Dolby Digital Now?

[naptime]

Was just watching the Celtics on TNT and noticed my AVR receiver said the sound was Dolby Digital, so I checked a few other channels and noticed Hallmark and MSNBC were also Dolby Digital. Isn't this new?

[Stewart Vernon]

Nothing new.

All of the HD channels have been Dolby Digital since the very first one aired. Some are 2.0, others are 5.1, and I've also seen a few random things like 4.0 and 5.1 EX before.

Some of the premium movie channels (like HBO) even have Dolby Digital on their SD channels as well.

[naptime]

I wasn't clear, but I was referring to 5.1 specifically. I know the 2 channel's been around. Unless I've had some settings wrong, I haven't seen 5.1 except on the premium channels some while ago, and then not recently at all until tonight. Remember, this is Alaskan programming I am referring to. I should have made that point in the opening post. I'm not sure if Dish has been re-broadcasting their HD on the Alaskan spots any differently from Conus or not. I guess that should have been my question.

[Stewart Vernon]

I know Alaska doesn't get all the HD feeds that the rest of the country gets... but for the channels they do get, they should be getting the exact same feeds.

As for 5.1... I can't recall any channel that has suddenly become 5.1 that wasn't years ago.

There are a few channels that seem to be stuck on 2.0 all the time... but TNT, for example, is one that has been 5.1 for as long as I can remember.