Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS?

[Clocker]

I just watched one of my favorite scenes from Gladiator on my HT system. My system is 5.1 and supports both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. The Gladiator DVD had options for both types of audio. I think I prefer the way DD5.1 sounds. What do you think? Do these two formats each have strengths and weaknesses? I know some of you guys are really into this stuff and I'd like to know what you think and what I should be listening for...

Clocker

 

[Mercutio]

*Usually* DTS sounds better to me, but a DTS mix is a different thing than a DD mix. It's possible for instance that the DTS mix on Gladiator is emphasizing sound that your speakers aren't that good at reproducing, or maybe more effort was placed on getting a good DD mix on that particular movie.

DTS and Dolby Digital are essentially equivalent, although DTS tracks tend to be less compressed and therefore occupy more space on a disc.

One absolutely AMAZING thing you can do if you have a Dolby Digital capable receiver with a digital input of some kind, is to hook up a PC with an nforce2 chipset. CDs and MP3 take a whole new dimension when heard in Dolby 5.1.

 

[sechs]

I continue to be a big fan of stereo.

 

[Clocker]

I'm not going to base my opinion one watching just one movie so I'm going to say I can't tell the difference. THe two versions could have been mastered differently accounting for the slight variation in the way they sounded.

Thanks for the info guys..

C

 

[Clocker]

er I mean Merc.

 

[Tea]

You need a "never heard of either of them" category, Clocker. Though I guess you could count that as a "can't tell the difference" vote.

 

[Pradeep]

There isn't much diff between most DD and DTS soundtracks. It depends on how much effort was put into each. Tho IMHO the DTS-ES tracks from the extended editions of LOTR are superior to their DD counterparts.

However back in the day of Laserdisc, the DTS discs were full bitrate DTS (around 1.5Mb/sec), as opposed to the vast majority of DTS DVDs out now, which are half bitrate. The difference there is much greater. I'll dig up a list of the full bitrate DVDs.

Hopefully with HD-DVD we will get 6.1 channels of uncompressed audio. Putting the DTS/DD wars behind us.

 

[skeet]

I had to do a 5.1 mix for "The Mouse" the other day and can state catagorically that all surround sound mixes are inferior to stereo mixes because of one universal audio post-production truth. Surround mixing is the dullest job the world has ever known. I've done factory jobs involving fibre-glass that were more exciting. And then the wan.. sorry, professionals who sound-design all this stuff, they are really balanced individuals. I would rather pleasure Tea... again...

 

[Buck]

As long as you can attach a bass-shaker to your floor boards or couch for the full effect, all is good.

 

[Stereodude]

Generally, DTS is regarded as being better sounding. Whether there's any actual basis for this is questionable. DD could have a more sophisticated compression algorithm.

Generally I think DTS soundtracks "sound better" because more attention was payed to details when making them.