REWIND FEATURE: VIDEOLOGIC DTS DIGITHEATRE

PLEASE NOTE - VIDEOLOGIC ARE NOW CALLED PURE DIGITAL.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

When Videologic originally agreed to loan me a Digitheatre DTS system for review here on Rewind I couldn't believe my luck! Since then, I have been eagerly awaiting the delivery of my big box! After me NOT being at home when UPS tried to deliver it THREE times (!), I finally received it last week. If it wasn't for the perseverance of Julia Horne at Videologic I doubt I would have ever received it. So I will begin by saying a big thumbs up to both Videologic and UPS. Videologic have been reported before on other DVD sites concerning their customer service and I have now personally experienced it and it is the best I have ever got from a company.

When I got home, I saw this big square box waiting for me with the words Digitheatre DTS around the top of the box with an outline drawing of the system. This was accompianed by the logos for DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Pro-Logic, just to let everyone know what this system can do! Upon opening the box I was greeted with a welcome pack from Julia and the now mandatory helpings of polestirine. The 4 satellite speakers are in a separate box which is sealed. The main subwoofer obviously takes up the vast majority of the box and sitting next to that was the centre speaker, a packet full of individually wrapped wires and an iccle remote control complete with 2 AAA batteries. After accidently hitting my dog in the face as I took the subwoofer out and sitting on a pair of scissors (me, not the dog so don't phone the RSPCA), I was battered, but ready for installation.

INSTALLATION

From the quality of the customer service I had already dealt with, I knew that Videologic were a company who took their time over things and this obviously stretched to the person who designed both the manual and the installation procedure. It really is a doddle to get up and running. Once you have got everything out of the box, I advise you move that box out of the way because boy is that box big!

Everything in the Videologic Digitheatre DTS Home Cinema System connects to the subwoofer. So, I got this out first and got it into a good position. Remember, as the subwoofer outputs non-directional sound, you can position it anywhere and even hide it away under or behind furniture. Remember though there is only 3 metres worth of cable between the subwoofer and the centre speaker so be careful!

I then connected all 4 satellite speakers to the subwoofer. The speakers connect to the subwoofer in the old fashioned way of the red and black clips. This is also the way to connect the actual wire to the speakers which is excellent as opposed to having the wires moulded on. This means that if the speaker wires ever get damaged or you just need longer cable, you can simply unclip the wire and put some new wire on without moulding e.t.c. Once you have connected all 4 speakers, the centre speaker (which also includes the control unit which is no longer separate from the unit as with the original Digitheatre) attaches to the subwoofer with one simple cable.

Next connect the subwoofer to your DVD player. For digital surround sound (DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1) you have the choice of connecting it via the coaxial socket (lead supplied) or the optical socket (lead not supplied). As they say, the choice is yours but as I do not have a lead for the optical socket I chose the coaxial option instead and it worked just fine. For analogue sound (Dolby Pro-Logic and vanilla Stereo) you can use the phono left and right sockets using the lead supplied. Finally, plug the subwoofer into a mains supply (always helps), switch the subwoofer on, put the supplied batteries into your remote control and away you go. After you have power, position the speakers around your room that is best suited to your listening position. The manual says experiment until you get the best sound and this is excellent advice. The manual also gives recommendations for speaker positions and has diagrams for certain room layouts. There is also a helpful test tone for all 6 speakers which can be activated by pressing... er....test on either the remote or on the control unit.

RATING: 10 out of 10 - Even after whacking the dog, injuring myself on a pair of scissors, I still managed to get it all going first time!

EASE OF USE

I think you all know what I am going to say - it was a doddle to set up and it is even easier to use. Every function can either be controlled by the main control unit or the remote control. Obviously most people will use the remote control so it is a nice small size but make sure you don't lose it down the back of the settee! The remote control has the following buttons:

• Power - to turn on and off the system
• Mute - to turn the sound off immediately. Not all amps have this function which I think is a must
• Input - to select how you have the system connected to the DVD player
• Test - to activate the test tone as mentioned earlier. It will cycle through all 6 speakers but you can get it to stop and stay on a certain speaker just by selecting one of the speaker buttons as will be mentioned below
• Master - to control and set the master volume
• Mode - when in digital surround sound, use this button to toggle between surround and stereo. When in analogue surround sound you can toggle between Dolby Pro-Logic, Stereo, Theatre effect and Hall effect
• Front Left - to test and adjust the volume for this speaker. Hit this button whilst in Test mode to hear the test tone from this speaker only
• Centre - to test and adjust the volume for this speaker. Hit this button whilst in Test mode to hear the test tone from this speaker only
• Front Right - to test and adjust the volume for this speaker. Hit this button whilst in Test mode to hear the test tone from this speaker only
• Surround Left - to test and adjust the volume for this speaker. Hit this button whilst in Test mode to hear the test tone from this speaker only
• Sub - to test and adjust the volume for this speaker. Hit this button whilst in Test mode to hear the test tone from this speaker only
• Surround Right - to test and adjust the volume for this speaker. Hit this button whilst in Test mode to hear the test tone from this speaker only
• Volume Up and Down - allows you to turn up and down the volume. Whilst doing this, a series of green lights will appear on the control unit. A new green light does not appear for each button press, I think it is about 3 or 4 button presses before the next light appears. In other words this system can go very loud indeed!

