I was having a discussion with a fellow emedia dude about Dolby Digital in the home, and the advantages of Dolby 6.1 over 5.1. We ended up discussing 7.1, DTS and all the other formats and it occured to me that I wasn’t fully upto speed with what the additional speaker in the 7.1 setup actually did - was it the front, was it the rear? A quick Google lookup gave me exactly what I needed, except it was in Russian. One quick translation later (thanks to Babelfish) and bob’s your uncle. Check inside to see the 5.1 - 7.1 setups and how they are used to ensure you get the best possible audio out of your system.

Btw, here’s my list of great movies with awesome Dolby Sound:
1. Blackhawk Down
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. Master and Commander
4. The Matrix (any)
5. Lord of the Rings (any)
6. Finding Nemo
7. Gladiator
8. The Longest Yard (Suprising, I know)
9. Crimson Tide
10. Starwars (any)

The Dolby Digital Family of Surround Systems - here’s a graphical view of the standard setup. Remember, the more speakers, the better… Unless you buy a crappy manufacturer… Then you’re hosed regardless. Harmon Kardon for me.

Dolby Pro Logic: Front Left, Center, Front Right - Single Rear Channel

Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound: Front Left, Center, Front Right - Rear Left, Rear Right, Sub Woofer

Dolby 6.1 Surround Sound: Front Left, Center, Front Right - Rear Left, Rear Center Rear Right, Sub Woofer

Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound: Front Left, Center, Front Right - Rear Left, Rear Center Left, Rear Center Right, Rear Right, Sub Woofer

Lets wait and see what 8.1 brings to the table.

DTS is a competitor of Dolby Digital. It also offers a five channel plus low frequency effect channel, but it is not compatible with the Dolby Digital soundtrack. DTS says that it uses a lower form of compression which gives you a better overall sound for your movies. Dolby Digital or DTS can both sound excellent or crappy depending on the quality of the soundtrack and your speaker position. One interesting side note, Dolby Digital includes a signal compression feature for late night viewing that DTS does not. This allows you to hear dialog and quiet scenes at their normal volume while louder scenes are suppressed.