Difference between Dolby and DTS

 

Anonymous
 
Hi all,

I have a Samsung DVD player which is attached to 5.1 decoder. I noticed that if I select DTS 5.1, I am not able to hear any sound but selecting Dolby 5.1 gives me excellent output.
Now the question is:
a) What is the difference between Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1?
b) Is DTS quality better than Dolby? I am using optical output decoder.
c) Is there anyway to have DTS output through my player. I have Samsung p248A.

Help me please!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Culp4684

Post Number: 83
Registered: Aug-04
Dolby 5.1, better known as Dolby Digital, and DTS 5.1 were competing formats back in the early days of DVD video. There were a lot of different opinions on which one was better from many experts. DD 5.1 was first and many receiver/amps could initially only decode this format. I had a Yamaha 992 that was DD only.

DTS came along and never really caught on that well. Eventually, all home theater receivers were able to decode both. There were a few software DVD titles made, such as the Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over", that were DTS without DD 5.1. DTS is now a dying format.

On the few concert discs I have with both DD and DTS 5.1, I prefer the DD soundtrack. You have to use the optical output for both of these formats if your receiver is performing the decoding.

I believe that the early DVD audio titles were actually derived from DTS audio. I'v e noticed that some older DVD audio discs sold in stores have the DTS logo on them.

I'm not familiar with your Samsung. If it had on onboard DTS decoder, you would not use the optical output. I believe you would have to have a multichannel output and your receiver would have to have a MC input to have DTS output from the player.
 

Silver Member
Username: Arnold_layne

MadridSpain

Post Number: 263
Registered: Jun-04
I'm afraid that player does not seem to handle DTS:

http://www.samsung.com/in/products/dvdplayer/dvdplayer/dvd_p248a.asp

DTS is actually by some considered a superior audio format for Home Theater. DD is often much more compressed, with heavy usage of psychoacoustics.

IMO standard DTS is not very good for music. There is however a new version, DTS 96/24, which might be a substantial improvement. Many manufacturers are now including it in their A/V receivers.

One reason for DTS being associated to DVD-A is that DTS Entertainment has released quite a few discs with both formats.

Cheers
AL

 

Gold Member
Username: Kegger

MICHIGAN

Post Number: 1873
Registered: Dec-03
I believe dts to be a superior format "again that is my opinion"

But like arnold said it's not compressed as much as dd is that is what
is suppose to make it better, among other things.


Dts is not a dying format and many movies are recorded in it. "I have several"
And many new movies and music is in dts also
like arnold mentioned a new format "DTS 96/24" is out.

you do not need to use an optical out for dts.
Dts can also come out an caox conn too.

If your dvd player does dts decoding then you can use the 5.1 analog outputs.

If not then you need to connect to an outboard
decoder that does dts or a reciever that has dts
decoding built in.
Most new recievers have dts decoding built in.

units from a few years ago rarely had it built in.

what is the "attached to 5.1 decoder" you speak of that you have?

Just do a google search for your decoder and it
should turnup weather or not you can decode dts.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Culp4684

Post Number: 84
Registered: Aug-04
I may have jumped a little bit in calling DTS a "dying" format. However, it certainly is not a threat to beat out DD like it was a few years back. There are quite a few DVD titles that have been released that carry only DD encoding.

To my ears, the DTS track on most of my concert videos sounds more compressed and less detailed than the DD track. The difference may have more to do with the actual recording itself, I guess. Well, to each his own...

Anon, Kegger is right. We'd have to know more about your setup to give you any suggestions.
 

Gold Member
Username: John_a

Post Number: 2522
Registered: Dec-03
To my ears, DTS gives much better sound than DD.

They are coded differently, DTS is a compressed form of PCM, while DD is in AC-3. So the "digital audio out" setting on the player may have to be changed to switch between DTS and DD sent digitally to the receiver.
 

Silver Member
Username: Arnold_layne

MadridSpain

Post Number: 265
Registered: Jun-04
I too prefer DTS, but I have to agree with Robert that DD sometimes can sound more "detailed".
 

