Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

Hey all,

Thanks first of all for taking the time to read my post. I've recently
decided to become a laserdisc hobbyist. I had a question regarding audio
setup for my system.

I own a Yamaha HTR-5150. This receiver has both the Dolby Digital and the
DTS logos on the front. Now I know it handles DTS because I've listened to
the DTS tracks on some DVDs through the optical input on the Yamaha.

But what I'm not certain about is if this unit is AC-3-ready, or if it in
fact does decode AC-3.

Now, on the player front, I purchased a cosmetically-mint Pioneer Elite
CLD-52. To make sure I experienced no problems, I took it to George Meyer
in LA, had it serviced and cleaned and installed a new belt assembly. It
runs very smooth and quiet.

This unit has both optical AND coaxial digital outs. Since I only have one
optical cable which cost a bundle, and the DVD player is using it, I hooked
the Pioneer's audio up to the Yamaha via a digital coaxial. Additionally I
hooked up the regular analog channels as well.

So the question is: if I put in my copy of Hunt For Red October WS/AC3, do
I have everything necessary to listen to this movie in Dolby Digital? I
understand that the Dolby Digital track is embedded in the right analog
channel. But is it routing through the digital coaxial? If I put the
Yamaha on DVD/LD mode and make sure I'm hearing the digital input, is that
all I have to do?

Both the Pioneer and the Yamaha manuals are succinct about their audio
paths, but ambiguous about how to listen to them. Any help on this would be
appreciated. Any further opinions on how I could make my system even better
would also be welcome.

Thanks for your time,

sincerely,
paz

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

paz wrote:

> I own a Yamaha HTR-5150.
>
> But what I'm not certain about is if this unit is AC-3-ready, or if it in
> fact does decode AC-3.

Look on the back - does it have a "laserdisc" marked set
of inputs and is one labeled AC3? Both my oldYamaha 2095
and my current Z1 have these connections so labeled.

> So the question is: if I put in my copy of Hunt For Red October WS/AC3, do
> I have everything necessary to listen to this movie in Dolby Digital?

If it's like any other Yamaha reciever I'm famalier with
the fron display should light up with "Digital" if it's
getting a digital signal, likewise many of them display
a small set of icons showing which speaker signals it's
getting so if 5.1 was coming through you would see the
center and subwoofer icons lit up.

Write me direct if I might be able to help any more.


Darrel

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

"paz" <pzachos@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:BD3BC3F9.2349%pzachos@comcast.net...
> So the question is: if I put in my copy of Hunt For Red October
WS/AC3, do
> I have everything necessary to listen to this movie in Dolby Digital?

Nope.

I have an LD FAQ set up here that answers this question:

http://www.mindspring.com/~lasergu [...] m#hardware


Ideally, laserdisc players should be hooked up by three different audio
connections:

- The analog L/R cables for discs that do not have digital soundtracks
or for audio commentaries and other supplemental audio content. You can
listen to the disc's digital channels via this connection if you want
the LD player to perform the audio D/A conversion (see next point).
- A digital cable (optical or coax) for DTS, or to listen to the PCM
digital tracks if you want your receiver to do the D/A.
- An coax cable connected to the RF-output for Dolby Digital. This must
be connected to an RF-demodulator before it gets to your receiver (see
question below).

You can skip step #3 if you don't want to mess with the hassle of Dolby
Digital, and you can skip step #2 if you don't need DTS and don't mind
letting the LD player do the D/A. At a bare minimum, the only audio
connection you absolutely need are the analog L/R cables, but you won't
get 5.1 that way.

[About the RF-demodulator]

Laserdiscs are capable of providing four audio tracks, two for analog
sound and two for digital sound. When Dolby Digital AC-3 technology was
developed around 1995, it was decided that the best way to implement it
on laserdiscs would be to reserve the two PCM digital tracks for a
standard stereo/Pro-Logic sound mix that would remain backwards
compatible with older equipment. The AC-3 track, therefore, is output in
RF-modulated form through one of the analog channels. The other analog
channel usually contains either a mono sound mix or an audio commentary.
In order to convert the Dolby Digital signal back to a standard form
that an audio receiver can process, it must first be run through an
RF-demodulator.

The DVD format does not require RF modulation for the Dolby Digital
signal because DVDs have room for more soundtracks than laserdiscs and
do not contain analog audio channels at all.
For a couple of years audio equipment manufacturers were releasing Dolby
Digital receivers with RF-demodulators built in, but as the laserdisc
market wound down soon this feature became much less common. The
majority of audio receivers available today require an external
demodulator for laserdisc sources. Unfortunately, these demodulators are
in short supply and can reach ridiculous prices at auction.

A rundown of the various demodulator models can be found on the Thad
Labs site(http://www.thadlabs.com/LD_info/). This information is found
under the "Misc." heading. I find the ability of certain models to
auto-switch between the RF signal and a standard digital signal very
useful due to the limited number of digital inputs on my own receiver.

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 18:50:18 GMT, paz <pzachos@comcast.net> wrote:


>paz
To add a tiny bit to Joshua's post above, your LD player must have a
coax jack on the back labled "AC3 RF". If it doesnt, you cannot get
Dolby Digital out of the player unless you get it modified.
John

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

"Darrel Christenson" <darrel.christensen@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:UOvRc.229534$IQ4.175527@attbi_s02...
> paz wrote:
>
> > I own a Yamaha HTR-5150.
> >
> > But what I'm not certain about is if this unit is AC-3-ready, or if it
in
> > fact does decode AC-3.
>
> Look on the back - does it have a "laserdisc" marked set
> of inputs and is one labeled AC3? Both my oldYamaha 2095
> and my current Z1 have these connections so labeled.

