my yamaha rx357 av reciever has a 6.1 matrix mode that creates a phantom rear speaker on my 5.1 set up. my question should i be using this mode to decode dolby digital surround ex dvds? When i put on t2 extreme dvd this mode is auto selected by the yamaha. Star wars 2 and lotr 2 do not cause this to happen, Its it just because they do not contain the flag to auto activate it. I dont want to use the 6.1 matrix mode on 5.1 dvds as adding effects/sound fields to a dvd that was mastered in 5.1 never seems to sound very good. By if the 6.1 matrix mode is auto selected by dolby surround ex dvd's does this mean it is decoding the dolby surrond ex correctly so its is worth using as the dvd has been mastered with this in mind? please help
No, leave the receiver on automatic and it will detect the necessary signals for use if it is encoded in the proper format. If your receiver can detect Dolby-EX on the DVD, it will do its job.
The Star Wars DVD have been known to have problems with their encoding and sometimes there are editions that are not encoded with the proper flags. It is not your receiver.
right. after futher reading i understand now that dolby surround ex is only used if you have an extra or extra pair of rear speakers. So why does t2 extreme automaticaly select 6.1 mode on my reciever when i only have 2 rear speakers?
T2 Extreme DVD is encoded with 6.1 signal as well. Your Yamaha receiver checks for the best available audio signal and sets it to that one. It does not check for what speakers you have connected.