Rob.melone
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2003
- Messages
- 91
For sound intensive dvd's such as Twister and Apollo 13, which is the better sounding format, DD 5.1 or DTS? Both are available. Thank you.
The general concensus for Apollo 13 is that the dts soundtrack is better than the DD one (particularly in the music portions) but the PQ may have sufferred as a result of the dts taking up more space on the disk than the DD soundtrack.Definitely. I noticed this on my set-up. Someone posted comparisons pics in a previous thread.
The general concensus for Apollo 13 is that the dts soundtrack is better than the DD one (particularly in the music portions)I used to have both DVDs but ended up selling the DTS version. Although I did prefer the DTS' slightly better audio it wasn't impressing me enough to forgo the DD's improved video quality and the excellent supplementary material.
However I also compared both discs to the old DTS LaserDisc and - surprise surprise - neither were as good.
I used to post on here extolling the virtues of DTS - but that was back in the day of LD when it actually did make a big difference.
Am I really missing that much by not having DTS?I would say no, but there's a determined group of DTS fans who wouldn't agree.
M.
For sound intensive dvd's such as Twister and Apollo 13, which is the better sounding format, DD 5.1 or DTS? Both are available.At least for Twister, both are available on the same DVD so just buy it and . . .
(in booming, echo-enhanced voice)
TAKE THE DIGITAL SOUND CHALLENGE!
I haven't done a lot of comparisons, and my setup probably isn't sophisticated enough to reveal any major differences, but I have read a lot of reviews and in 90% or more of the reviews where DTS and DD are available, DTS gets the advantage.
volume is much much bigger with the changeThat's because of a feature of DD known as "dialog normalization" or "dialnorm". On most DD tracks, this results in a 4db overall reduction of volume (individual DD tracks may vary). DTS has no equivalent feature.
On DVDs where you have both tracks and find the DTS louder, try raising the DD by 4db.
Having read these threads for years, I'm firmly convinced that many of the "improvements" that people hear with DTS tracks result from a failure to equalize volume levels when making the comparison.
(BTW, the Warner DVDs with dual DTS/DD tracks, like Twister have the dialnorm level set to neutral, which results in no reduction in volume. They are good candidates for a listening comparison, because the volume has already been equalized for you. Why are the Warner DD tracks mastered this way? Because Dolby advised Warner to do so.)
M.
IMHO, half-bitrate DTS (which 99.9% of new releases utilize) will sound the same as Dolby Digital unless you are using some mighty fine REFERENCE equipment (like in the $10k area).As a person who has sound equipment which cost about 10% of the "reference equipment" price, I can say that I often do hear an improvement with half-rate DTS over Dolby Digital. In particular, film scores almost always sound better in DTS over Dolby Digital. (And yes, I'm aware that DTS is usually louder. )
volume is much much bigger with the changeWas referring to difference between amps, not DD and DTS. In a related question though, does the VSA-AX10I (AKA. 49TXI) compensate for the 4DB? I kinda liked the way the old amp informed me of normalisation (Ie. + or - whatever DB).