Anonymous
 
Hi all,

Thanks a lot for all the information.

I have only optical and coaxial audio output from my DVD player and there is no multichannel output, so I am afraid there is no in-built decoder.

Anyway, I have got quite a lot experts comments. Thanks again. :-)

Cheers,
Sunil
 

gopalraja
Unregistered guest
iam having a sony dvd player,but iam not having any amplifier but i would like to know which sound system is better and good either dolby digital or dts please suggest me also tell me which is far good better compared to both.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 13
Registered: Jan-05
www.dtsonline.com
Don Henley's CD in DTS 24 bit sounds as good as any of my DVD-A and SACD's.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Paul_ohstbucks

Post Number: 74
Registered: Jan-05
An interesting observation.......

On my system, DTS only seems to turn on when upconverting a 2 channel TV source into a simulated multi-channel surround. When I play true 5.1channel sources on my DVD player, DolbyDigital always kicks in.

In my DVD player settings, I experimented between the PCM and dolby digital modes, and dolby digital was the only setting that produced the desired 5.1channel output. Every time I set it to PCM, the output was always 2 channel. The only reason I could think is maybe my 'test dvd' was not recorded in DTS so it wouldnt work properly???

I dont know??? Anyway, since the DD setting worked, I just left it as that.........

Does the PCM mode only work with optical cables??? I use digital coaxial, so that could be one theory??

Anyway, I only hooked up my new receiver yesterday, so at this stage, I was happy it worked and havnt figured out all of it's finer details.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Paul_ohstbucks

Post Number: 75
Registered: Jan-05
"They are coded differently, DTS is a compressed form of PCM, while DD is in AC-3. So the "digital audio out" setting on the player may have to be changed to switch between DTS and DD sent digitally to the receiver."
--------------
That is a great point and you may have answered my question. changing the mode on the dvd player specifically for the few DVDs that are DTS seems a little labor intensive to me though.

Another thing I just thought of is that dvds will often have audio options on the main menue. Now that I have a receiver that can decode these things, I suppose it would be pretty important to check those out before I start each movie.
 

Gold Member
Username: John_a

Post Number: 2805
Registered: Dec-03
You're welcome, Paul.

"Does the PCM mode only work with optical cables?" No, it is not that. Optical and digital cables carry the same information. "PCM" usually means "PCM stereo". That is hi-res stereo. It is very good. On my player you can get DTS 5.1 out with either setting "Stream/PCM" or just "PCM". The latter does not allow Dolby AC-3, though. Yes, the audio setting on the player has to compatible with the option selected from the menu displayed from the disc.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Canuckinapickle

TorontoCanada

Post Number: 41
Registered: Jan-05
It is important to remember to the history of the formats -- they were not just fighting for the market share in the DVD world but the cinema world too, and first. Dolby digital (5.1) is encoded as a series of small black dots printed on the 35mm film between each sprocket. This is read by a laser and sent to a cinema processor for decoding. In order to fit DD on the film the compression rate for the audio was quite high. The benefit, of course, is that you thread up your film, turn on your cinema processor and you hear sound -- no extra fussing.

DTS came along with a higher quality audio standard for cinemas and still, most cinema buffs agree a DTS theatre is still better than a DD one. In order to have a higher bit-rate and better quality audio the sound track to the film comes on a separate disk -- much like a CD -- and must be played in a DTS cinema surround decoder. The con here is that you need to thread up your film and have a separate disk. The Pro, better sound.

I recently saw Phantom of the Opera in a big famous players cinema, "Big Screen, Big Sound". That cinema was a DD/THX setup. When I saw it a second time in a small cinema in Toronto (independent Rainbow cinemas) in DTS, I was blown away.

Last, in the home theatre world the question became what format to use on DVDs. DTS is a more rare format in the cinema world and not all films come with a DTS soundtrack to start with since relatively few theatre can play the DTS track anyway. All come with a DD track because it is printed onto the film: you get the film, you get DD.

