dolby or dts

[LabR@t]

whats the main difference and whats the better format?

 

[Lil old me]

Im sure someone will come along with a better answer but simply:

Dolby came first and compresses audio more than DTS. So technically DTS should be 'better', however sometimes the dolby soundtrack is mixed more carefully so can sound better despite the lower bitrate.

Tbh there isnt much in it in my experience.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I believe that the key critical point is that DD uses a compression ratio of 12:1, whilst DTS is variable and can use between 15:1 and 1.5:1. So in theory, and assuming that the studio makes use of it's capability, DTS can sound better by throwing away less data.

 

[ssmacc]

Just going by my ear i find DTS better, seems to be better seperation of the rear speakers (although thats obviosly only my experiance and not based on facts!)

As said someone on hear will have a better answer

 

[Mystique]

Always wondered that myself.. ta!

 

[wellibob]

DTS sounds superior due to less compression than Dolby Digital as stated by the above.

 

[Irish_Tom]

DTS sounds superior due to less compression than Dolby Digital as stated by the above.

In theory... I've found it differs from film to film depending on the mix.

Panzer

 

[james.miller]

In theory... I've found it differs from film to film depending on the mix.

Panzer

in practice

 

[Barks]

On paper DTS is better. In reality the human ear can't really tell the difference unless you've got extremely high-precision audio equipment.

Same principle: If you compare a 320kbps MP3 file and a Flac file through your average PC speakers they'd sound identical. If you did the same with a pair of BMW 683s and a 150W/channel amplifier, the MP3 would sound like listening to internet radio through a 56k modem.

 

[lunarwolf]

Just going by my ear i find DTS better,

+1, you will notice with your ears immediately that DTS sounds way better than DD (provided your stuff supports DTS )

 

[HTMLHugo]

another fan of DTS though i dont use it most of the time.

 

[-Ad-]

DTS anyday if the film has it

 

[zealot]

Did a back to back test once with gladiator,watched the film twice and dts sounded better to me. But both mixes were different.

 

[Columbo]

I cant hear any difference between them at all.

 

[jellybeard999]

With my setup I can definitely tell a difference between DTS and AC3 on the films I've tested. DTS sounds much fuller.

 

[Von Luck]

DTS is louder on my amp, so therefore better

 

[monkeyspank]

DTS seems to have more dynamic range on my system. Sounds 'beefier' for want of a better word.
I try and find DTS tracks where possible.

 

[cram]

Same principle: If you compare a 320kbps MP3 file and a Flac file through your average PC speakers they'd sound identical. If you did the same with a pair of BMW 683s and a 150W/channel amplifier, the MP3 would sound like listening to internet radio through a 56k modem.

You can tell the difference between 320 and lossless through quite modest speakers

 

[Mav]

on DVD`s i find DTS to richer fuller an better sound than DD also louder !
DD - 384kb / 448kb an very rare 640kb
DTS - 768kb / 1536kb

examples of differance : DD v DTS
Saving Private Ryan DTS
Dare Devil DTS
5th Element DTS
Blade movies DTS
Monster Inc DTS
Black Hawk Down DTS
War of the Worlds / Live Concert aswell DTS

try em an see what i mean ...

these are some of the movies that have the Woooooooow facter to the soundtrack an i always pick the DTS track inpreferance to DD

 

[Corasik]

448 Dolby is common on DVD movies, its also the maximum permitted by the official DVD specs. 640 is the maximum permitted by DolbyDigital specs, without moving the DolbyDigital Plus. 640 is the "standard" for dolby digital on HD-DVD and BluRay

DTS 768 is pretty much the norm for region 2 DVD, which is a shame as its considerablly less good than 1536 (Which is very nice). To be honst 640 dolby sounds better than dts @ 768.

DTS is often encoded louder, with a bass lift, while Dolby generally has normalisation in it, so that vocals sound the same from disk to disk. The mixes are generally slightly different so its very hard to do an A:B comparison between DTS and Dolby.

Both DTS@1536 and Dolby@640 are extremely close to an upcompressed PCM soundtrack, to the extent you need very good ears/speakers/amps to tell the difference, assuming they are recreating the same original mix. Thats not to say that the mix wont be changed to artifically make the "better" codecs sound different.

To be honest, they are both very good.