Dolby Digital Vs DTS

[paulmarshall]

I recently bought a home theatre system that decodes to both Dolby & DTS 5.1. i'm just wondering what the differences between the 2 are, and if one is better than the other?

Thanks, and happy new year!

[borromini]

Generally DTS is the higher quality standard, but the amount of improvement over DD largely depends on the quality of your speakers and receiver. In general, if provided on a DVD title, use the DTS audio track.

[Ioman]

My understanding is that DTS is less compressed ad therefore is supposed to sound better. In my opinion, I can tell the difference between the two with my medium level equipment.

[theguy]

DTS has much more of a presence, especially with the lower freqs. like bass. Also DTS: ES is the only discrete 6.1 sound scheme commercially available. If you can do it, always choose DTS.

[k2]

dts:es is both a discrete and matrix signal; unless specified on the movie's package it's usually discrete but you really have to wonder sometimes.

[paulmarshall]

what's the difference between discreet & matrix?

[k2]

discrete audio is encoded for a set number of channels, matrixed audio is processed into a number of channels.

*dts:es-matrix is a 5.1 signal being mixed to a 6.1/7.1 signal. this is how i listen to a dts dvd on my system; even though it's matrixed, it's still much better than a dd/dd:ex signal. dd:ex is a matrixed signal (5.1 > 6.1/7.1).

[llbbl]

Someone is trying to start a heated debate ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_vs_DTS

The Dolby vs DTS debate is a classic insoluble debate in home theater forums. The two audio codecs, Dolby Digital and DTS, are compared and users argue that one or the other 'sounds' or 'is' inherently better. Consensus is rarely reached. This is a home theater forum equivalent subject for Godwin's law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital

Dolby Digital is the trademark for Dolby Laboratories' AC-3 audio coding system. It is a 'lossy' audio compression system based on principles of perceptual coding. Its main application is for multichannel audio, but it supports anywhere from 1.0 channels (mono) to 5.1 channels (full surround) and also dual channel stereo (1+1).

5.1 surround sound is the most common mode, made up of five full-range (10 Hz-22 kHz) channels (left, right, center, left surround, right surround), while the .1 refers to a limited range (10 Hz-120 Hz) Low Frequency Effect channel LFE, that carries deep bass sound effects for the subwoofer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DTS

DTS has expanded its product range to compete with developments from Dolby Labs. Among them include:

* DTS-ES - a regular 5.1 implementation of DTS, with an extra rear channel. There are three variants of this.
o In theaters, debuting with Star Wars: Episode I, a rear center channel was matrixed into rear left and right channels. In theaters this is derived from a matrix technology licensed from Dolby, and hence is properly reference to as DTS Digital Surround Dolby Digital Surround EX (http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/myths/surroundex.html).
o In the home, there is a similar variant using DTS matrix technology (NEO:6, see below) referred to as DTS 6.1 ES Matrix and a variant with a similarly encoded discrete channel called DTS ES 6.1 Discrete.
* DTS NEO:6 - competitor to Dolby Pro Logic and DPL II, making multichannel effects out of stereo audio
* DTS 96/24 - higher output sampling rate for multichannel audio
* DTS Interactive - realtime application for gaming

[k2]

DTS Extended Surround (Matrix or Discrete 6.1)

this url explains it better than the ones above.

[k2]

Dolby Digital vs. DTS

a rather to the point breakdown of both for the avg consumer.