One other function that is not called the same on the remote control but is on the main control unit is a Level function which allows you to set each speaker volume. You can do this on the remote control by jumping directly to the required speaker. I presume they put it all under one button called Level on the main unit to reduce the amount of buttons and that is a good idea. Once you have set up all your speakers and are happy with them, you don't have to do anything else! Just sit back, watch, enjoy and be a part of your favourite film or music concert. But what does it sound like?.....

RATING: 10 out of 10 - They couldn't make it any simpler!

PERFORMANCE

It would be no good banging on about Videologic's superb customer service and how nice the box was if it sounded like poo! Well, luckily Videologic have done wonders in this department as well. Whilst I had the Digitheatre, I tested 10 discs out on the system in their entirety (with the exception of the Silver DVD disc). So here we go:

DTS Demonstration disc (DTS):

This disc somes supplied free with the system and as mentioned before the review, features clips from different films and music events. This is the only DTS disc I own so I presume Videologic must have included it for the review. It is not available with the full retail version due to copyright issues. Dances With Wolves was the least impressive with no amazing effects to speak of but it still managed to sound superb. The Haunting whilst being a dire film does feature some excellent sound effects. They supplied the scene when a woman is laying in her bed and sees faces coming out of the curtains. This scene is probably the loudest one on the disc and makes the floor rumble when she is being chased. Superb. Antz is a film I have yet to see, but after seeing this I look forward to it being released in this country. There are 3 standout moments in this clip. First when the ant walks up to some cling film and gets his teeth stuck on it. The sound of the squeaky noise surrounds you and it adds to the humour of the piece. Next up is when the two wasps make their entrance. I honestly thought there was a fly or something in the room and looked up to the ceiling! I kid you not! Finally, when the kids shoe comes crashing down with a thud, it will make your floor vibrate and puts you in the shoes (pardon the pun) of the ants! Simply jaw dropping. Eagles shows the DTS system off with the music side of it. Along with Sheryl Crow and Roy Orbison each one sounds so crystal clear it is like being there. Close your eyes and you could be there! You can hear audience members coughing and cheering and the instruments sound first class. Check out the guitar solos in the Eagles! Finally Saving Private Ryan transfers you to a battle zone. There are bombs, grenades and gunfire everywhere and believe me, YOU ARE THERE! Also on the disc is a 10 second DTS logo with piano accompiament and listen out for a child lauging. Spooky! A superb "show off your system to your friends" disc.

DVD Silver Demo disc (DTS):

I bought this £9.99 disc a couple of months ago and it features loads of clips to show off your system. The best one for DTS is the building explosion clip. It is 6 minutes of buildings being exploded from all over the world and it sounds spectacular. You hear the rubble fall, people shout, people cheer and it creates an amazing atmosphere. There are also a couple of Dolby Digital 5.1 demos on there which also sound superb including the short Dolby Drip one where water drops all around you! It is like taking a shower!

The Matrix (Dolby Digital 5.1):

The lobby scene is brilliant. From the start to the finish, there are bullets flying around your head and you feel as if you have to duck in certain parts! When the helicopter takes off later on be prepared to annoy your neighbours and have your floor rumble, it is that loud!

The Mask of Zorro (Dolby Digital 5.1):

This film sounded brilliant on my Pro-Logic system and sounds like my Odeon Cinema on the Videologic Digitheatre! From the sword swipes and thunder in the opening credits to the crowd scene at the start (listen to everyone cheering!) to the final explosion, it is clarity, bass and crystal clear sound from start to finish.

A Bug's Life (Dolby Digital 5.1 format):

Not only does this film have some of the best images on DVD, it has some of the best subtle sounds too! Opening shot - birds flying around tweeting to the later sound of the more dark insects. This cute family film may now scare your children! Well....perhaps not!

