The Next Great Advance in Home Theater: Dolby TrueHD?

Steve Tannehill · 08-29-2006, 10:16 AM

I don't want to get into a format war, but just want to shout from the rooftops how exciting it is to be able to play bit-for-bit replicas of the studio audio master via Dolby TrueHD.

http://www.dolby.com/promo/HD/trueHD.html

I've been watching movies in high definition for almost six years now, so being able to get them on a little disc is nice, but hardly eye-opening. But after playing around with Phantom and The Perfect Storm, I am thrilled again--to be able to use my "old" A/V receiver's 5.1 discrete inputs and to be able to get this kind of incredible, lossless sound reproduction. I had not planned for this!

I'm impressed (amazed, really) that Toshiba was able to enable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 through firmware, and that they did not just make this a "new feature" of the next generation HD DVD player. While I am sure the next player will offer other improvements, Toshiba has made their first generation player one to treasure.

And to think, there are currently two more movies to watch with Dolby TrueHD, and a whole slate of new releases to come!

- Steve

Paul.S · 08-29-2006, 11:19 AM

I've been using box cover art at DVD Empire and specs at High Def Digest to see which titles have TrueHD but may be missing some. Care to make a list of 'THD' titles a part of your thread?

Phil Iturralde · 08-29-2006, 12:21 PM

Great post Steve!!! You're right! Who knew that the early HD DVD adopters would have the cutting edge of MPL lossless soundtracks available to them, for their personal enjoyment in their Home Theaters in 2006??? With the right HT setup and equipment, we can replicate the sonic environment of the Mixing Studios (which I did years ago w/Identical speakers all-around + timbre-matched Center

)!!!

Listening to the only TrueHD DVD I have, "The Phantom of the Opera", I'm amazed how much detail and resolution in the sound track just opened-up! It is like the sonic screen has been lifted revealing the compressed nature of DD/DTS-5.1 vs. TrueHD!

I might get "The Perfect Storm" just to experience that TrueHD soundtrack.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul.S

I've been using box cover art at DVD Empire and specs at High Def Digest to see which titles have TrueHD but may be missing some. Care to make a list of 'THD' titles a part of your thread?

The following was found @ AVS ...

Quote:

The only discs so far released that have a TrueHD track are:

Training Day
The Phantom of the Opera
The Perfect Storm
Constantine

The announced discs to be released in '06 that will have a TrueHD track:

Troy
End of Days
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
12 Monkeys
Out of Sight
The Thing
Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire

And this is from Robert George @ AVS: (I think the same person that did OBI DVD Reviews years ago?)

Quote:

All I know is what I said. I was told Warner re-did the Matrix to put a TrueHD track on it. I would expect another benefit of that would be a new VC-1 encoding will also look a bit better as that codec has improved enough that Warner re-did Batman Begins instead of releasing that.

I was also told that this latest firmware update was something both Warner and Universal have wanted to see implemented. Apparently, TrueHD and IME are going to be very popular features with these studios going forward.

NOTE:: Ken F posted @ this HTF Thread, the list those Released & Upcoming TrueHD DVDs!.

"Batman Begins" w/TrueHD, ... which would be great!

Phil

Larry Sutliff · 08-29-2006, 01:10 PM

Yup, Steve is right. The ability to play back Dolby HD is an exciting development in the world of home theater. Concert videos, if done correctly, will never be the same again. Not to mention the wonderful treasure trove of feature films that will use this feature.

I can't wait to receive my disc from Toshiba so I can upgrade.

Paul.S · 08-29-2006, 01:16 PM

Thx, Phil.

"Apparently, TrueHD and IME are going to be very popular features with these studios going forward."

Interesting if true. Par has yet to do DTHD yes? Don't wanna read too much into it but here's hoping that DTHD becomes something of a 'corporate initiative' for these studios' home vid departments in terms of release strategy. (And hopefully Par will get onboard with either this or DTS HD by the time Titanic gets released.)

**HTF Ads**

Bob_L · 08-29-2006, 04:28 PM

I've been hearing the original stems on movie soundtracks for several years because a friend is an audio engineer. It's ALWAYS been heartbreaking to hear Dolby encoding sap the life out of those tracks. As soon as TrueHD became available on HD DVD I ordered an HD DVD player.

I'm REALLY looking forward to the HD DVD of "Superman:The Movie." My friend remastered the musical tracks for the 25th anniversary re-release. I've heard the uncompressed results in his studio and they are EXTRAORDINARY. When that film is released on HD DVD, everyone will be able to enjoy the original Williams-conducted performances like they've never heard them. (Of course, I'm leaping to the conclusion that they'll include the uncompressed tracks on the disk.)

Jordan_E · 08-29-2006, 06:28 PM

Ah, the very thought of Superman: The Movie in TrueHD...can only imagine the opening strains, which always gives me chills anyway, but in TrueHD?! Omg....

Larry Sutliff · 08-29-2006, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob_L

I've been hearing the original stems on movie soundtracks for several years because a friend is an audio engineer. It's ALWAYS been heartbreaking to hear Dolby encoding sap the life out of those tracks. As soon as TrueHD became available on HD DVD I ordered an HD DVD player.

I'm REALLY looking forward to the HD DVD of "Superman:The Movie." My friend remastered the musical tracks for the 25th anniversary re-release. I've heard the uncompressed results in his studio and they are EXTRAORDINARY. When that film is released on HD DVD, everyone will be able to enjoy the original Williams-conducted performances like they've never heard them.

I can't wait!

Ed Faver · 08-29-2006, 09:52 PM

I, too, am thrilled with TrueHD and what can be coming in the months ahead. I plugged my system for it tonight and am in the middle of Phantom as I write this. I am working on best guess with the A1's settings. Anyone have a suggestion on best settings when listening in TrueHD?

Harminder · 08-30-2006, 12:33 AM

OMG... Batman Begins... The Matrix... End of Days... all in TrueHD? SENSORY OVERLOAD I TELLS YA!

I wish M:i:III got the TrueHD treatment as well though. That would have been sweet.