What's the difference between Dolby Digital & DTS?

[WilL07]

I am going to be getting a new DVD player. Both of them have Dolby Digital and optical audio out which is a must for me. One of them though also says it has a built in decoder for DTS. What's the basic difference, any major advantages with DTS? My setup is a new Onkyo rec and 2 tower speakers and a sub. I just want to make sure I can play the audio in true 2.1 (.1 being the sub from what I understand), so will Dolby Digital do this or do I need to get DTS? Right now my DVD player just supports 2.0 and it makes the sub not stick out during explosions, you just don't get the full affect, it plays in sync with the speakers and won't play the lows seperately

FYI, my rec has both Dolby and DTS built in and I have a optical cable for the audio ready to use

 

[Adam]

If your receiver can decode DTS, then you don't need the DVD player to do it provided that you use the optical connection. So, you should be set with either DVD player. If you'll let us know the model number of the DVD player that won't decode DTS, we could check just to make sure.

Both Dolby Digital and DTS will give you multichannel surround. DTS uses less compression than Dolby Digital. Some people have a hard time telling a difference between the two, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. I prefer DTS, but they are pretty close.

EDIT: The .1 is for the low frequency effect (LFE) track, which would be directed to the sub. You can also use the bass management on your receiver (and in some DVD players, as well) to have low frequencies that would normally go to the main speakers either (a) go to the sub instead or (b) go to both the main speakers and the sub. If you have questions about that, just let us know and we'll talk you through it.

 

[GlocksRock]

The only real advantage to having a dvd player that has a dts decoder in it is for those folks who don't have a system and use their tv speakers. That way they can still watch discs that have dts, in the event that is the only available audio track(s).

 

[allargon]

The only real advantage to having a dvd player that has a dts decoder in it is for those folks who don't have a system and use their tv speakers. That way they can still watch discs that have dts, in the event that is the only available audio track(s).

You forgot about people that have surround amplifiers/processors/receivers with no DTS decoder but analog inputs in. This also requires a player with multichannel analog outs. That's a rather old school setup. However, I would bet $1 that at least one Audioholic on this board has or has (recently) had a setup like that.

This was most recently posted (this week)...

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/processors/parasound-halo-p7

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am going to be getting a new DVD player. Both of them have Dolby Digital and optical audio out which is a must for me. One of them though also says it has a built in decoder for DTS. What's the basic difference, any major advantages with DTS? My setup is a new Onkyo rec and 2 tower speakers and a sub. I just want to make sure I can play the audio in true 2.1 (.1 being the sub from what I understand), so will Dolby Digital do this or do I need to get DTS? Right now my DVD player just supports 2.0 and it makes the sub not stick out during explosions, you just don't get the full affect, it plays in sync with the speakers and won't play the lows seperately

FYI, my rec has both Dolby and DTS built in and I have a optical cable for the audio ready to use

I say get the one with the most features. DD & DTS are two completely different and incompatible audio codec. Some movies are encoded with DD and some are encoded with DTS. Some CDs are also encoded with DTS sound.

So I say get the one that has both DTS & DD.

 

[GlocksRock]

Since dolby digital is the standard for DVD, I think that pretty much any dvd that has dts would also have dolby digital. Maybe not every single disc has both, but I'm sure the majority do, unless it's something like a dts demo dvd.

 

[dobyblue]

That is correct, any DVD with dts must also have Dolby Digital on it - however it does not have to be multi-channel and in a lot of cases the discs with dts will only have Dolby Digital 2.0 on them.

Examples of this - just about any release with full bit rate 1.509 Mbps dts

If your receiver has a dts logo on it, you don't need a built in dts decoder.

 

[WilL07]

If your receiver can decode DTS, then you don't need the DVD player to do it provided that you use the optical connection. So, you should be set with either DVD player. If you'll let us know the model number of the DVD player that won't decode DTS, we could check just to make sure.

Both Dolby Digital and DTS will give you multichannel surround. DTS uses less compression than Dolby Digital. Some people have a hard time telling a difference between the two, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. I prefer DTS, but they are pretty close.

EDIT: The .1 is for the low frequency effect (LFE) track, which would be directed to the sub. You can also use the bass management on your receiver (and in some DVD players, as well) to have low frequencies that would normally go to the main speakers either (a) go to the sub instead or (b) go to both the main speakers and the sub. If you have questions about that, just let us know and we'll talk you through it.

Here is the rec I have, looks like it has both DD and DTS built in, and yes I will be using the optical cable for sound

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR506&class=Receiver&p=i


DVD players I am looking to get are below, both have the optical sound port

http://us.lge.com/products/model/detail/tv|audio|video_digital video__DN898.jhtml

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665393601

Please don't try to talk me into Blue Ray and the like, can't afford it However if you have other suggestions for no more then $100 then please let me know, thanks.

Will

 

[Adam]

Will,

Based on the owners manuals for the two DVD players for which you provided links, neither one of those players will decode DTS. Both will decode Dolby Digital, and both will output DTS through a digital audio output. So, that doesn't need to even enter your decision process. Both of those players would work just fine with your new Onkyo receiver.

I'm curious about the DVD player that you have now. Does it have a digital audio output (either optical or coax)? If so, you should be able to get the same audio from your current player.

Adam

 

[WilL07]

Thanks for the info and help so far Adam.