This is why Dolby became standard on DVDs and DTS is there only 'when available'. I am a DTS fan in the cinema world but in the home theatre world I find it to be a bit less noticeable. Nevertheless, I pick up DVD titles with DTS tracks when I see them in the store.

With any luck this will help clear up some confusion.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Paul_ohstbucks

Post Number: 88
Registered: Jan-05
Ok, I figured some things out last night.

As for the PCM or DD selection on my DVD player, my manual said only use PCM if your receiver does "NOT" have built-in surround decoders. Since my receiver has them built in, it was the incorrect setting for my HT receiver, and DD should be selected. That's why when I selected PCM, its output was only 2 channel.

As for DTS?? I had to thumb through about 30 of my dvds before I found a single one recorded in DTS. Apparently, the vast number of DVDs are recorded in DD, and not DTS. Either that, or it was just a fluke that I had to thumb through that many to find one.

Anyway, my test DVD was 'I Robot'. It allowed you to toggle back and forth between DTS and DD and I tried to make a comparrison. The differences were subtle enough that I couldnt say either way confidently which was better during my brief sound test. However, when I toggled over to my audio information page on my receiver menue, I saw that the DTS had a higher bitrate than did DD. I figure that cannot be a bad thing right??? This may sound a little corny, but I'd probably tend to choose the source with the highest bitrate given the choice.

Both sounded great though, and to me, it's sort of like choosing which will make my car run better......92 or 93 octane gas???? :laugh:
 

Gold Member
Username: John_a

Post Number: 2809
Registered: Dec-03
On our 5.1 system we always choose DTS if it is available. I agree, Canuck. There is an interesting "History" pdf file on the DTS web site.

Paul, my manual said only use PCM if your receiver does "NOT" have built-in surround decoders. It depends. Stereo PCM is excellent, and giving that from the player's processor and DAC to the analogue receiver inputs can give better sound. It depends on which unit (player or receiver) has the better DACs. With DVD-Audio, all DAC and processing is in the player; you only get it with analogue out. In contrast, DTS, like DD AC-3, can be sent digitally to the receiver. DTS not far behind DVD-Audio for sound quality, in my opinion; DD AC-3 is nowhere near.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 44
Registered: Jan-05
My cd's recorded in DTS are the best sounding of all my stuff,better then DVD-A and SACD. One reason is the poor bass management in DVD players compared to recievers. Thats just a guess.
 

Gold Member
Username: Myrantz

Post Number: 1404
Registered: Aug-04
DS

Something is wrong!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Paul_ohstbucks

Post Number: 94
Registered: Jan-05
I sampled a little of saving private ryan today which has a DTS soundtrack......

Can you say bass management???

Wow!

Not to mention the bullets zipping around in every which direction.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 45
Registered: Jan-05
What would be wrong? Its how it is.
 

Gold Member
Username: Kegger

MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2202
Registered: Dec-03
ds:

"My cd's recorded in DTS are the best sounding of all my stuff,better then DVD-A and SACD. One reason is the poor bass management in DVD players compared to recievers. Thats just a guess. "

I have over 1000 cd's and don't have any that are recorded in dts, so I don't
know what you mean!

The other problem may be your system, meaning that you may be on the right
track with bass management to a degree. If you run full size speakers and don't
use the bass management your better off. As I run full size speakers all around
with no use of bass management with that dvd-a/sacd are much better quality than cd!


__________________________________
And yes for the most part dts is better than dolby digital.

___________________________________
Also yes your disks have to have dts on them to choose from there menu before
you will get dts on the reciever. There are also much fewer dts titles than dolby digital!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 49
Registered: Jan-05
What i'm say is that the bass mangement is better in recievers then DVD players. I'm guessing thats why cd's with DTS surround using the bass mangement of the reciever sounds better then the multi-channel audio sounds using the bass mangement{or lack of it} in the DVD player. My front mains are set to large and the rest to small and sub to yes.
 

Gold Member
Username: Kegger

MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2204
Registered: Dec-03
Ds I'm still not sure what you mean.

