5.1 vs 6.1

[scrumptious]

If a disc has audio options for both a 5.1 track and a 6.1 track, then everything else being equal, is it better to choose the 5.1 track if you only have 5 speakers? I have a PS3 and a receiver that can both downmix if need be.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by scrumptious

If a disc has audio options for both a 5.1 track and a 6.1 track, then everything else being equal, is it better to choose the 5.1 track if you only have 5 speakers? I have a PS3 and a receiver that can both downmix if need be.

"Everything else being equal" ... like, both being lossless? I personally don't know of any BD that has both a 5.1 and 6.1/7.1 lossless track on it. If you have the ability to play lossless audio, your best selection is the lossless one. It'll just roll the other channels back in to your surrounds.

[scrumptious]

Originally Posted by aramis109

"Everything else being equal" ... like, both being lossless? I personally don't know of any BD that has both a 5.1 and 6.1/7.1 lossless track on it. If you have the ability to play lossless audio, your best selection is the lossless one. It'll just roll the other channels back in to your surrounds.

Yeah like if they were both lossless or both lossy.

I just thought a 5.1 track would be specially calibrated for a 5.1 set up whereas a 6.1 would be specially calibrated for a 6.1 set up etc.

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by scrumptious

Yeah like if they were both lossless or both lossy.

I just thought a 5.1 track would be specially calibrated for a 5.1 set up whereas a 6.1 would be specially calibrated for a 6.1 set up etc.

It would be, but I personally can't think of any BD's that have more than one lossy option for them that are encoded for different surround setups. If that was ever the case though, I'd go with the one that matched my setup over the one that had more or less speakers.