Hi which audio is better? English 5.1 Dolby Digital or English DTS?

Question

Hi I have 50'' Hitachi HDTV/LCD with 1080i & DVD Philips 5.1 Channel surround sound. When I watch my DVD's which audio is better? The English 5.1 Channel Dolby Digital or English DTS? Thank you!

Answer 1

I've always preferred DTS over the other formats, because it sounds the most realistic and involving.  Too bad it's not more popular among home video releases.

Answer 2

First, a little background info:

When the audio engineer mixes the sounds for a movie, he does so in a 5.1 surround environment...Each of these 6 tracks are laid to a digital recorder (dubber) and recorded to hard drive...This drive is called the "Master Reel" or Master Tape" even though tape is no longer used...

The mastering house then takes this drive and compresses the audio and video data to fit onto the DVD...The audio is compressed (data compression, not dynamic compression) by one of two protocols: Dolby Digital or DTS...

Dolby Digital and DTS are both "lossless" compression algorithms, but their compression ratios are extremely different...DTS uses a 3:1 compression ratio while Dolby uses a 10:1 ratio...Because of its high data compression, Dolby Digital takes up much less space on the disc, and leaves room for more data...This is why DVD movies with a DTS encoded audio track usually have less "behind the scenes" footage than those encoded with DTS...

Which one sounds better?..That's entirely subjective...Audiophiles and other purists will opt for DTS, but as consumers, we rarely have the opportunity to demo each back to back...DTS will probably sound a touch better and offer more dynamic, but DVDs usually don't give you an option - they are either one format or the other...

Answer 3

This question is as old as mankind(well not really). This Debate has been raging for years between Dolby and DTS. Most people can not really hear a difference between the 2. On some DVD's Dolby may sound better, then again, on some DVD's DTS might sound better. Only you the listener can decide for yourself, which you like best!

Answer 4

DTS has better sound quality

Answer 5

DTS has a higher bit rate, but it all depends on the quality of the recording and sound mix from the studio engineer.  All things being equal on the same DVD.  The DTS would have the ability to have more dymanic range and play more information than Dolby Digital.