Are you saying cd's and using a dts surround format on a 2 channel source?

Or are you saying dts surround disks "not cd's" played on your dvd player?

________________________________________

The dts surround disks are quite good and if you have to use bass management
then yes the bass management on your reciecver may actually be better than the
bass management on your player and therefor could help in the playback of
your surround music. Which is unfortinate for you because the potential quaily
on sacd/dvd-a is superior to the standard dts surround disks. On a quality player
with everything setup right it's very easy to hear the difference. But if you have
better dacs and bass managment in your reciever than you do your player by a wide
margin than the dts surround disks may sound better for you. But the format
of dvd-a and sacd are superior to the dts surround format.

 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 50
Registered: Jan-05
Cd's recorded in DTS surround,digital surround or as my Don Henley disc says, dts 24bit/5.1 surround Yes i know about the superior sound of multi-channel audio,thats why i got it but as i was surfing i found the DTS site and saw the cd's recorded with it and got one and i'm telling you,it sound as good as DVD-A and SACD. I'm not using top of the line equipment,a denon 2805 and a sony dvd player and B&W speakers. I'm going to put on the Police SACD and Don Henley and tell you whats the biggest difference.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 52
Registered: Jan-05
OK,here's what i can say about each one. First i played DH. Sounded really good. Then the Police. Sounded more crisp and seperated but not by a lot and still not the bass that DTS had but on a whole,better. There i said it but as good as cd's recorded in DTS sounds,it give me another format to use. To bad it doesnt play on reg cd player. I am having abit of a time setting up my DVD speakers because its only center,sub,thats no problem but its front and rear,not front L and R and rear L and R. My fronts are within a foot of being the same distance but my rears are 6ft on one side and 8ft on the other.
 

Gold Member
Username: Kegger

MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2211
Registered: Dec-03
Ds:

"Cd's recorded in DTS surround,digital surround or as my Don Henley disc says, dts 24bit/5.1 surround"

You are saying cd's recorded in dts I've never seen cd's recorded in dts!

Do you mean "disks" not "cd's" recorded in dts?

In otherewards can you play those disks in a regular cd player, not a dvd player
but a regular cd player?

 

Bronze Member
Username: Shokhead

Lakewood, CA USA

Post Number: 53
Registered: Jan-05
www.dtsonline.com
 

Gold Member
Username: Kegger

MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2212
Registered: Dec-03
Ds ok I got yu I finaly saw you said it won't play on regular cd player.

Yes as I said dts surround "disks" not "cd's" sound great I have a few.
They are very close to sacd/dvd-a and yes gives you another format.

What else is cool about the dts disks is some are recorded in dts-es which
utilizes the rear channels of 7.1 where sacd/dvd-a do not, they only use 5.1.

What mr rantz and I thought you were saying was a cd that played in a cd player
sounded better or just as good as a sacd/dvd-a disk does!

Those surround dts disks your talking about are not "cd's" they are different
as you see they don't play in a regular cd player, they are a different
disk encoded with dts. And as I said do sound really really good. You should
try the cheryl crow one it's awsome!

Take care!
 

Gold Member
Username: Kegger

MICHIGAN

Post Number: 2213
Registered: Dec-03
Ds: you know DTS Entertainment has 5.1 Music Discs and DVD-Audio music titles right?


DTS Entertainment does both 5.1 music disks and they do dvd-audio disks to.
I believe the DTS Entertainment dvd-audio disks also have the 5.1 music tracks
on them for regular dvd players that don't play dvd-audio.

Also some of the sacd and dvd-audio disks sound much better then others do.
Try the beck dvd-audio or sacd disk and you'll see what I mean.
If you compare a so so sacd or dvd-audio disk to a really good dts music disk,
the dts music disk should sound better they are darn good. But a well recorded
dvd-audio or sacd disk sounds incredable.

Enjoy!
 

New member
Username: Dirtybrain77

Post Number: 1
Registered: Feb-05
Can anyone give me the registration code number of dvdplayer which is use in mobile. The file type is "sis type"
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