Dolby D or DTS??? (1 Viewer)

[MWestyn]

I was just curious as to the advantages of each...is one better than the other?

I have a 5.1 setup right now (yes I realize DTS will give me 6.1) but should one sound better than the other in 5.1?

Thanks.

 

[Ammon]

I personally think DTS sounds better than DD. The channels all seem more independant than DD. Before they started including DD and DTS on a single DVD, DTS titles were individual purchases. The DTS track on these movies was much less compressed as it is now as they are trying to include both audio tracks on one DVD. The DTS only versions did not include any special features, but the sound was incredible. A good comparison would be the Saving Private Ryan DTS version as compared to the DD release. The sound is much more rich and full and the channel separation was very definate in the DTS version. You can also compare the tracks on the LOTR Extended Edition. You can also check out the Superbit version of movies as they have a less compressed audio track than the regular release. However, the Superbit selection is something to be desired of! I'm sure there are those who prefer the DD over DTS, but I am a big fan of DTS and look for it on every DVD I buy.

 

[John Garcia]

DTS will not give you 6.1 - DTS ES Discrete will give you true 6.1.

DTS is no more compressed now than it was before. You only have two flavors of DTS compression, to my knowledge - half (754K) and full (1509K) bitrate. The overall sound has more to do with the mastering than the compression. The typical DD track is 348K. That does not mean there are no good DD tracks.

I'd say 9 times out of 10, DTS tracks sound better to me. If given a choice, I default to DTS.

For DD, check out: Fight Club:SE, Iron Giant, Abyss:SE, Final Fantasy.

SPR is a pretty good example of the difference between DTS and DD. The DTS version is noticably better than the DD version (though I heard they were from different masters?)

 

[Michael Reuben]

Quote:

The typical DD 5.1 track today is 448Kbps (or kilobits per second). The 384 rate (I assume your "348" was a typo) usually indicates that the title is (a) older, (b) issued by Warner (though even they are starting to use the higher rate), or (c) occurs on a disc with major space constraints (Titanic for example).
To return to Sean's original question: Literally thousands of messages have been written on HTF (and tens of thousands elsewhere) debating the differences -- technical and acoustical -- between DTS and DD. There's still no consensus. There are those who hear differences in most DTS tracks. And there are others (like me) who hear little or no difference, unless the track was mastered from a different mix.
M.

 

[Ammon]

Did most of the DVD's that were DTS tracks come from different masters? Or is SVP a single case? How about such titles as 'The Peacemaker' or 'Dante's Peak'?

 

[John Garcia]

The typical DD 5.1 track today is 448Kbps (or kilobits per second). The 384 rate (I assume your "348" was a typo)

OOPS, typo yes, but I meant 448K. I haven't seen too many 384K DD discs recently (or didn't notice that they were).

 

[nik k]

I tend to favor dts (and really like dts-es) with my movies. I have a question though. Where does THX EX come into play? When i play movies with dts or dd i can have the thx function on (onkyo sr800). Is this just thx certs/specs and not thx-ex as a 6.1? When does thx-ex decoding become separate from dd-ex or dts-es? and i still am confused on what happens to dts-es dd-ex, and thx-ex when you throw the 7.1 into the mix? thanks.

 

[MWestyn]

Thanks for all the replies.

The reason I mentioned the 6.1 vs 5.1 is because the last couple dvd's I threw in listed DD5.1 and DTS6.1 as options.

Do if it DTS ES or EX and I opt for it but only have a 5.1 setup, will I miss anything or just not get the full effect?

As for the other differences, it seems as though whichever has more kbps would have more information to "hear" but I guess I'll just have to listen for myself and see what I like. My first impression was that DTS sounded a little more crisp but I thought it was my imagination.

 

[John Garcia]

My understanding: THX EX and DD EX boil down to the same thing (IIRC, Dolby licenses the EX format to THX or something like that), processing wise, except THX has it's own specifications to be met. THX Ultra is for 7.1.

6.1 and 7.1 are the same thing. There is currently no such thing as true 7.1, it is just 6.1 with two rear center speakers playing the same information for a wider soundstage (good for large rooms).

No you will not miss anything when playing a 6.1 movie on a 5.1 system, even if your processor does not do 6.1 processing. You do miss out on the extra speaker(s), but the information does not get lost. The rear center information will simply be mixed into the existing surrounds. Having spent plenty of time with my system in both 6.1 and 5.1, I prefer 6.1, but more or less only with 6.1 material.

 

[Ammon]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but THX works together with either DD or DTS. There are basically 2 areas of the sound system. 1 area is the equipment that reads the audio track and processess it, and the other is the equipment that it is sent to. DTS and DD come into play in the first area, as THX is the 2nd area. I believe setting the receiver to THX mode, you are stating that you have a home theater set up to THX standards. If your receiver is only 5.1, it will still simulate the 6.1 or 7.1 sound for the rear speaker with the 2 side channels.

 

[John Garcia]

No, you are correct that THX is additionally applied processing, and along that line for EX and Ultra, there are specifications for that processing.

 

[Michael Reuben]

As for the other differences, it seems as though whichever has more kbps would have more information to "hear" but I guess I'll just have to listen for myself and see what I like.

That's a common mistake. More bits does not necessarily mean better sound. It's a question of the coding algorithms. DD was designed, from the beginning, for maximum compression. DTS was not. And it gets even more complicated because the coding scheme used for theatrical DTS is completely different from the one used for DTS at home.

M.

 

[Frank Carter]

How do you guys know(or find) the compression rate of a particular movie?

 

[MWestyn]

I understand...I was just basing my understanding on theories behind compression for pc's (mp3's and such), generally speaking, the more you compress something (and depending on the compression engine you use), the harder it is to decompress without loss of quality. But if it was designed to be compressed to a certain size, it seems that would explain it.

 

[Michael Reuben]

How do you guys know(or find) the compression rate of a particular movie?

I assume you mean the data rate, since the "compression rate" depends on knowing how the source was handled.

For Dolby Digital, many decoders (and some DVD players) provide the data rate for whatever bitstream they're decoding. Not all of them do, though. It's the same for DTS, which has far fewer variations (768 and 1536kbps for the DVD version). Almost all DTS tracks mastered in the last 2-3 years are the 768kbps (or "half-rate") variant.

M.

 

[Ammon]

Were the first DTS DVD's ever been mastered at 1536kbps? I ask this because when the first DTS titles were released they were special DVD's that could only fit the movie and audio track. How many movies have been mastered at 1536 and what were they?

 

[Michael Reuben]

How many movies have been mastered at 1536 and what were they?

There's a thread in Software devoted to this subject.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ight=full+rate
M.

 

[John Garcia]

How do you guys know(or find) the compression rate of a particular movie?

Some DVD players have the ability to display the bitrate. Normally when I get a DTS track, I check the bitrate to see if it is half or full.

 

[Frank Carter]

Sorry, that was what I meant. I'm not too familiar with the process. Thanks for the info., I was wondering why my dvd player had that meter there.

 

[BruceLongee]

My understanding: THX EX and DD EX boil down to the same thing (IIRC, Dolby licenses the EX format to THX or something like that), processing wise, except THX has it's own specifications to be met.

I understand that DD EX is licensed from THX EX, but does this mean that it will do 6.1 decoding on DTS ES? I ask because I have the Sony STR-DE985, which has DD EX and DTS (but not DTS ES).