The full apprectiation of Fox is now at hand and it rocks! (DTS-Master) (1 Viewer)

[Gary Murrell]

I have had a few people PM me and a few buddies of mine beg for some feedback on DTS Master decoding, so here it is

today I decided to sit down with Alien vs Predator from Fox and enjoy the film at it's finest with DTS Master audio

as of late last week I had completed a fully HDMI 1.3 compliant setup and was anxious to watch an entire film

here is my setup, everything audio wise for those interested:

Atlantic Technology A-2000 amp
Atlantic Technology System 370 5.0 speakers
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885P pre-amp (Integra DTC-9.8 clone)
dual latest SVS 16-46+ subs
Velodyne SMS-1
Samsung BDP-1400

I don't want to go off into my usual excitement over something I really like because once I get started I could go on for ages, so I will make it short and sweet

the DTS 1506kbps cores from the DTS Master tracks simply pale in comparison with the lossless DTS Master track themselves, I mean really who would have doubted that ?, we are comparing a very lossy sound format versus something the magnitude of PCM and beyond

enjoying AVP with this level of audio takes things to another level, every channel is a magnitude higher in quality with lossless audio, including subwoofer action which I feel near to saying gets the most improvement of all, the bass is simply so realistic that it can literally scare you

as with TrueHD, PCM etc. you can crank and crank the volume without ever feeling any ill effects

it is apples to oranges comparing TrueHD vs PCM vs DTS Master from different films, so it is really pointless to comment on that, but the DTS Master track from AVP is seriously one of the best examples of audio I have heard so far from either format, easily in my top 2 or 3 picks for audio

I have always been a fan of Fox and the audio on their various media releases, they are always top notch in that area, I think when people get to hear DTS MAster audio they will come to appreciate Fox even more and their 40$ MSRP prices :frowning:

I am counting the days until I Robot and the Die Hard films

thanks guys

-Gary

 

[Nick Graham]

I hate you.

*Sulks off, impatiently waiting for SCEA to add DTS-MA decoding to the PS3*

 

[Southpaw]

Why is it apples to oranges to compare PCM vs TrueHD vs DTS-MA? I would really like to know how it stacks up against Pirates PCM or Superman Returns TrueHD. (insert whatever titles you want)
Obviously they are different films with different sound dynamics but I think you can still make some kind of comparison.

 

[Gary Murrell]

well another track that is on this level of audio quality is 300 PCM on Blu-ray

the Pirates films are also reference for sure, I believe they have 24-bit audio, does anyone know what bit the DTS Master tracks are at on the various Fox releases ?

another great track is the TrueHD track from Fifth Element, it is 20-bit and is better than the 16-bit PCM on the same release

it's really hard to compare different films on a basis of sound quality, there are too many variables IMHO

-Gary

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Has anybody suggested there can possibly be an audible difference between DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD which should sound identical to lossless PCM. If there are any articles suggesting audible differences, I would like to read them.

Chris

 

[Southpaw]

Well, according to Gary up above, the TrueHD track on Fifth Element is better than the PCM so they are not all equal. I can't testify to that but I respect his opinion.

 

[Gary Murrell]

it differs guys of course, I have been meaning to compare TrueHD vs PCM on Ghost Rider, that should be a fun comparison

-Gary

 

[Cees Alons]

Although in principle I'm against two different, incompatible hi-res audio formats delivering the same lossless signal, I'm glad that it appears to work and that it's that good!

Hey, wait a minute! What was that first thing I just said... ?


Cees

 

[David Ruiz]

haven't we all been able to decode DTS-MA for the longest time now? I have a 24/96 7.1 audio card with analog outputs into my receiver and I've been able to decode DTS-MA for the longest time now. I thought everyone was doing the same thing?

 

[CRyan]

Friggen finally a player can do SOMETHING with DTS MA. Is this the only one thus far? Blu or HD? I missed this anouncement altogether.

I can attest that the dolbyTrue 300 track indeed is less aggressive than the PCM!

