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I have been asked this question a lot since the Xbox came with Dolby Digital support for games. So here I am trying to add some logic to it all.
What is Dolby Digital?
======================
Dolby Digital is a new standard for audio. Better then Dolby Surround it uses 6 channels of sound to blast through 6 speakers. This just means that each speaker can have a different set of sounds at any time. If you remember what it was like going from a mono Television then moving up to a two speaker (Stereo) the difference was very noticable with the extra channel of sound.
Dolby digital uses 6 channels as explained above, although the term 5.1 is used. This is not confuse you heck out of people but to illustrate that there are 5 full channels of sound and a bass dedicated channel which is called as 0.1 of a channel as it doesnt produce the whole range.
Heres a small comparison list:
Mono = 1 channel
Stereo = 2 channels
Dolby Surround = 4 channels (rear speakers use same channel)
Dolby Digital = 6 channels (5.1 and rear speakers are in stereo as apposed to mono in Dolby Surround)
Clarity
=======
As its in a digital form, the quality is higher then that of even CD quality sound. capable of 48,000khz which is slightly higher then CD Quality which is measured at 44,000khz there is a small difference.
Positional
==========
Again with it being in digital form the decoder can very accuratly position audio in any of the 5 main channels surrounding the listener. DVD's were the best to show this with action movies. Bullets flying around on the matrix and the Stargate film where you shoot through space is a tremendous sensation for the avid DVD Watcher. Dolby Digital has really expanded the home surround experiance.
Positional for Gaming
=====================
This is where the Xbox has even beaten the PC which with the Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 cards and the new Audigy, still we wait for the first true Dolby Digital Game (which is rumoured to be Doom 3).
The Xbox especially in games like Halo where now you can tell accuratly where you are being shot from is a great advantage. If you are using a stereo or even Surround system, u will want to play the game in Dolby Digital as the dropships landing with an almighty rumbling sound from the Subwoofer is trully amazing beyond belief.
Other game like F1 2002 which has just been released makes use of the positional. Who needs rear view mirrors when you can actually hear the car behing moving to either the left or right of you to over take.
All the games I have tried so far have made great use of the Dolby Digital sound.
Conclusion
==========
What is the expense?
Well a good kit can be found for £150 and for something more designed for widescreen users and a huge screen in a living room then you are looking at a £350 system that can decode DTS as well (Another 5.1 channel stream available on fewer DVD's).
Whats Needed?
- Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible decoder and speakers
- Advanced Scart Cable
- Fibre Optic Lead
- And of course your trusty Xbox
If you have actually managed to read every word of this post then you will surely understand the great advantages of Dolby Digital 5.1 for gaming which just happens to be available on Xbox before any other system. That and the use of DVD's through the Xbox with the remote (Sold seperatly) makes for a worthy purchase.
Gaming on the Xbox is amplified 5 fold by using this sound technology, you can't judge the Xbox fairly without using a system like Dolby Digital 5.1 first :)
Hope this helps you all, and I look forward to reading your impressions of Dolby Digital.
What is Dolby Digital?
======================
Dolby Digital is a new standard for audio. Better then Dolby Surround it uses 6 channels of sound to blast through 6 speakers. This just means that each speaker can have a different set of sounds at any time. If you remember what it was like going from a mono Television then moving up to a two speaker (Stereo) the difference was very noticable with the extra channel of sound.
Dolby digital uses 6 channels as explained above, although the term 5.1 is used. This is not confuse you heck out of people but to illustrate that there are 5 full channels of sound and a bass dedicated channel which is called as 0.1 of a channel as it doesnt produce the whole range.
Heres a small comparison list:
Mono = 1 channel
Stereo = 2 channels
Dolby Surround = 4 channels (rear speakers use same channel)
Dolby Digital = 6 channels (5.1 and rear speakers are in stereo as apposed to mono in Dolby Surround)
Clarity
=======
As its in a digital form, the quality is higher then that of even CD quality sound. capable of 48,000khz which is slightly higher then CD Quality which is measured at 44,000khz there is a small difference.
Positional
==========
Again with it being in digital form the decoder can very accuratly position audio in any of the 5 main channels surrounding the listener. DVD's were the best to show this with action movies. Bullets flying around on the matrix and the Stargate film where you shoot through space is a tremendous sensation for the avid DVD Watcher. Dolby Digital has really expanded the home surround experiance.
