Missing center channel

Missing center channel

Most of my DVDs and SACDs have all five channels but some don't have a
center channel. The London Symphony Live SACDs that I have are minus a
center channel. A new DVD ("Libera" on EMI) is missing the center
channel even though the menu says 5.1 surround and my player display
mode says 3/2.1. Is it common for some discs to not have a center
channel?

---MIKE---
>>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
>> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Re: Missing center channel

---MIKE--- <twinmountain@webtv,net > wrote:
> Most of my DVDs and SACDs have all five channels but some don't have a
> center channel. The London Symphony Live SACDs that I have are minus a
> center channel. A new DVD ("Libera" on EMI) is missing the center
> channel even though the menu says 5.1 surround and my player display
> mode says 3/2.1. Is it common for some discs to not have a center
> channel?

Not common, perhaps, but certainly not unknown. Some discs are
'5.1' but have no content in the surround or .1 channels, for example
(e.g. Mercury Living Presence 3-channel SACDs)

___
-S
"As human beings, we understand the world through simile, analogy,
metaphor, narrative and, sometimes, claymation." - B. Mason

Re: Missing center channel

"Steven Sullivan" <ssully@panix,com > wrote in message
news:flo8el021be@news2.newsguy,com ...
> ---MIKE--- <twinmountain@webtv,net > wrote:
>> Most of my DVDs and SACDs have all five channels but some don't have a
>> center channel. The London Symphony Live SACDs that I have are minus a
>> center channel. A new DVD ("Libera" on EMI) is missing the center
>> channel even though the menu says 5.1 surround and my player display
>> mode says 3/2.1. Is it common for some discs to not have a center
>> channel?
>
> Not common, perhaps, but certainly not unknown. Some discs are
> '5.1' but have no content in the surround or .1 channels, for example
> (e.g. Mercury Living Presence 3-channel SACDs)
>
> ___
> -S
> "As human beings, we understand the world through simile, analogy,
> metaphor, narrative and, sometimes, claymation." - B. Mason

Those that omit the center do so for one of two reasons;

1) They are basically quad masters from the '70's, recorded that way and
presented as four channel within the surround possibilities of the 5.1
technologies.

2) They are produced by companies who philosophically have decided that it
is better to continue having a phantom center channel (a la stereo) based on
what are likely to be the best speakers, rather than from a center channel
that conceivably might be the weakest link in the whole system. Chesky
falls into this camp.