DTS and Dolby Digital

[GT98]

Which of the the two is the better format?


Scott

[xortam]

DTS.

[Jammrock]

DTS.

Dolby Surround EX might be a bit better, but I've never dug into the specs or listened to them side by side.

Jammrock

[Helevitia]

My vote:

DTS. To me, it sounds like it seperates the sounds better and gives it a smoother feeling going between speakers. but hey! I'm no expert. My 2 cents.

Dave

[KvHagedorn]

DTS is inherently better because it is less "lossy." This means it has not been compressed as much as Dolby Digital. You are looking at a 3:1 compression rate with DTS as compared to 12:1 with Dolby Digital. I think this still holds true, but there was an initial delay getting DTS DVDs out because of the greater amount of information they had to put on the disc. They might have chosen a higher compression ratio to achieve this. Still, most DTS mixes are quite audibly better than Dolby Digital mixes. There are exceptions, but this is generally the case. Also, of course you shouldn't expect that the DTS re-release of Jaws will sound as awesome as the new Gladiator DTS-ES mix. (DTS-ES allows for a center rear channel, and might contain some other enhancements as well.) We are seeing lots of new remasters out there with DTS mixes on DVD, but not all of them originally had DTS mixes when they were released. Soundtracks mixed with DTS in mind for theatrical presentation will generally always sound better than a Dolby Digital soundtrack remixed into DTS.There are DTS CDs out there too, and the ones mastered from original stereo mixes are usually really noticable as such. You need a original master in DTS to really bring out the capabilities of the system.