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I have some basic questions regarding DTS and Dolby Digital for listening to DVD-A discs. I own a grand total of 3 DVD-A discs and don't have much experience in this area.My surround setup consists of a Denon DVD-2900 universal player coupled to a Denon 3803 receiver via coaxial digital connection only - no analog interconnects from the universal player to the receiver. The speaker arrangement is basic 5.1.
1) Is a basic 5.1 speaker arrangement sufficient / correct for DTS or does DTS rely on additional speakers?
2) I'm hearing multi-channel 'surround sound' in either Dolby Digital or DTS so what would be the advantage of using analog interconnects from the DVD-A player to the receiver - vs the single coaxial digital cable?
Even if my DTS setup isn't ideal, I think I liked the way it sounded better than Dolby Digital for playing back this particular DVD-A disc (Eagles - Hotel California). The DTS playback seemed to 'blend' the front channels better. With Dolby Digital it seems like I had distinct sound from each of the 3 front channels. The fidelity and dynamcis are great in either mode but somehow the Dolby Digital playback seemed almost artificial. I could enjoy either but I preferred DTS in this case.
Any comments?
Follow Ups:
DTS is better because its uncompressed, DD is compressed. so the quality is very different. Its unfortunate that many movie title that have great potential like new action movies are done only in DD. Its all a cost thing DD is cheaper to produce because it uses an older process and less DVD space. If you want to learn more go to the dolby website and you will know everything.Oh, never use separate 5.1 cable from your dvd player not only does it limit your format compatibility it also uses the DVD players DA converter and then gets sent through analog inerconnects. Digital is uncuroupted and then converted in the reciever which has a superior DA converter. The diference is unbelievable.
"Oh, never use separate 5.1 cable from your dvd player not only does it limit your format compatibility it also uses the DVD players DA converter and then gets sent through analog inerconnects. Digital is uncuroupted and then converted in the reciever which has a superior DA converter."First, there's no certainty that the DACs in any given receiver are superior to the DACs in any given player. Could go either way depending on the specific choices. How many receivers out there have better DACs than the ones in the Meridian Ref800 or Linn Unidisk 1.1 players?
Second, there is, as yet, no way to get a full-spectrum, multichannel DVD-A output from the digital jack of your player unless you own the afore-mentioned Meridian (or some other player with a proprietary interface). You are stuck with only DD or DTS from that digital jack.
"The diference is unbelievable."
Mebbe. Mebbe not. For DD/DTS, the digital output is probably more effective in many cases. For real DVD-A, a superior format, it simply doesn't work.
Kal
"2) I'm hearing multi-channel 'surround sound' in either Dolby Digital or DTS so what would be the advantage of using analog interconnects from the DVD-A player to the receiver - vs the single coaxial digital cable?"With the analog outputs, you have the potential advantage of the higher resolution of the DVD-A tracks over the compressed DD or DTS tracks. Whether, in practice, this will result in a subjectively better experience depends on you, your equipment and the setup. In my experience, there is an advantage.
Thanks Kal - I don't have a quality analog multichannel preamp, just the A/V receiver. It might be interesting to try the digital input vs running 5 analog interconnects but I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle.... Maybe in a couple years when everything is going over a single IEEE-1394 'Firewire' we won't have to be concerned with choices. As an 'audiophile', two interconnects and 2-channel stereo are wonderful but I'm getting really tired of the nest of cables I have to deal with for the HT. ;-)
I have found that DTS has the better sound on each and every disc I have A/B'd. Bot DD and DTS have 6.1 and 7.1 versions as well. I can't comment on the connections question.
The Dolby Digital format is only capable of 5.1 discrete channels. Dolby's newest digital format, Dolby Digital EX 5.1, uses matrix technology to encode a seventh channel. It is not a discrete channel.The DTS format is capable of 6.1 discrete channels in its current form (it has provisions to encode another discrete channel). The name of that DTS format is DTS ES 6.1 (Discrete)*. There is also a matrix version of DTS, called DTS ES 5.1 (Matrix)*, which encodes the extra channel using matrix technology similar to Dolby's EX solution.
Dolby has already stated that they do not want manufacturers or software companies referring to the EX format as 6.1, because the extra channel is not discrete. However, as a surround "decoding" format, Dolby's new Pro-Logic IIx will give you 7.1 "non-discrete" channels from a 2-channel mix and can add two new "non-discrete" channels to a digital 5.1 mix.
* Technically not necessary by definition, sometimes the words "Discrete" and "Matrix" are added to the format's name.
Thanks. Yes, I am aware of the differences, I was just making a comment that DTS always sounds better and I lament the fact that many DVDs are not enncoded with it.As for Pro Logic II, it is a giant leap over Pro Logic.
DTS has been used for 4.0, 5.0, 5.1 and 6.1 music playback. The 6.1 format, when decoded by the DVD player, just outputs 5.1 via the DVD player's analog outputs. Most DTS material is done in the 5.1 format (about 90%+ of all DTS recordings).If you use the digital output for DTS decoding, the receiver/processor decodes the signal. If you use the analog outputs to your receiver/processor, the DVD player does the decoding. Which way sounds better will depend on the processing capability, D/A converters, analog stage, etc of each component being evaluated. Try to match the levels and compare the sound that you get from each option. Use the one that sounds best to your ears.
As to which surround format sounds better, DTS or Dolby Digital, I prefer DTS for movies (I don't listen to surround music). Your comment about Dolby Digital sounding more like fixed points in space is exactly how I have described its presentation in the past. DTS, at least to my ears, has more of a 360 degree presentation. The sound envelopes you, rather than bringing attention to the fact that there are 5 different and directional speakers in the room.
If you want to listen to the 5.1 DVD-A section on the disc (which uses MLP), you will have no choice but to use the analog outputs from the DVD player.
RE DTS: "The sound envelopes you, rather than bringing attention to the fact that there are 5 different and directional speakers in the room."Joe, that's a great way to describe what I heard. The difference was easily noticable on this particular DVD-A disc that had the same tracks available in Dolby Digital and DTS. DTS sounded more natural to me.
Thanks for describing the technical issues. I wasn't sure if I was set up properly for DTS but I now know that I am.
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