Got a stoopie noobie ht question

[Rondar]

Im still new to this 5.1 stuff. I drag out a few dvd's and go to select the audio. I see stereo, dolby digital 5.1, and dts 5.1 on a lot of stuff. What do I want to listen to? Obviously probably not stereo anyway for movies. :no clue:

[PhenomeNhan]

If u have 5.1 speakers and ur receiver can decode it, go for DTS

[Rondar]

ok so the dts is better than dolby digital 5.1 if I have a choice? And I have a nice setup now. X-tatics and x-cs's and a marantz avr and a pair of mfw's.

[Spiralout]

Funny you should ask this, because I was wondering the same thing.

Anyone care to share why DTS is supposedly superior to DD 5.1?

[Eric D]

Wikipedia is your friend. Excerpted therefrom:

"In the consumer (home theater) market, AC-3 and DTS are close in terms of audio performance. When the DTS audio track is encoded at its highest legal bitrate (1,536 kbit/s), technical experts rank DTS as perceptually transparent for most audio program material (i.e., indistinguishable to the uncoded source in a double blind test.) Dolby claims its competing AC-3 codec achieves similar transparency at its highest coded bitrate (640 kbit/s). However, in program material available to home consumers (DVD, broadcast and subscription Digital TV), neither AC-3 nor DTS run at its highest allowed bitrate. DVD and broadcast (ATSC) HDTV cap AC-3 bitrate at 448 kbit/s. But even at 448 kbit/s, consumer audio gear already enjoys better audio performance than theatrical (35 mm movie) installations, which are limited to even lower bitrates. When DTS-audio was introduced to the DVD specification, studios authored DVD-movies at DTS's full bitrate (1,536 kbit/s). Later movie titles were almost always encoded at a reduced bitrate of 768 kbit/s, ostensibly to increase the number of audio-tracks on the movie disc. At this reduced rate (768 kbit/s), DTS no longer retains audio transparency.

AC-3 and DTS are sometimes judged by their encoded bitrates. DTS proponents claim that the extra bits give higher fidelity and more dynamic range, providing a richer and more lifelike sound. But no conclusion can be drawn from their respective bitrates, as each codec relies on different coding tools and syntax to compress audio. When the DTS and AC-3 audiotracks on the same DVD are compared, some movies exhibit noticeable differences. A DTS track is often louder with less hiss, even at the same relative playback volume.[1]"

Lots more to read there and other places - and more reliable than from forum rats (like myself! - are you really sure that what I posted is from Wikipedia, or did I make it up. hmmmmm?)

enjoy,

[SnowmaNick]

Based off of my ears only, DTS is normally a bit louder and even when I lower the volume to around my brain says it is at the same level the bass on DTS sounds a bit more authoritative and cleaner.

Now, that is 100% subjective, so of course YMMV.

[Jethro]

DTS is less compressed than Dolby digital, and has an extra bump in the LFE.