 

[Cees Alons]

Gary,

Did you get a "secret" firmware upgrade on your Samsung BD-P1400?
Is the DTS-HD MA track decoded inside your player or in your receiver? And in the latter case, how does the bitstream get there?

The specs of the BD-P1400 didn't mention DTS-HD Master support and bitstream output for HDMI 1.3 was only announced for the BD-P2400 (after a firmware upgrade). The 1400 normally doesn't have the option (nor for Dolby TrueHD), ASFAIK.

Most reports seem to say that owners didn't find a possibility to output the DTS master bitstream to their receivers.

So, tell us!


Cees

 

[Chris Gerhard]

96kHz/24-bit Dolby TrueHD should be equal to 96kHz/24-bit DTS-HD MA which should be equal to 96kHz/24-bit lossless PCM. I can't see how there can be any difference if all are encoded at the same levels. It may be different decoders can decode differently, but that should have nothing to do with the digital audio formats. If something has happened to somehow make them sound different, I am still looking for something to read that explains how and why. I have heard 96kHz/24-bit LPCM and 96kHz/24-bit stereo MLP and find no audible difference.

Chris

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Apparently new firmware adds the DTS-HD MA support. I am not sure how as I understood the player didn't have the hardware necessary but Gary has confirmed it here. Here is the claim at Blu-ray.com:

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=17174

Here is a link to firmware at the Samsung site:

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/do...Type=D&vType=R

Chris

 

[Cees Alons]

So the "secret" firmware upgrade is revealed!


Cees

 

[Gary Murrell]

Cees, with the Samsung 1400, you simply need the latest firmware

the 1400 ships with HDMI 1.3 capable hardware, so any new player with HDMI 1.3 can send out bitstream of the latest audio formats as long as it is in the firmware, then on the other end all you need is a HDMI 1.3 capable receiver or pre-amp with built in DTS HD, DTS Master, Dolby TrueHD etc. decoding and you are ready to rock

here is a image for you guys from my Onkyo pre-amp display:



this pre-amp will decode DTS-HD Hi Res, DTS Master, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD etc. from any device that sends them out via HDMI 1.3, this includes the soon to be updated Toshiba XA2 which is also HDMI 1.3

so far though the Samsung 1400 is the only currently available item in the world that outputs bitstreams via HDMI 1.3

-Gary

 

[Rolando]

does it also decode it in the player an output over analog to amp 5.1 analog in? or is bitstream over HDMI to a receiver that can decode it the only option?

 

[Cees Alons]

Cees

 

[Manus]

It would make me more appreciative of Samsung , Onkyo or Toshiba rather than Fox

I hope we're not on the crest of another dts vs Dolby era

~M~

 

[Tim Glover]

Cool Gary!

 

[Cees Alons]

Manus, it wouldn't really surprise me at all.

You know, if you have a text-file and then compress it, using zip and arc (an older compression program some may remember), you can decode (unzip and de-arc) the two latter files and get the text file back, totally equal to the original and to each other. (A difference only indicates an error.)

So, the resultant signal (bit-file) of TrueHD and DTS-HD MA should be equal and also equal to the PCM file.

Yet, I'm sure people will "hear differences", of the type "to my ears it simply sounded more brilliant", etc. and fervently start to favour one of the compressed formats - or the no-compression-at-all tracks (PCM).


What also strikes me is this (hence the little joke in post #8): many HD enthusiasts, most of them on the BD side, were very vocally stating that two formats are a disaster, will confuse the consumer (no, a combo-player would only "prolong the war"), and in short, the other format had to die.

But many of the same people weren't heard at all when a second lossless audio codec threatened to be brought to the market, totally incompatible with the first one and both yielding a lossless signal. Indeed one of these two audio-"formats" wasn't even there, so why not stop it instead of allowing this new consumer's confusion?

In fact, I'm pretty sure the same arguments against two competing formats won't even be heard now. Or at best hardly some.


Cees