Wondering if anyone knows if it's always okay to keep just the 5.1 audio, so that even if a player can't decode it, it will still play it, just as regular 2-channel, though. Thanks!
If you are talking about dvd shrink, I only keep the 5.1 audio and it plays very well on my 2 speaker tv.
Thanks for the feedback. It works fine on my DVD player, too (it would be the player and not the TV that would be the determining factor). I'm wondering if that's a standard for all players, or if some might have a problem playing the 5.1. Thanks again for the feedback.
I have 4 dvd players, one for every member of the family. Apex, Phillips, GE, and X-box. All work great with just 5.1 audio. I don't even have surround sound yet.
Thanks again! Sounds like a good enough sample-size. Wish I knew more about how it works. I'm wondering if some of the information that's separated out into the other 3.1 channels is being lost, and the stereo channels is just taking what's been put in them? I guess not, or we wouldn't hear any vocals (center channel). But then, why does a disk have a choice for 2-ch only? Why not just put 5.1 on and let the limitations of the player determine what it plays?
I understand that, for those ripping, but from the viewpoint of the movie distributor that makes the original DVD, why wouldn't they just leave the 2-channel out, and actually save space? I'm guessing it's not as a favor to the people ripping it, to give them the option of choosing 2-channel over 5.1