Positional for Gaming
=====================
This is where the Xbox has even beaten the PC which with the Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 cards and the new Audigy, still we wait for the first true Dolby Digital Game (which is rumoured to be Doom 3).
The Xbox especially in games like Halo where now you can tell accuratly where you are being shot from is a great advantage. If you are using a stereo or even Surround system, u will want to play the game in Dolby Digital as the dropships landing with an almighty rumbling sound from the Subwoofer is trully amazing beyond belief.
Other game like F1 2002 which has just been released makes use of the positional. Who needs rear view mirrors when you can actually hear the car behing moving to either the left or right of you to over take.
All the games I have tried so far have made great use of the Dolby Digital sound.
Conclusion
==========
What is the expense?
Well a good kit can be found for £150 and for something more designed for widescreen users and a huge screen in a living room then you are looking at a £350 system that can decode DTS as well (Another 5.1 channel stream available on fewer DVD's).
Whats Needed?
- Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible decoder and speakers
- Advanced Scart Cable
- Fibre Optic Lead
- And of course your trusty Xbox
If you have actually managed to read every word of this post then you will surely understand the great advantages of Dolby Digital 5.1 for gaming which just happens to be available on Xbox before any other system. That and the use of DVD's through the Xbox with the remote (Sold seperatly) makes for a worthy purchase.
Gaming on the Xbox is amplified 5 fold by using this sound technology, you can't judge the Xbox fairly without using a system like Dolby Digital 5.1 first :)
Hope this helps you all, and I look forward to reading your impressions of Dolby Digital.
Well ive just been looking at the range at SR:
INTERACT DSS900 5.1 DIGITAL SURROUND SOUND SPEAKER SYSTEM
£129.99
KIIRO DA-AV5 250W (RMS) HOME THEATRE SOUND SYSTEM
£228.99
SONY HTK170 HOME CINEMA SOUND SYSTEM
£274.99
So a good choice here, but I'm sure there are alsorts to come.
INTERACT DSS900 5.1 DIGITAL SURROUND SOUND SPEAKER SYSTEM
£129.99
KIIRO DA-AV5 250W (RMS) HOME THEATRE SOUND SYSTEM
£228.99
SONY HTK170 HOME CINEMA SOUND SYSTEM
£274.99
So a good choice here, but I'm sure there are alsorts to come.
I don't have access to this right now, but my friend has got it set up and I played Halo in Dolby Digital 5.1. It was amazing to say the least. :-)
I'm hoping to get a large widescreen tv for my room in the near future and i'd love to get the surround sound to go with the set up. ;-)
I'm hoping to get a large widescreen tv for my room in the near future and i'd love to get the surround sound to go with the set up. ;-)
I have been asked this question a lot since the Xbox came with Dolby Digital support for games. So here I am trying to add some logic to it all.
What is Dolby Digital?
======================
Dolby Digital is a new standard for audio. Better then Dolby Surround it uses 6 channels of sound to blast through 6 speakers. This just means that each speaker can have a different set of sounds at any time. If you remember what it was like going from a mono Television then moving up to a two speaker (Stereo) the difference was very noticable with the extra channel of sound.
Dolby digital uses 6 channels as explained above, although the term 5.1 is used. This is not confuse you heck out of people but to illustrate that there are 5 full channels of sound and a bass dedicated channel which is called as 0.1 of a channel as it doesnt produce the whole range.
Heres a small comparison list:
Mono = 1 channel
Stereo = 2 channels
Dolby Surround = 4 channels (rear speakers use same channel)
Dolby Digital = 6 channels (5.1 and rear speakers are in stereo as apposed to mono in Dolby Surround)
Clarity
=======
As its in a digital form, the quality is higher then that of even CD quality sound. capable of 48,000khz which is slightly higher then CD Quality which is measured at 44,000khz there is a small difference.
Positional
==========
Again with it being in digital form the decoder can very accuratly position audio in any of the 5 main channels surrounding the listener. DVD's were the best to show this with action movies. Bullets flying around on the matrix and the Stargate film where you shoot through space is a tremendous sensation for the avid DVD Watcher. Dolby Digital has really expanded the home surround experiance.
Positional for Gaming
=====================
This is where the Xbox has even beaten the PC which with the Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 cards and the new Audigy, still we wait for the first true Dolby Digital Game (which is rumoured to be Doom 3).
