Thread: TataSky 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus, how to get

For those who want to enjoy 7.1 Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with tata sky +hd, plz do the following
Buy an AVR/DAC with Dolby Digital + decoder and a set of 7.1 speakers connect them to Tatasky +hd Box with HDMI cable only (use Coaxial and optical for upto 5.1ch) go to organizer-> User Settings->audio settings set Hdmi to Dolby Digital(if Avr is connected through HDMI) or Spdif to Dolby Digital(If AVR is connected with coaxial or optical). by this your 7.1 system(HDMI connection) has been setup but u will still get 5.1 sound because, not all contents are in 7.1 sound, so choose a movie which as per internet information says that has DD+ 7.1 sound like RAOne. 2nd and most imp thing the box supports 7.1 but the firmware in +hd box is still old and supports only Dolby Digital. to get Dolby Digital plus(7.1) the STB firmware has to be upgraded. I have already mailed tata to do that and I request all of u to plz ask tata sky to upgrade the firmware of STB to support Dolby Digital Plus along with Dolby Digital. Once they upgrade it, you will see the option of DD+ in Audio Settings along with DD and PCM. set it to DD+ to get 7.1 sound when a 7.1 content is shown.

I doubt whether any HD channel is providing 7.1 channel audio.

As per this link investor.dolby.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=569461 Star Channels are in 7.1. also in between some programs and movies I see Dolby digital Plus logo on lower left corner of screen. But the actual fact can be know when we watch movies like Raone and Dum Maro Dum on hd channels as they are sure to have 7.1 sound, If still we get a 5.1 sound then that will mean that either Star is not providing 7.1 or tatasky is downgrading to 5.1.

I have just subscribed to TataSky HD. I have a full HT at home. My AVR (Denon-1910) displays "HD" on the front display in bright blue when it receives HD audio. I will post if this happens.

Tata sky HD channels have 5.1 dolby digital sound. None of the channels on Tata sky have 7.1 sound.

Originally Posted by vikramasia

As per this link investor.dolby.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=569461 Star Channels are in 7.1. also in between some programs and movies I see Dolby digital Plus logo on lower left corner of screen. But the actual fact can be know when we watch movies like Raone and Dum Maro Dum on hd channels as they are sure to have 7.1 sound, If still we get a 5.1 sound then that will mean that either Star is not providing 7.1 or tatasky is downgrading to 5.1.

I can confirm that Tatasky does not transmit in HD audio aka 7.1 audio channels.

7.1 channels is something that is available on HD audio only such as Dolby TruHD or DTS HD-Master Audio or uncompressed PCM. HD audio requires 4 to 6 times the bandwidth than 5.1 audio (such as Dolby Digital or DTS).

Note that all the three above are 100% lossless audio formats. It is difficult to say which is better though generally people agree with the following: Uncompressed PCM > DTS HD-MA ~ Dolby TruHD. The advantage of DTS-HD-MA/Dolby TruHD over Uncompressed PCM is the file size. Uncompressed PCM is like a .WAV file. The other two audio methods use compression for storage but when decoded produce the sound that is identical to the studio master. In simple terms, think of DTS HD-MA/Dolby TruHD as ZIP files containing the originals.

Those who wish to know more about audio formats please check this out: High-Def FAQ: Blu-ray and HD DVD Audio Explained | High-Def Digest

I can safely say no HD-DTH in India comes with 7.1 audio.

I saw "Dolby Digital Plus" showing up on left bottom of the screen today while watching a movie "Replacement Killer" on Tata sky on star movies HD. Is that 7.1 by any chance? Sorry I am not very good at this and I don't have a 7.1 system so cant tell if it was 7.1 but the sound was good though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital_Plus

Originally Posted by Admin

I saw "Dolby Digital Plus" showing up on left bottom of the screen today while watching a movie "Replacement Killer" on Tata sky on star movies HD. Is that 7.1 by any chance? Sorry I am not very good at this and I don't have a 7.1 system so cant tell if it was 7.1 but the sound was good though.

DD+ is enhanced AC-3 sound. Dolby Digital Plus can yield 7.1 channels but currently Indian DTH providers are providing 5.1 channels only. DD+ is somewhere in between DD 5.1 and true hi-def HD sound such as Dolby TruHD. The difference is mainly in the encoding technology and the bitrate used.

Here is a comparison:


Source: Wikipedia