Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions DVD Player Setup Confusion

I'm looking at my Sony DVD manual (DVP-S530D)...and there are settings inside the dvd player that you must setup for your speakers...large/small, and also the size, level and distance...is that usually typical of dvd players?
Anyways...this is what it says when setting up the size of the speakers...

FRONT:
LARGE - Normally select this.
SMALL - When the sound cracks,or the effects of the surround is difficult to hear, select this. This activates the Dolby Digital (AC-3) bass redirection circuity and outputs the bass frequencies from subwoofer.

CENTER:
NONE: If you will not connect a center speaker, select this.
LARGE: Normally select this.
SMALL: When the sound cracks, select this. This activates the Dolby Digital (AC-3) bass redirection circuity and outputs the bass frequencies from some other speakers.

REAR:
NONE - If you will not connect a rear speaker, select this.
LARGE: Normally select this
SMALL: When the sound cracks, select this. This activates the Dolby Digital (AC-3) bass redirection circuity and outputs the bass frequencies from some other speakers.

SUBWOOFER:
NONE - If you do not have a subwoofer, select this.
YES: If you have a subwoofer, select this

...do you guys totally agree with what was written in this manual, like "When the sound cracks,or the effects of the surround is difficult to hear, to select SMALL...?

I've got the following equipment:
Harman Kardon AVR65 Digital Receiver

Polk Audio Speakers:
RT800 (left/right)
CS245 (center)
RTFX (rear surround speakers;bipole/dipole)
Velodyne Subwoofer (CHT-12)

If you were me...what would you set the DVD setup menu to for each speaker, and should they also match/be the same setup on my HK AVR-65 receiver...

Also..anything that is underlined, in the text above, is the DVD's default setting.

Thank you So Much for Reading This...And I'm Sure Glad You Guys Can Help!
-MitchM2006-

I would set all the speakers to small as you would do with your receiver, and input yes to subwoofer, all this is doing is allowing your sub to handle the bass. I have never seen a DVD that asks for this much info. but it should not be a problem. I would set the receiver and the DVD to match.

Mitch, you only need worry about those settings if you connect the Sony to your HK via the 5.1 CH Outputs on the back of the Sony.

The information on any CD or DVD is digital. It's a bunch of 1s and 0s. Somewhere, in the chain of equipment between disc and speakers, that digital information must be converted to analog information, for that's what the speaker's require to do their thing. This requires a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter).

Both your HK and your Sony have DACs. So, you can do the conversion from digital to analog in either piece of equipment. BUT, once you've converted from digital to analog, no matter where the conversion takes place, each of the 5.1 signals needs its own path to its appropriate speaker. So, if you convert in the Sony you need to hook up those 5.1 channel outputs to your HK receiver.

If you have connected the Sony to the HK, via a digital connection, and I assume you have, all 5.1 digital signals are sent to the HK through that digital cable and the HK will do the conversion to analog.

By doing the conversion in the receiver, you allow the HK to handle the bass management which is what all that "large"/"small" stuff is about. So, you don't need to worry about the Sony's bass management settings UNLESS you have the 5.1 analog outputs connected to the HK and you want the Sony to do the conversion.

The only time you need to have both a digital AND 5.1 Ch. analog connection between the two pieces of equipment is when the player is capable of playing SACDs and/or DVD-As, and I don't believe your Sony is.

Mitch, although your manual doesn't make this clear(surprise), Jack's excellent explanation does. The various speaker settings in the player which you discuss(and all the rest)are only relevant when the 5.1 analog outputs are being used. These adjustments generally have to be done in the digital realm, so if analog outputs were being used the player has to make them before the digital is converted to analog. Since your receiver has digital inputs you use the player's digital output(your older Sony player doesn't do SACDs, so there's no good reason to use the 5.1 analog outputs)and the receiver makes those speaker settings, as discussed in your other thread.

So no, you don't listen for the sound to "crack"; set all speakers small in your 65 and enjoy.

Thank you All for Your Replies!
I was getting really confused with my dvd player setup lately!