2. home-theater
  3. 977610570

Are dolby digital and AC-3 the same?

I'm a bit confused by these 2 terms. I've heard about a difference in bit rates, but that's about all. I currently own a Harman Kardon AVR55 reciever, that does AC-3 decoding, and I would like to use it in my home theater setup. I would like to use the money saved to go out and get 2 additional amps for my system, since the receiver has pre-outs. Also, do most DVD movies come with DD and DTS, or just one of the 2?
julpay09f4
julpay09f4 OP
2 posts
 
I know the receiver has an optical input....would this send the signal over?
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
A bit more light to help confuse.Did you know the AC-3 from the LD transport can not be carried by a Illuminatins D-60? It requires a video cable.I also had the same Pioneer AC-3processor. I sold mine to get Lazer DTS capability,before DVD came out.Kthresh said nothing that contradicted anything I said. You may have percieved it that way ,I didn't.On my present processor setup,I have the DD/DTS, input on one coax with signal recognition. Then I have the AC3 from the LD as a seprate coax input. Now the point I missed, is the question I don't know the ans to. As in, will your piece do DD,from a dvd player? Well, If it doesn't MSB,or others can do a chip upgrade cheap,I would guess.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Yes, Dolby Digital and AC-3 are the same "technology". All the comments about how it is hooked up have nothing to do with the Dolby circuitry.
massvm
126 posts
 
The followinig site is a another valuable resource for any questions concerning audio and video questions, and will provide links to the Dolby site as well as others: http://www.rane.com/digi-dic.html.

I believe find the answers you are looking for. Happy Holidays!
massvm
126 posts
 
I believe YOU WILL find ....
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