# PLIIx Movie



## 0bn0xi0us (Sep 12, 2012)

I'm watching Gladiators BluRay in PLIIx Movie, should it be watched in DTS Cinema? It says DTS 5.1 , I have 7.1 surround and realize I can't play it in 7.1 or won't matter.

So DTS? Or PLIIx Movie?

Thanks Everyone (newbie here)


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## leej (Jun 9, 2010)

Try DTS 5.1. Not sure about your receiver, but i use the 5.1 plus PL-II (Cinema) for the rears. My Denon shows "Dolby + PLII x C" for the content that i'm using now. While the DTS 5.1 has to be selected on the player, the PLII has to be set up via your receiver menu. You will get true 5.1 on the front and sides, with virtual surround on your rears.


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

I've had some BR movies default to the 2.0 soundtrack or the 5.1 soundtrack when a better like DTS or TrueHD is available. Sometimes you have to do it through the Menu-->Settings on the movie itself.

Don't have it on BR, but Gladiator in DTS sounds awesome. It was my first DTS DVD and I did not regret it.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

0bn0xi0us said:


> So DTS? Or PLIIx Movie?


You're confusing two different technologies. DTS is data compression technology that packs PCM soundtracks more efficiently to to take up less storage space on the disc. PLIIx is surround processing technology, which scales the number of channels in the recording to match the number of speakers in your set-up (like video processing scales a 480 DVD to your 1080 display). 

So it's not a question of DTS *or* PLIIx, since they can be used together. The _'Gladiator'_ 5.1 soundtrack is encoded in DTS. If you want to hear it with 5 speakers, then simply let the receiver decode (unpack) the soundtrack using the DTS decoding mode. If you want to scale the 5.1 channels to your 7.1 speakers, then apply the PLIIx processing mode. 

Your receiver does format decoding (DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD) and surround processing (Dolby PLIIx, DTS Neo:6). Decoding happens automatically; processing is up to you.


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## koyaan (Mar 2, 2010)

Blu-ray discs have the capacity to support discrete 7.1 soundtracks. Unfortunately, it is rarely ( mabey never) used so the discs only contain 5.1 information. Your AVR will see that 5.1 information , in this case DTS,and may difault to DTS 5.1. you'd have to select" Dolby PLIIX movie, or perhaps DTS Neo-6 or however it's identified on your AVR to get a 7.1 effect.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

koyaan said:


> Blu-ray discs have the capacity to support discrete 7.1 soundtracks. Unfortunately, it is rarely ( mabey never) used so the discs only contain 5.1 information.


There are over 380 titles on Blu-ray that have discrete 7.1 soundtracks.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

sdurani said:


> There are over 380 titles on Blu-ray that have discrete 7.1 soundtracks.


Agreed, That was the case two years ago but over the last year more than 75% of new releases have had 7.1 encoded audio


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Agreed, That was the case two years ago but over the last year more than 75% of new releases have had 7.1 encoded audio


Not sure where you're getting your stats from, but: 

Two years ago (2010) there were 101 titles released on Blu-ray with discrete 7.1 soundtracks, bringing the total to 259 titles at that point. Discrete 7.1 soundtracks were being released as early as 2006 (The Descent, Pan's Labyrinth). 

Don't know what you mean by "new" releases, but this year (2012) less than 5% of BDs released or announced have discrete 7.1 soundtracks. Where did you get your "more than 75%" figure from?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Here is the most updated list I can find of all BDs that have 7.1 encoded audio. You will notice that this list is huge and is comprised of almost every "blockbuster" movie out there thats been released in the last two years. 
I agree not every move is 7.1 but as far as the blockbusters are concerned it covers most of them.


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

tonyvdb said:


> Here is the most updated list I can find of all BDs that have 7.1 encoded audio.


Lots of 6.1 titles on that list. If you take just the 7.1 titles and divide it by the number of BDs released, you'll see that 7.1 titles make up about 5% of the total, not 75%.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Can you guys definitively tell the difference between 7.1 encoded and 5.1 encoded processed into 7.1?

I've never taken the time to run tests... Just kind of run with whatever... Pretty much enjoy the outcome every time.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

If I sit in the back row yes, its noticeable but not if I sit in the front row.


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## 0bn0xi0us (Sep 12, 2012)

Lots of info given to me, thanks so much, I am looking to get the descent , as I heard that was awesome on BR in surround, I've seen it on regular tv n DVD,


Now that I have my surround setup of 7.1, I'm sure I'll appreciate it more


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## sdurani (Oct 28, 2010)

27dnast said:


> Can you guys definitively tell the difference between 7.1 encoded and 5.1 encoded processed into 7.1?


I can't. If I hear a sound over my left shoulder, how would I know whether it was steered there by the processing or placed there due to a discrete channel? All I know is that the sound is coming from the left rear speaker; I can't tell how it got there.


0bn0xi0us said:


> I am looking to get the descent , as I heard that was awesome on BR in surround


An excellent demo for 7.1 is the opening chapter of _Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon'_, which contains lots of distinct surround effects, highlighting rear-vs-side separation in the surround field.


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