Darrel, I dont think the 2095 had an AC-3 RF input, it did have an input
labelled LD, but you would still need an AC-3 RF modulator unless your LD
player was modded for it already.

>
> > So the question is: if I put in my copy of Hunt For Red October WS/AC3,
do
> > I have everything necessary to listen to this movie in Dolby Digital?
>

Paz, I KNOW your 5150 doesnt have an AC-3 RF input, so you need an AC-3 RF
jack modded on your LD player unless it already is, AND you need an AC-3 RF
demodulator like the Yamaha APD-100, or one of the few others that were
around. Since they are gettng harder and harder to find, people that have
several are hording them in case they have one fail, and those that are
selling them, charge an arm and a leg for them, especially on that shill of
a site eBay.

> If it's like any other Yamaha reciever I'm famalier with
> the fron display should light up with "Digital" if it's
> getting a digital signal, likewise many of them display
> a small set of icons showing which speaker signals it's
> getting so if 5.1 was coming through you would see the
> center and subwoofer icons lit up.
>
> Write me direct if I might be able to help any more.
>
>
> Darrel
>

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

in article J1BRc.188672$OB3.71072@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net, Biz at
biznospam@notatt.net wrote on 8/8/04 7:09 PM:

>
> Paz, I KNOW your 5150 doesnt have an AC-3 RF input, so you need an AC-3 RF
> jack modded on your LD player unless it already is, AND you need an AC-3 RF
> demodulator like the Yamaha APD-100, or one of the few others that were
> around. Since they are gettng harder and harder to find, people that have
> several are hording them in case they have one fail, and those that are
> selling them, charge an arm and a leg for them, especially on that shill of
> a site eBay.
>
>> If it's like any other Yamaha reciever I'm famalier with
>> the fron display should light up with "Digital" if it's
>> getting a digital signal, likewise many of them display
>> a small set of icons showing which speaker signals it's
>> getting so if 5.1 was coming through you would see the
>> center and subwoofer icons lit up.
>>
>> Write me direct if I might be able to help any more.
>>
>>
>> Darrel
>>
>
>
'
Thanks to you, and everyone else, for your input. After taking a careful
look on the back of the Yamaha, i noticed it has an entire 'External
Decoder" input section for this very purpose. You gotta hand it to
yamaha... though the unit may not have its own demodulator, it is anything
if not thorough. An entire set of analog and digital inputs, and in
addition to that, a separate set of inputs for channels routed from an
external decoder.

Thing is... purchasing an APD-1 as well as a mod for the laserdisc player
may come close enough to merit saving a bit more cash and just opting for a
good, used receiver with its own demodulator. Or a different player with
its own AC-3 rf jack.

paz

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

You might find my RF demodulators pages helpful:

http://home.q03.itscom.net/nsa/YamahaAPD-1.htm
http://home.q03.itscom.net/nsa/PioneerRFD-1.htm

Thx for looking,
Nicolas

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 03:12:20 GMT, paz <pazmusik@comcast.net> wrote:

>in article J1BRc.188672$OB3.71072@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net, Biz at
>biznospam@notatt.net wrote on 8/8/04 7:09 PM:
>
>>
>
>Thing is... purchasing an APD-1 as well as a mod for the laserdisc player
>may come close enough to merit saving a bit more cash and just opting for a
>good, used receiver with its own demodulator. Or a different player with
>its own AC-3 rf jack.
>
>paz
Dont forget, you need BOTH. The LD player must have an AC3-RF output
jack, and your reciever must have an AC3-RF input, or a separate
demodulator between the LD player and the reciever. No LD players
were made with a RF demodulator built-in.
John

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

Anyone have any experience with the Sherwood Newcastle line? They have a
built-in AC-3 Demodulator and some pretty impressive specs. There are some
used ones around. Should I consider one, or are there better options?

thanks,
paz

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

> Should I consider one, or are there better options?
>

Sherwood is a decent company. However, several of Pioneer's (stellar)
Elite-line A/V recievers also have/had AC-3 demodulators, and several of them
can be found used on EBay as well as through Audiogon, etc...That's the route
I'd go.

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

oneactor1@aol.com (Steve Grauman) wrote in message news:<20040812205548.29796.00002809@mb-m18.aol.com>...
> > Should I consider one, or are there better options?
> >
>
> Sherwood is a decent company. However, several of Pioneer's (stellar)
> Elite-line A/V recievers also have/had AC-3 demodulators, and several of them
> can be found used on EBay as well as through Audiogon, etc...That's the route
> I'd go.

What LD player do you own? I was perusing through some old threads and
noticed you had quite a dilemna last year trying to decide on a
player.

Archived from groups: alt.video.laserdisc (More info?)

>What LD player do you own? I was perusing through some old threads and
>noticed you had quite a dilemna last year trying to decide on a
>player.

I've been using a borrowed CLD-79 Elite for some time now. However, its owner
is pressing for its return and I'm shopping for a replacement. The 79 is for
the most part identical to the CLD-D704. I don't have an AC-3 demodulator yet,
but I have had dealings with several Pioneer products including the Elite line
recievers and have always found them to be great products. That's why I
reccomend trying out one of their A/V units.