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Dialogue Normalization
Dialogue Normalization (DialogNorm) is a feature of
Dolby Digital, which is used to keep the programs at
the same average listening level so the user does not
have to change the volume control between Dolby
Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD
programs. When playing back software which has
been encoded in Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus and
Dolby TrueHD, sometimes you may see a brief
message in the front panel display which will read
“DialogNorm: X dB” (X being a numeric value). The
display is showing how the program level relates with
THX calibration level. If you want to play the program
at calibrated theatrical levels, you may wish to adjust
the volume. For example, if you see the following
message: “DialogNorm: + 4 dB” in the front panel
display, to keep the overall output level at THX
calibrated loudness, just turn down the volume control
by 4 dB. However, unlike a movie theater where the
playback loudness is preset, you can choose your
preferred volume setting for best enjoyment.
THX Cinema Processing
THX is an exclusive set of standards and
technologies established by the world-renowned film
production company Lucasfilm Ltd. THX grew from
George Lucas’ personal desire to make your
experience of the film soundtrack in both movie
theaters and in your home theater as faithful as
possible to what the director intended.
Movie soundtracks are mixed in special environments
called dubbing stages and are designed to be played
back in movie theaters with similar equipment and
conditions. Most of those soundtracks are remixed
using flat response loudspeakers similar to those
used in the small home theater environment before
being transferred onto Blu-ray Discs, DVD, etc.
THX engineers developed patented technologies to
accurately translate the sound from the movie theater
environment into the home, correcting the tonal and
spatial errors that occur. On this product, when the
THX indicator is on, THX features are automatically
added in Cinema modes (e.g. THX Cinema, THX
Surround EX).
Timbre Matching
The human ear changes our perception of a sound
depending on the direction from which the sound is
coming. In a movie theater, there is an array of
surround speakers so that the surround information is
all around you. In a home theater, you may only have
two speakers located to the side of your head. In this
case, the Timbre Matching feature filters the
information going to the surround speakers so that
they more closely match the tonal characteristics of
the sound coming from the front speakers. This
ensures seamless panning between the front and
surround speakers.
Adaptive Decorrelation
In a movie theater, a large number of surround
speakers help create an enveloping surround sound
experience. If a home theater only has two sidewall
surround speakers, the surround speakers may
sound similar to headphones lacking spaciousness
and envelopment. Surround sounds will also collapse
toward the closet speaker as you move away from the
middle seating position. Adaptive Decorrelation
slightly changes one surround channel’s time and
phase relationship with respect to the other surround
experience as in a movie theater using only two
speakers.
ASA (Advanced Speaker Array)
ASA is a proprietary THX technology which
processes the audio on the two side and two back
surround speakers for the optional surround sound
experience. When you set up your home theater
system using eight speaker outputs (Left, Center,
Right, Surround Right, Surround Back Right,
Surround Back Left, Surround Left, and Subwoofer),
be sure to go to the THX Audio Setup screen and
choose the setting that closely corresponds to the
back speaker spacing (➔ page 67). This will re-
optimize the surround sound field.
ASA is used in seven modes: THX Select2 Cinema,
THX Select2 Music, THX Select2 Games, Dolby Pro
Logic II Game + THX Select2 Games, Dolby Pro
Logic IIz Height + THX Select2 Games, Dolby Pro
Logic IIz Height + THX Select2 Cinema and Dolby
Pro Logic IIz Height + THX Select2 Music.
The listening mode may not be selected depending
on the input signal. The signal input from the
external AV components can be displayed by the
function on the next page.