The Mummy (Dolby Digital 5.1 format):

The face in the sand scene is superb as is the whole film from start to finish. What the film lacks in frights on screen, it makes up for with the sound!

Austin Powers 2 (Dolby Digital 5.1 format):

The scene where Austin is talking to the man who will only reveal secrets after being asked the same question 3 times - listen out for the dart in the neck, the gun shots behind you and ricocheing off the walls!

Idle Hands (Dolby Digital 5.1 format):

The cat being swung round his head scene was hilarious before and now you will need a new pair of pants! Just listen to the cat's vocals going around the room before landing in a bush!

Sleepy Hollow (Dolby Digital 5.1 format):

This is quite a subtle film believe it or not but the score throughout the film sounds majestical and fits in really well with the film's setting.

Cruel Intentions (Dolby Digital 5.1 format):

Keeping on the musical theme, the closing scene with The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony is lovely and makes the last scene a lot more emotional.

So there you go, 10 DVD's and not a bad thing to say about any of them! If you are being put off getting the Videologic Digitheatre DTS because you have a small house and don't want it too loud, don't worry. My house is fairly small and the system isn't about having things louder, it is about clarity and the split stereo surrounds. Trust me, buy it and you won't regret it!

RATING: 10 out of 10 - Superb, superb, superb, brilliant!

CONS

Now you may be thinking that this part of the review would have been empty! Well it is but not quite. I have 2 that's two gripes about the system and that is it. The first one is that I wish that the speaker cable between the centre speaker and the subwoofer was longer so you could hide the subwoofer away easier. I have found out that this shorter lead was supplied to keep the cost down but an 8 metre version is available for £19.99 at the Videologic website. The other gripe is that I noticed a short 2 second delay before the sound started every time I put a new DVD in. I know this is only a minor gripe but I thought I would mention it. The Vice President of Videologic has been in contact with me and told me: "The slight delay comes about because the decoder is a complex beast which needs to have microcode uploaded to it depending on the format it is about to decode. The delay is the time between recognising the format to decode and actually having the code in place ready to decode it. Most decoders have some delay between sensing the signal and producing sound." Well there you go!

PROS

There are literally too many to list here so I will briefly mention some of the bigger ones. First up is the performance. Every single DVD I threw at it, whether it was DTS, Dolby Digital, whatever, it managed to play it with ease. There was no distortion, no interference, just pure quality digital sound. The other major Pro is the price. Whilst the original Digitheatre at £249.99 was superb value, this system for £399.99 (although it can be picked up for less on the Internet) is even better as you have a future proof system that will last you for years to come. Remember, there aren't even any DTS discs available in this country yet! This system is built to a high standard and nothing appears cheap or plasticy. This system oozes class and I want one!

CONCLUSION

I had read all the other reviews in the magazines and on other people's websites and didn't believe a system could be this good. Well, I am happy to admit I was wrong. This system is one impressive piece of kit which I want! It does everything much more expensive systems do at a fraction of the cost but it doesn't reduce the quality. If I had some spare cash, I would take it off Videologic's hands quite easily! However, I don't so it is being collected next week. It's alright, I am okay........ sob, sob.
OVERALL RATING: 10 out of 10 - For the price it is fantastic. For £200 more it would be fantastic. This system is fantastic!

Buy the Videologic DTS Digitheatre from Videologic direct.

PLEASE NOTE - VIDEOLOGIC ARE NOW CALLED PURE DIGITAL.

About VideoLogic Systems

VideoLogic Systems - a division of Imagination Technologies - produces a range of innovative and award winning products in the areas of 2D/3D graphics and sound acceleration, home audio systems, electronic music, DVD, digital entertainment, video-capture and video-conferencing. Key products include graphics accelerators based on PowerVR technology and the Sirocco range of hi-fi quality PC speakers. More information is available on the VideoLogic Systems web site.

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination Technologies Group plc is an international company that develops, licenses and supplies market-leading 2D/3D graphics, digital video, audio and speech technologies and products for PCs and home entertainment, games consoles, arcade entertainment machines, mobile devices and digital set-top boxes. Since it was founded in 1985, the company has introduced, via licensing arrangements or directly, a succession of innovative technologies, silicon chips and add-in boards, which have played a major role in the development of multimedia and computer-based entertainment systems. Imagination Technologies Group plc has its corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE:IMG). More information is available on the Imagination Technologies web site.

Contact:

David Harold/Julia Horne tel +44 (0)1923 260 511
Imagination Technologies fax +44 (0)1923 270 188
Home Park Estate
Kings Langley
Herts WD4 8LZ
email david.harold@imgtec.com