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DVD-Audio (1 Viewer)

Dave Schofield

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I recently purchased a Denon 2200 DVD Player and a Denon 2803 Reciever, both of which have both DTS and Dolby Digital decoders (I believe). I've been fideling around with DVD-Audio and got all of the connections worked out now. My question is this: What is DVD-Audio? I understood DVD-Audio to be a separate standard from Dolby Digital and/or DTS, but at my local Best Buy, most of the "DVD-Audio" discs are DTS. Huh? The DTS-ES demo on my setup disc (the "Avia, Jr." a.k.a. "Home Theater Tune-Up") claims to be DVD-Audio, but is clearly DTS (hence the name). I understood a previous thread (DVD-A Connections) to state that I must use the 5.1 External Inputs on my reciever to get the "true high-res" DVD-Audio features, but the discs I bought (Eric Clapton and a classical music) play just fine on both DTS and EXT. In on my reciver.

Secondly, and I'm sure that this will just muddy the waters, What is the point to SACD? In the store, they all seemed to be backward compatable with regular CD players (always makes me wonder...) and the format seems inherently inferior to DVD/DVD-A...

Thanks for the clarification(s)!
 

SethH

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The idea that SACD is inherently inferior to DVD-A is incorrect. SACD is at least as much of an improvement at DVD-A. Many SACD's are backwards compatible because they have two layers. The first layer is the "normal" cd layer, the second layer can only be read by SACD players. The DVD-A's you're listening to through your digital coax or optical cable using DTS or DD are not DVD-A quality. They are simply taking a stereo source and turning it into surround sound. The only way to get the DVD-A quality is using the 5.1 connections from you DVD player to the receiver.
 

Dave Schofield

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So, are the DTS "DVD-Audio" discs that I have come across not really DVD-Audio?

Is SACD still 650mb? If so, wouldn't that make it "inherently inferior"? If not, is it really a ..CD?

Finally, where might I find a list of recommended DVD-Audio discs? I don't think Amazon even carries them, and I've only been able to find a handful of recommendations in searches on Google.
 

gene c

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Dave, on Amazon's home page, click on the "music" tab, scroll down and on the left hand side is a section called "More To Explore". Scroll down a little more and you will see a link to DVD AUDIO and an SACD STORE. All major sites, including BB and CC, sell these format's. Sometimes they are a little hard to find. Also, you have to switch your receiver to receive the 6 channel input. Sounds like you are listening to the digital input. On most receivers it's called "6.1/7.1" but on Denon I think it's called "aux" or something. And some people can't hear much of a difference between hi-res and standard resolution. As for the cd and DD/DTS layers, they are there to help boost sales to people who do not as yet have an SACD or DVD-A player. DTS releases their own DVD-A disc's and include a "DTS" layer on them as well. Most if not all other DVD-A disc's have a Dolby Digital layer for playback on a standard dvd player. SACD's can be single or dual layer. And not all are in surround sound. Some are stereo only. It is confusing. The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" DVD-A has FIVE layers on it. Hi-res 5.1, hi-res 2.0, hi-res mono, DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1! Like getting five different copies of the same album on one disc! Something for everyone. Hope this helps. BTW check out "Hifidelityreview.com" and "Hiresmusic.com" Gene
 

DianaK

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No, SACD are not 650mb - capacity for a single layer is probably about 4.7Gb, although I'm not sure on the exact number. They are a DVD-technology based audio disc, and a true competitor to DVD-A. It is not a CD, although some SACD are 'hybrid' and contain a low-res portion (in a second layer) that can be read by CD players.
 

Dave Schofield

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I guess my question then boils down to this: How do I know that I'm listening to the "real" DVD-Audio track? My player, as I said before, has DD and DTS decoders. When I use the EXT. IN on my reciever (which I have done, as I stated in my original post) how do I know which format it is using?

Gene, strange, I did a search on Amazon for DVD-A and DVD-Audio and it came up with a grand total of 1 hit...
 

Frank Zimkas

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You won't be listening to either. DVD-A is DVD-A. The DAC's in your DVD player will decode the Digital information on from the DVD or SACD and a pass the analog signal to the receiver/preamp. DD and/or DTS have nothing to do with DVD-A or SACD playback. If it helps, my preamps display shows "6-channel input" during DVD-A or SACD playback, other displays that I've seen show something to the effect of "MULT. CH Input"
 

gene c

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Dave, it's really not that strange. I find search engines not all that useful. Usually I have to wonder around until I stumble across what I'm looking for. As Frank said, look on your receiver to see what's being played. It should light up "Dolby Digital" or "DTS" or "6.1" to correspond with what is being processed. I also believe DVD-A's default to hi-res when used in a DVD-A capable player but I'm not sure since I do not have one yet. Maybe soon. You might also try dtsentertainment.com and dvdainfo.com for more information on the technology of this new format. I'm sure SACD has simular sites. Actually, those two sites are no longer that useful. Try techtronics.com. Gene
 

Dave Schofield

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So I played with my collection (if it could be called that, at this point) and have come to this conclusion: my DTS discs aren't really DVD-Audio discs. They kick in "CD" and "DTS" on my player, and do not have alternate tracks. My collection includes, of this type: Police, Eric Clapton 461, and a classical music title. Per Frank's post, if it is kicking in DTS or DD, it isn't DVD-Audio (which I understood, but wasn't clear on in my previous post).

The discs that aren't DTS, Alanis Morrisette & Eric Clapton (w/ BB King) are true DVD-Audio. These two discs latter light up "DVD-Audio" on my player.

I can't tell the difference, even if I tried, between DTS and DVD-Audio, but it confused the heck out of me.

Can you see why this would be confusing to someone that is new to DVD-Audio? I bought discs from the DVD-Audio rack at my local Best Buy, and they aren't, apparently, actually DVD-Audio (other than that they are DVDs and have Audio on them...)
 

DianaK

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I've looked up info on the Police and Eric Clapton discs, and I can confirm that they are not DVD-A. They are DTS DVD discs, a format that I'm not really familiar with. They are audio DVDs, but not DVD-Audio, which is a specific format for audio on DVD. I agree, it is confusing. Look at the cases, though - the DVD-A discs will have DVD-A logo somewhere, and the others won't. For the DTS discs, you can let either the player or the receiver do the decoding... it probably won't make a big difference. For DVD-A, you'll definitely want to use the 5.1 outputs from the player.
 

Nathan Stohler

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Isn't dts audio DVDs just like a dts track on a regular movie DVD (i.e. not high-resolution like DVD-A and SACD)?

By the way, I discovered that deepdiscountdvd.com has some of the harder-to-find DVD-A titles, although their search capability sucks.
 

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