Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater dts vs. digital

what is the difference between dolby dts and dolby digital? i thought they were the same thing but apparently not, as my pre-amp has different led's for each. ?

DTS is not related to Dolby in any way. Try searching the forum for DTS vs Dolby or any related searches. There should be lots of info. Also try the dts website for more info.

DTS is a competing surround format to Dolby Digital. Most, though not all, home theater fans prefer DTS. DTS has a higher bitrate which means it often has tighter bass and better imaging. However, that is not always the case and many prefer Dolby Digital.

I prefer dts, however, I find that Dolby, when done right (Pixar films, Star Wars) sounds incredible.

is thx only for dolby, or does thx apply to both?

thx is a certification by lucas labs that means the sound quality and video quality of the movie adheres to thx standards. the standards are set by lucas labs. the thx website can give you more info. thx can also certify components such as receivers.

personally, i have not a care in the world for thx certification. the best sounding and best looking dvd's i own are the lord o the rings trilogy, and they are NOT thx.

Some receivers have a "THX Surround" mode, which is the same as Dolby Digital. I think it goes back to Lucas and Dolby co-developing the format. I think I read that on THX's website.

Hello Mikedev10,

As Snippy points out, dts does run at a higher data rate than Dolby Digital, BUT they are both "lossy" systems based on perceptual encoding algorithms that throw away lots of data in order to permit inclusion of six discrete channels of digital sound on a DVD. Dolby Digital has also been chosen as the soundtrack standard for the HDTV broadcast system in North America. Dolby Digital is also the DVD standard. dts is optional to the producers of the DVD.

What no-one knows for sure is whether dts remixes the soundtracks to make them more spectacular (I believe they do) and I agree some of them do sound spectacular.

I have also noticed occasional drop-outs with dts soundtracks, likely caused by the higher data rate and poorer error correction and substitution, but that's speculation on my part. I've never heard drop-outs from a Dolby Digital 5.1 DVD soundtrack.

Anyone else notice drop-outs on dts soundtracks?

Regards,

Yeah, I have. But only on older titles, the ones at full rate kbps, and I haven't had any with the half rate kbps discs; still, with the older full rate discs it was only one or two split second drop outs. As great as DD sounds, I'm glad to hear that DTS is now standard for HD-DVD along with DD. Remixed or not, DTS always sounds better to me.

Mini-rock,

Yeah, I agree, just a couple of split-second drop-outs but annoying nonetheless. But hey, I put up with pixelation and drop-outs with HD programming, so I guess I shouldn't complain about dts.

And, by the way, Dolby Digital in movie theaters is a less robust system than dts, because as a Dolby print gets worn, the data, which is photographically imprinted between the sprocket holes, gets damaged, so the system will collapse sometimes to Dolby Surround or even just stereo!

DTS soundtracks play back from separate CD-ROMs in the movie theaters, so aren't subject to drop-outs or defaulting to stereo.

Regards,

Alan,

I purchased a Samsung HD-841 DVD player and found that it had horrible DTS doprouts. They happened all the time. I had never experienced this with my previous JVC DVD player. I took the Samsung back and bought a Denon 2910 and have not experienced any dropouts. I think that some DVD players, namely, cheap ones, tend to have the DTS drop out problem, as I have only heard it with that Samsung player.

I've heard that in theater's a few times. It drives me crazy when the surround sound goes out. Have to wait until the next reel loads to fix. Major hassle!