The Xbox especially in games like Halo where now you can tell accuratly where you are being shot from is a great advantage. If you are using a stereo or even Surround system, u will want to play the game in Dolby Digital as the dropships landing with an almighty rumbling sound from the Subwoofer is trully amazing beyond belief.
Other game like F1 2002 which has just been released makes use of the positional. Who needs rear view mirrors when you can actually hear the car behing moving to either the left or right of you to over take.
All the games I have tried so far have made great use of the Dolby Digital sound.
Conclusion
==========
What is the expense?
Well a good kit can be found for £150 and for something more designed for widescreen users and a huge screen in a living room then you are looking at a £350 system that can decode DTS as well (Another 5.1 channel stream available on fewer DVD's).
Whats Needed?
- Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible decoder and speakers
- Advanced Scart Cable
- Fibre Optic Lead
- And of course your trusty Xbox
If you have actually managed to read every word of this post then you will surely understand the great advantages of Dolby Digital 5.1 for gaming which just happens to be available on Xbox before any other system. That and the use of DVD's through the Xbox with the remote (Sold seperatly) makes for a worthy purchase.
Gaming on the Xbox is amplified 5 fold by using this sound technology, you can't judge the Xbox fairly without using a system like Dolby Digital 5.1 first :)
Hope this helps you all, and I look forward to reading your impressions of Dolby Digital.
What is Dolby Digital?
======================
Dolby Digital is a new standard for audio. Better then Dolby Surround it uses 6 channels of sound to blast through 6 speakers. This just means that each speaker can have a different set of sounds at any time. If you remember what it was like going from a mono Television then moving up to a two speaker (Stereo) the difference was very noticable with the extra channel of sound.
Dolby digital uses 6 channels as explained above, although the term 5.1 is used. This is not confuse you heck out of people but to illustrate that there are 5 full channels of sound and a bass dedicated channel which is called as 0.1 of a channel as it doesnt produce the whole range.
Heres a small comparison list:
Mono = 1 channel
Stereo = 2 channels
Dolby Surround = 4 channels (rear speakers use same channel)
Dolby Digital = 6 channels (5.1 and rear speakers are in stereo as apposed to mono in Dolby Surround)
Clarity
=======
As its in a digital form, the quality is higher then that of even CD quality sound. capable of 48,000khz which is slightly higher then CD Quality which is measured at 44,000khz there is a small difference.
Positional
==========
Again with it being in digital form the decoder can very accuratly position audio in any of the 5 main channels surrounding the listener. DVD's were the best to show this with action movies. Bullets flying around on the matrix and the Stargate film where you shoot through space is a tremendous sensation for the avid DVD Watcher. Dolby Digital has really expanded the home surround experiance.
Positional for Gaming
=====================
This is where the Xbox has even beaten the PC which with the Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 cards and the new Audigy, still we wait for the first true Dolby Digital Game (which is rumoured to be Doom 3).
The Xbox especially in games like Halo where now you can tell accuratly where you are being shot from is a great advantage. If you are using a stereo or even Surround system, u will want to play the game in Dolby Digital as the dropships landing with an almighty rumbling sound from the Subwoofer is trully amazing beyond belief.
Other game like F1 2002 which has just been released makes use of the positional. Who needs rear view mirrors when you can actually hear the car behing moving to either the left or right of you to over take.
All the games I have tried so far have made great use of the Dolby Digital sound.
Conclusion
==========
What is the expense?
Well a good kit can be found for £150 and for something more designed for widescreen users and a huge screen in a living room then you are looking at a £350 system that can decode DTS as well (Another 5.1 channel stream available on fewer DVD's).
Whats Needed?
- Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible decoder and speakers
- Advanced Scart Cable
- Fibre Optic Lead
- And of course your trusty Xbox
If you have actually managed to read every word of this post then you will surely understand the great advantages of Dolby Digital 5.1 for gaming which just happens to be available on Xbox before any other system. That and the use of DVD's through the Xbox with the remote (Sold seperatly) makes for a worthy purchase.
Gaming on the Xbox is amplified 5 fold by using this sound technology, you can't judge the Xbox fairly without using a system like Dolby Digital 5.1 first :)
Hope this helps you all, and I look forward to reading your impressions of Dolby Digital.