DDEX and DTS-ES are both marketing pleas, and a waste of time and money. It would cost you a **** load of money to get a receiver that decodes it, plus, you would also have to buy another speaker. I could see how the format could be handy for theaters. For example......the Marcus Theater down the street from the Best Buy i work at uses 7.1, and it sounds great. However, what good would 4 discrete rear channels do you, if you did not have anywhere to place the speakers? Seriously folks, if you look at the average customers living arrangement, their TV area is not a perfect rectangle, but instead rectangles w/open spaces (doors) etc. Most of the time, it\'s not even rectangle shaped, but some odd shape instead. Therefore, 6,7,8, or 9.1 would be useless. The reason these formats work in theaters, is because the room is enclosed, and equal in length on all sides.
We have hit a standard now, and it\'s called 5.1 surround. Whether it be Dolby Digital, DTS, or whatever format that comes later. It is the way to go for home theater. I think....instead of worrying so much about Theater Surround in Home Receivers, audio companies, (sony for example) should concentrate on making our music listening experience more lively, and natural. (BRING ON DVD AUDIO!) On another note, get rid of those damn ubiquitous/useless DSP modes. (They drive me crazy) My receiver has about 20 that i don\'t even touch!
As far as connections go......the Optical (fiber optic) cable (39 dollars from Monster cable) is the most popular. It\'s a good connection, however if you are going to use a 40 dollar cable on your DVD player (not talking PS2) go with the Digital Coaxial Cable. It\'s much cleaner, and stronger. (The monster opticals are only plastic covering at that price)
I do recommend getting both eventually, if your DVD player supports it. The Optical cable is ideal for DTS, because it uses a higher bit rate. Coaxial is the better option for using the standard Dolby Digital.
