Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

[marzie]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

Things seem to be swinging in the right direction. A quick scan of new releases shows that Surf's Up, Next, Spiderman 3, and In the Land of Women all have 5.1.

You have to admit it's getting better...

[grayrock42]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

I've just changed out my sound processor for the Krell 1000 and am really disappointed that most VuDu movies are in stereo, not 5.1, at least. I'm in the thirty trial period and frankly the lack of surround sound on most movies could be my deal breaker. I hope VuDu does something pretty soon.

[NA9D]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

I've just changed out my sound processor for the Krell 1000 and am really disappointed that most VuDu movies are in stereo, not 5.1, at least. I'm in the thirty trial period and frankly the lack of surround sound on most movies could be my deal breaker. I hope VuDu does something pretty soon.

It's not Vudu's fault. It's the fault of the provider (aka studio) who has not given Vudu 5.1 source material.

HD content is coming soon as seen from the press released and HD content is all in 5.1 Additionally, more and more new content is being released each week in 5.1.

[jcarrington]

Surround Sound

Am i the only one concerned that there is so few movies with 5.1 audio? Audio is atleast half the movie and Vudu is really dropping the ball by having so much of their lineup in Stereo.

Will this improve or is this just the way it is?

Will HD movies have Surround Sound normally?

If this product is hooked up to a home theater system the lack of surround sound will be a big disappointment for many users. I ca not recommend the product for this reason.

[Nded]

Re: Surround Sound

Am i the only one concerned that there is so few movies with 5.1 audio? Audio is atleast half the movie and Vudu is really dropping the ball by having so much of their lineup in Stereo.

Will this improve or is this just the way it is?

Will HD movies have Surround Sound normally?

If this product is hooked up to a home theater system the lack of surround sound will be a big disappointment for many users. I ca not recommend the product for this reason.

I moved your post to this thread that has already thoroughly discussed why the sound situation is the way it is.

[NA9D]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

The movies have the sound track that is provided to them by the studio/content provider. If it is in 5.1 then Vudu gives the audio to you in 5.1. If it is not, there is nothing Vudu can do. It would be illegal for them to re-mix the audio for 5.1. The best they can do is try to negotiate improving deals with the studios for more and more DD content.

HD movies in general will have 5.1 - definitely all newer movies in HD should have them. Older movies - it is unknown and not necessarily guaranteed.

[Paul Maxx]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

This issue bothered my a lot at first too but if you have a decent receiver it should be able to recreate somewhat of a surround from the stereo signal. Even the older lower end receivers should have Dolby Pro-Logic II which will do an okay job. Current gen receivers like an Integra 5.8 would definitely create a more tha adequate recreation with multiple processing options available.

[NA9D]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

This issue bothered my a lot at first too but if you have a decent receiver it should be able to recreate somewhat of a surround from the stereo signal. Even the older lower end receivers should have Dolby Pro-Logic II which will do an okay job. Current gen receivers like an Integra 5.8 would definitely create a more tha adequate recreation with multiple processing options available.

Agreed. I remember when we thought PLII was good!

DTS neo6 is quite good at simulating 5.1 channel surround. However, nothing is as good as the discrete channels offered by Dolby Digital. So I do hope that DD content continues to increase...

[Audiojoe]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

This may be redundant, I just did a quick search of th threads here, but:

Amazon's Unboxed does'nt have anything but STEREO, even on the Tivo downloads. I checked all of the latest releases tonight and everything was stereo only.

So Vudu out does the competition by having some new releases in DD.

Cheers, gj

[NA9D]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

This may be redundant, I just did a quick search of th threads here, but:

Amazon's Unboxed does'nt have anything but STEREO, even on the Tivo downloads. I checked all of the latest releases tonight and everything was stereo only.

So Vudu out does the competition by having some new releases in DD.

Cheers, gj

That's very good to know. Another feather in Vudu's cap!

[Rusdude]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

This is not a deal breaker to me, but it certainly gave me a pause. I hope that aside from releasing more current movies with 5.1 sound, Vudu will also be able to go back and re-master relatively recent releases with 5.1 sound at some point in time.

Edit: by "re-master" I mean add 5.1 soundtracks -- with studio consent -- to already released 2.0 titles.

[NA9D]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

This is not a deal breaker to me, but it certainly gave me a pause. I hope that aside from releasing more current movies with 5.1 sound, Vudu will also be able to go back and re-master relatively recent releases with 5.1 sound at some point in time.

Vudu is not licensed to remaster anything. So even if they could, they don't have the legal authority. They literally are at the mercy of the studio to give them a good source and a source with DD5.1. Some people complain that Vudu shouldn't have gone to bed with the studios with these sorts of terms. Well, it's either that or nothing. iTunes has no 5.1 content and only a few hundred movies. Vudu had to bow some to the wishes of the studios in order to get what they have. Once the studios see a revenue stream here, things will start to loosen up and fast...

[Paul Maxx]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

Edit: by "re-master" I mean add 5.1 soundtracks -- with studio consent -- to already released 2.0 titles.

I understand that VUDU cannot remix source it currently has but I think Rusdude's last statement was asking something different. As the relationship with the studios evolve, could the studios release 5.1 for existing titles that have previously been released to VUDU as stereo. I guess this question can also include the change to enhanced Widescreen and HD. Or is it not possible to update current titles if better content is released for them? That also brings up the question if you have purchased a title now and it is upgraded later would that change take effect in the previously purchased title? Though this would not affect renting so much this would definitely have an impact on deciding to buy a VUDU movie versus a DVD.

[Nded]

Re: Stereo Surround a Deal Breaker?

Can the studios offer Vudu better versions (sound/video) in the future? Certainly they can, and I hope they will.

Will the studios across the board agree to give you a discount on purchasing the new/improved version if you already have purchased the "classic" version? Not likely in my opinion, they have a long history of gladly reselling content to the same user. Not to say that some studios won't decide to do this, but I'd be surprised. Did you ever try to take your original copy of Star Wars on VHS back to the store to get a credit for the digitally enhanced version?