Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater DTS Vs. DD

What is the difference between DTS and Dolby Digital?

Does my DVD player need to be compatible for DTS. I do not know if mine is.

Is the sound quality that much better between DTS and DD?

I have 2 QS8s, 2 M60s, 1 VP150 and 1 EP(Kicks A*s)500.

Do I need a single speaker for the back for DTS?

Thanks

In reply to:

---

What is the difference between DTS and Dolby Digital?

---

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/dolbydigitaldts.php

In reply to:

---

Does my DVD player need to be compatible for DTS

---

Yes it does. If it is, the DTS logo will be on it somewhere.

In reply to:

---

Do I need a single speaker for the back for DTS?

---

No. DTS is 5.1 just like Dolby Digital.

There are also 6.1 versions of both DD and DTS. One is called ES, the other is called EX, and I can never remember which is which.

Anyways, there were two competing standards (DD and DTS); DD got chosen to be the DVD standard format but lots of people say DTS is technically superior. Other people say the DTS soundtracks are just recorded a bit hotter to make them sound better than the DD soundtrack.

All DVDs have a DD soundtrack, many also have DTS. I think we tend to pick the DTS soundtrack given a choice, but that might just to show that we know *how* to pick the DTS soundtrack

DTS ES (stands for Extended Surround)
DD EX

I thought the specs on DTS had a wider response (freq range) on all channels.

The encoded bitrate for DTS is higher than DD, I can't recall the exact numbers but something like 768 kbps vs. 384/400 (something?) for DD.

I heard that DD **AND** DTS are BOTH standard on the new Blu-ray and HD-DVD standards, so it just goes to show the popularity of DTS.

I have been using DTS sound in my home theater (my current one and the one in my old house I used to live at) since some time like 1998. I was an outcast by people that didn't know what DTS was back then, but I sure liked it. Now it is so commonplace, I don't know why someone wouldn't get it, and any reasonable audio/video component should have it by default any more these days.

Both formats have sampling rates of 48kHz (48,000 samples per second).
The DTS encoding rate is 768 kb/s (not sure if its variable).
DD encoding rate is variable up to 448kb/s. I've seen it as low as 192 kb/s.

Not sure but I could have swore that the Audioholics site had different numbers Peter.

-----
DD compresses a 5.1 channel surround track to 384 kbps to 448 kbps (DVD Standard limited, DD has the potential of up to 640 kbps) while DTS uses much higher bit rates up to 1.4 Mbps for CD's / LD's and 1.5 Mbps for DVD
-----

Do bit-rates == encoding or are we talking about different measures?

I have also been told by a movie industry worker that the theatrical versions of DTS and DD are slightly more compressed than the DVD releases.....although the differences are probably inaudible.

Isn't it hard to find DVD's in DTS formats, it was my understanding and experience that DD is the Norm, at least in the U.S.?

It take more room for DTS on dvd. That's why DTS discs don't always have all the extra features. Usually I have to search online for DTS versions.

Yes, most DVD's are just DD/EX even though many of the films are DTS in the theater. It's more marketable for them to put in extras you can watch on the DVD than to allocate the space for the DTS soundtrack. Kind of a shame in my opinion. At least some DVD (like LOTR) are offered in DTS versions for those who want it.