Glossary for A/V Receivers' Audio Formats
DTS-HD Master Audio

With DTS-HD Master Audio, you can enjoy sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master. DTS-HD Master Audio delivers audio at extremely high variable bit rates of 24.5 Mbps, which far exceeds standard DVDs. DTS-HD Master Audio offers movies and music in the pure, original state as intended by the artists.

Dolby TrueHD delivers sound that is on par with the original soundtrack, letting you experience the world of true highdefinition entertainment from Blu-ray Discs. With lossless encoding in up to 18 Mbps bit rate, Dolby TrueHD creates a synergy with high-definition video to offer you a home theatre experience like never before.

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio can deliver up to 7.1 channels of 96 kHz/ 24-bit high-resolution sound. The rich audio is virtually equivalent to the original movie sound, yet less disc space is required than for DTS-HD Master Audio.

Dolby Digital Plus is the next-generation audio technology specifically developed for high-definition media. The highly flexible audio technology delivers outstanding high-definition sound and up to 7.1 channels of surround sound. Dolby Digital Plus is built on Dolby Digital, the multi-channel audio standard for DVD and HD broadcasts. Dolby Digital Plus offers higher quality audio, with more channels, and greater flexibility.

THX Certified

THX is a Lucasfilm Ltd. program created to achieve maximum accuracy in the reproduction of movie sound. Movie soundtracks are recorded on a large dubbing stage using professional equipment. For a soundtrack to be reproduced accurately at home, special technologies are required. Pioneer and Lucasfilm have teamed up to bring the full glory of realistic cinema sound to the comfort and convenience of your home.

THX Ultra2 Plus

THX Ultra2 Plus is the highest level THX certification, featuring the new THX Loudness Plus technology which is designed to maintain the impact and integrity of audio content even when played at lower volume settings. Because most listeners will play movies and games at a much lower volume than Reference Level, some bass sound, surround effects, and ambient sounds are lost. THX Ultra2 Plus helps to deliver sound just as they were mixed in the studio, regardless of volume level.

Neural-THX Surround

Neural-THX Surround is the latest version of THX technology, allowing you to experience the true impact of broadcast surround sound just like the original mix in the studio or concert hall. The technology transmits broadcast content in 2-channel stereo format, then decodes them back to 7.1 multi-channel audio for playback, offering immersing high resolution sound in your living room.

THX Surround EX

THX Surround EX — Dolby Digital Surround EX is a joint development of Dolby Laboratories and the THX division of Lucasfilm Ltd. In a movie theater, film soundtracks encoded with Dolby Digital Surround EX technology are able to reproduce an extra channel — Surround Back — which has been added during the mixing of the program. Because currently available Dolby Digital has 5.1 channels — front left, front center, front right, surround right, surround left and subwoofer channels — Dolby Digital Surround EX offers 7.1 channels.

Encoded on special DVD movie releases, the Surround Back channel places sounds behind the listener. This additional channel allows more detailed imaging behind the listener and brings more depth, spacious ambience and sound localization than ever before. The Pioneer Elite A/V receivers can faithfully reproduce this technology in the home in the THX Surround EX mode.

THX Select2 Plus

THX Select2 Plus certification offers a wide array of listening modes for enhanced entertainment. The newly incorporated THX Loudness Plus technology provides rich details and ambient sound regardless of volume level. Each mode includes Pioneerproprietary Advanced Speaker Array (ASA) technology for optimizing playback of multi-channel sound.

THX Cinema: This mode plays 5.1-channel movies using all eight speakers. ASA technology processes audio signals sent to the surround and surround back speakers in a way that optimally blends the ambient and directional sound.

THX MusicMode: This mode is especially suited for multichannel music. ASA technology is applied to the surround channels of 5.1-channel encoded music sources, creating a wider yet stable acoustic ambience.

THX Games Mode: A full 360-degree, 3-dimensional acoustic ambience is created from stereo or multi-channel game audio, including analog sources and those in PCM, DTS, and Dolby Digital formats. In addition to placing sound accurately, this mode allows smooth point-to-point transition of audio, to further enhance its realism.
*The THX logo is a trademark of THX Ltd., which may be registered in some jurisdictions.All rights reserved.

DTS 96/24

DTS 96/24 is the first compressed surround format technology to support high sound resolution of 96 kHz and 24 bits and multichannel capabilities, which was applied for a Pioneer Elite A/V receiver, the VSX-49TXi, for the first time in the world.

DTS-ES

DTS-ES utilizes an additional rear channel to create a true 3- dimensional surround field. In a cinema, this surround back channel was created by matrixing the left back and right back channels, just as early surround formats used by a matrix field to create front center channel sound.

When a film soundtrack is transferred to DVD, a matrixed back channel automatically appears in the 5.1-channel format. DTS-ES Discrete 6.1 takes advantages of the greater bandwidth of DTS technology to create a discrete center back channel. This channel is captured with a new generation of decoders like the one built into Pioneer Elite receivers.

DTS NEO:6

DTS NEO:6 conducts matrix decoding to 2-channel signals to achieve up to 6.1-channel surround playback. DTS NEO:6 can steer a single channel or separately steer channels in various ways, to deliver multi-channel sound without losing the quality of the original. In addition to Cinema mode suited for movie sources, DTS NEO:6 offers Music mode, which delivers natural multichannel surround sound from non-matrix-encoded stereo sources.

Windows Media<sup>®</sup> Audio 9 Professional (WMA9 Pro)

The Pioneer Elite A/V receivers incorporate a WMA9 Pro decoder, the first surround sound coding technology for the Web — developed by Pioneer with technical cooperation from Microsoft. When connected to a multi-channel-equipped PC, you are able to enjoy high-resolution stereo (96 kHz/24-bit) or 5.1-channel surround audio at 128 k-768 kbps compression rates. At any given bit rate, 5-channel WMA9 Pro will bring you higher fidelity than other sound compression algorithms thanks to the latest audio codec technology.

*Windows Media, and the Windows logo are trademarks, or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Dolby Digital EX

The Pioneer Elite A/V receivers come with the Dolby Digital EX decoder. This technology features its capability of decoding the latest theater sound sources for a 6.1-channel output — 5.1-channel plus a back surround channel. The additional surround sound from behind the listener gives the extra sense of dimensional detail and intensified involvement.

Dolby Pro Logic IIx

The Elite A/V receivers come with Dolby Pro Logic IIx. This technology is the first to provide 7.1-channel surround sound from stereo or 5.1-channel sources, for the most natural and seamless surround sound experience. The units process Dolby Pro Logic IIx at 96 kHz sampling rate with 24-bit resolution.

Dolby Pro Logic II

Dolby Pro Logic II is an advanced version of the original. Pro Logic matrix decodes the Dolby Surround signal and creates Front Right, Front Center, Front Left, and monaural Surround, but the Surround channel is limited in separation and frequency response.

Pro Logic II, created by Dolby Laboratories, is a modified version to improve Dolby Surround and allow it to deliver a performance as realistic as Dolby Digital 5.1 offers. It competes with Circle Surround, DTS NEO:6, Pioneer's 5-D Theater/Expanded Theater, etc., that, the manufacturers claim, can decode Dolby Surround just like Dolby Digital 5.1. Pro Logic II has three modes: Movie, Music and Pro Logic.