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by Gerard Castelein
-
 DTS
stands for Digital Theater Systems and is
an audio encoding format similar to Dolby Digital.
- Unlike the PCM (uncompressed 2-channel stereo),
Dolby Surround (compressed 2-channel stereo with
limited surround audio 'built-in') and Dolby Digital
formats however, it is not part of the DVD standard
specifications and as such represents only an optional
addition to the format.
- DTS, like Dolby Digital, is a multichannel surround
format that uses compressed information for its
5.1 discrete channels. It uses much less compression
however to achieve its goal and as a result uses
up substantially more disc space, while at the same
time offering a better representation of the original
material. Many DVD releases that offer a DTS sound
mix therefore exclude many of the extras available
on the Dolby Digital release due to lack of disc
space. The recent trend of releasing double-disc
sets however would seem to solve its problem, as
it allows for both DTS and Dolby Digital tracks
on disc 1 with plenty of space left on disc 2 for
lots of extras.
- Whether you can truly hear this difference is
subject to a vast number of heated debates. Because
of the many variances in production, mixing, decoding,
and reference levels, it's almost impossible to
accurately compare the two formats (DTS usually
produces a higher volume level, causing it to sound
more impressive in casual comparisons).
- DTS soundtracks require DTS capable equipment
for playback, an option which is currently available
on some DVD players and most Dolby Digital equipped
A/V receivers. Beware however, as most players currently
on the market have DTS and Dolby Digital logos on
them. This can be slightly misleading, as in most
cases this only means that the player is equipped
with a digital output for sending the audio bitstream
to a receiver or decoder that can render the DTS
soundtrack. It usually doesn't mean that the player
can actually playback DTS soundtracks itself without
additional audio equipment, whereas all players
can downmix Dolby Digital sountracks to stereo output
even if they cannot perform multi-channel surround
playback themselves.
You can visit the official DTS page here:
And you can read a terrific article on the details
of Dolby Digital and DTS here:
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