Jerry Parker

Why did some old dvd players not output DTS via the S/PDIF interface?

I have heard from several people that they have older dvd players that will not pass a DTS signal to their receiver, even if the reciever can decode DTS.

Why exactly might this happen?

Carl Johnson

A few years ago there wern't very many DTS DVDs. Receivers that could decode the signal and DVD players that could pass it were more expensive than Dolby only hardware. I'd assume that manafacturers have to pay somebody for the right to put a DTS label on their hardware and excluding it was a cost factor back when nobody was using it.

John Garcia

The short answer is, some older players could not read and pass the DTS stream. Nobody was ever "paying for the logo" with DTS, you were/are paying for the ability to handle a DTS track.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT

Lewis Besze

Actually the truth is that DTS isn't part of the DVD standard[it became an optional alternative format],the fact that wasn't any titles didn't matter much as it was more of a compatibility issue. Also DTS previously on LD and CD "disguise" itself as PCM track,so it would play on any CD or LD players via digital output.However because of it's late induction to DVD the same couldn't be done to that format,and required new way to incorporate DTS into DVDs,thus new players needed.I remember this created a bit of anger among early adopters of DVD who were mostly LD collectors,and had been enjoying DTS sound quiet a bit by then.

John Garcia

I bought a first generation, top model Panasonic and it did not have DTS. By the time the second generation rolled around, about 75% of players had DTS, and after that it was rare to find one that didn't have it.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT

Michael Reuben

When DVD players were first released in 1997, DTS has not finalized its specifications for including a DTS track in the DVD datastream. Accordingly, the first few generations of players did not have the necessary circuitry for detecting and passing DTS data. Not until 1998 was the spec finalized, and nearly all players since that time have had the ability to pass DTS.


Try "none". They didn't start appearing until almost two years after the initial debut of DVD.

M.

"Most people never have to face the fact that, at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything." -- Chinatown

"What kind of movies would there be if everyone in them had to do what we thought they should do?" -- Roger Ebert

HTF Beginner's Primer and FAQ