need help w/ yamaha htr-5740

[cyberpac9]

i'm new to surround sound and i'm trying to get the best out of what i have but need some help with understanding "Sound Field Programs." for example: Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic, and many others. per the manual i did the following:
1) selected Input Source (DTV/CBL)
2) changed Input Mode to Auto

now, because i have done that, do i still need to select one of the Sound Field Programs? i've read the vague description they provide for these things, and i'm not sure which is best to use for TV, DVD, CD and Stereo. obviously whichever sounds best is the one to use. but am i selling myself short by not taking advantage of one of these Sound Fields?

i appreciate any tips you can provide.

[paul_pci]

i'm new to surround sound and i'm trying to get the best out of what i have but need some help with understanding "Sound Field Programs." for example: Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic, and many others. per the manual i did the following:
1) selected Input Source (DTV/CBL)
2) changed Input Mode to Auto

now, because i have done that, do i still need to select one of the Sound Field Programs? i've read the vague description they provide for these things, and i'm not sure which is best to use for TV, DVD, CD and Stereo. obviously whichever sounds best is the one to use. but am i selling myself short by not taking advantage of one of these Sound Fields?

i appreciate any tips you can provide.

You're on the right track. All "auto" does is detect whether the sound program being played, etc. is encoded in surround sound or merely 2-channel audio, like CDs or most TV broadcasting. For instance, I have DirectTv with digital audio, so if a program is encoded in 5.1, my Yamaha will switch to that, if it's not, it will switch to whichever DSP I used last. The basic recommendation is to try out the various DSPs and see which one you like best. For TV, I use ProLogic Movies, it seems good enough, nothing fancy or overly inauthentic. The cool thing about Yamaha is that it will remember for each input (CD, DVD, TV) the DSP you used last.

Have fun.

[cyberpac9]

ok...so i'll select "auto" for each input and then select a Sound Field for each input. i'll give that a try tonight when i get home.

thanks paul_pci!