Why does the packaging of some so-called "mono" DVDs read "Dolby Digital 2.0 MONO"? Wouldn't the rhetoric of "2.0" suggest a STEREO mix? Some DVDs I own claim the film is in "Dolby Digital 2.0 mono" but the entire soundtrack -- dialogue, effects and score -- all come out from the center channel, hence 1.0...someone tried to explain to me that this may happen because the receiver interprets ANY one-sourced signal as mono, even if it has two channels...my first reaction to this was "HUH?" I didn't really understand that reasoning.

From my understanding, Dolby Stereo Surround films in 2.0 decode to Pro Logic II Movie mode when played through a surround system, allowing some rear effects to decode from the film. Some of the older films in my collection have this "Dolby 2.0 Stereo" mix, including "Halloween II," "John Carpenter's Christine," "Falling Down," and "Boyz N The Hood"...all have a stereo 2 channel mix which decodes through my receiver in Pro Logic II, extracting some surround effects. But what of "Mono" DVDs? Why does my "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" DVD claim, according to Universal, that the film has a "2.0 MONO" soundtrack and yet EVERYTHING plays from the center channel?

And is there a way to get mono DVDs -- TRUE mono DVDs (like my "Amityville Horror" MGM disc) to decode into some kind of surround? When I try any DSP mode with a mono soundtrack, it reads "Not available with this signal..." across the display screen. The only mode I can run mono DVDs in is stereo, which sounds horrible...I would rather hear them from the center channel!