that- the button I press on my amp to get the pro-logic is the button with the DOLBY sign on it (the same one I press to get 5.1)!

Always wondered about this pro-logic stuff....so anyone want to post a list of programs which are broadcast in dolby Surround (where available)!

[Squirtle]

The only things worth watching on TV in Pro-Logic are films. TV programmes always have sloppy surround IMO.

[DVDWotcha]

How do they transmit the DD5.1 on sky ? Does the decoder have to descramble the signal and have a digital output to connect to your AV receiver ?

Presumably to go DD5.1 NTL would have to upgrade(replace) all the decoders.

I wonder if NTL will go down the Dolby Prologic II route... (5.1 from a stereo source)