My current DVD player is really old, lol, like 5 years. It does have Dig Coax out for audio. But I already bought a optical cable and want to use it, plus lets face it, time to upgrade to HDMI for the DVD player. My TV is 1080i and I want to take full advantage of the pic quality as well as the audio. My current player has component out for video but I think the max resolu is 420p....

So out of the 2 do you like one over the other? I am leaning to the LG, not that fond of Sony..

 

[Adam]

So out of the 2 do you like one over the other? I am leaning to the LG, not that fond of Sony..

I don't have any preference between those two. I also tend to stay away from Sony, but I've never owned any LG-branded gear. I'd think that either one would work fine. For upscaling DVD players, the Oppo brand gets a number of very good reviews - but I think that they are all over $100 if you buy them new.

Until you get a new one (and I completely understand the desire to get a new one ), I'd say hook up the digital coax from your current DVD player to your Onkyo. If you don't know, digitial coax doesn't need a fancy cable. Just use any cable with RCA jacks on both ends (a video cable would work great). After you do that, you'll likely need to change the audio setting in the DVD player's menu to output the audio in "bitstream" instead of "PCM". I think that would give you more processing options because your Onkyo will be decoding the digital signal instead of having your DVD player do it. With your speaker set-up (two fronts and a sub), there may not be a huge difference, but it never hurts to try.

 

[WilL07]

Ok, I will look into the Oppo but I think you are right they are a little out of my price range.

I will give the coax cable a try, I have plenty of cables laying around to try Maybe I will just use the current DVD player until I can afford something better like a new Oppo or something...

I realize my speaker setup is nothing crazy but I do plan to atleast get a center speaker add on very soon.

The real reason I am trying this all out is because as I had stated earlier when I played movies with explosions with Dolby dig etc it just sounded flat. Seems as though the bass (LFE's) went to all the speakers and wouldn't seperate to just the sub and give you that bass pounding explosion. Now in music from my ipod it sounds great. I am thinking because I have the DVD player hooked up with just RCA's for audio it's not working properly and decoding in x.1 sound, .1 being the sub. So hopefully all this will work better.

 

[obscbyclouds]

Ok, I will look into the Oppo but I think you are right they are a little out of my price range.

I will give the coax cable a try, I have plenty of cables laying around to try Maybe I will just use the current DVD player until I can afford something better like a new Oppo or something...

That's what I'd recommend. You'll get better upscaling with any Oppo unit than those from Sony or LG. The DV-980HD is only $169. The other advantages of Oppo are SACD/DVD-A capability (if you ever plan to try hires music), and the ability to basically play any disc you throw at it. It's also a better quality component than the other two you mentioned (AND it comes with an HDMI cable!)

Coax and Optical cables both carry the same S/PDIF signal, so the cable itself shouldn't make any difference. In fact, most board members (generalizing here) prefer coax because it's got a more solid connector, and the cables are cheaper and more robust.

 

[WilL07]

$169 for that model Oppo is not bad at all. I will just save up for something like that

I have heard about the somewhat floppy issues with optical, but the new Monster one I have is really nice and sturdy, has this spring type clip in it that locks it in place, was quite impressed and decided to stick with it.

 

[mfabien]

It is unfortunate that your TV does not have HDMI or a DVI input. Upconversion of commercial DVDs to 1080i (your TV HD resolution) cannot be done and is limited to 480p (unless you copy a commercial DVD to DVD-R or RW disc).

And the Oppo's SACD and DVD-A decoding requires HDMI or 5.1 multichannel analogs. In any event your speaker setup is limited to 2.1.

Had you a TV with HDMI or DVI input, the best SD DVD player would now be the new Toshiba XD-E500 that converts SD DVDs to near HD and is available for $ 149. But... not for you, I guess. In any event, you find out about it at:

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/models/xd-e500/docs/xd-e500_spec.pdf

 

[dobyblue]

Use your current players component cables and set it to 480p.
Your television will scale it to the native panel resolution anyway.
You can get a good digital coaxial cable for less than $10.

12ft - $4.10 - http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=2682&seq=1&format=2

6ft - $3.20 - http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10236&cs_id=1023603&p_id=2680&seq=1&format=2

Why buy anything new at all. If your budget is around $100 you're better off just keeping your current equipment. You'll be able to buy a Blu-ray player next year for around the same price you're looking into the Oppo for right now!!

Optical is no better than digital coaxial, don't worry about that.

 

[WilL07]

It is unfortunate that your TV does not have HDMI or a DVI input. Upconversion of commercial DVDs to 1080i (your TV HD resolution) cannot be done and is limited to 480p (unless you copy a commercial DVD to DVD-R or RW disc).

And the Oppo's SACD and DVD-A decoding requires HDMI or 5.1 multichannel analogs. In any event your speaker setup is limited to 2.1.

Had you a TV with HDMI or DVI input, the best SD DVD player would now be the new Toshiba XD-E500 that converts SD DVDs to near HD and is available for $ 149. But... not for you, I guess. In any event, you find out about it at:

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/tacpassets-images/models/xd-e500/docs/xd-e500_spec.pdf

Not sure where you got the idea my TV is not 1080i and has no HDMI inputs. But it's all good, in any case it IS 1080i and has 2 HDMI inputs.

 

[obscbyclouds]

Not sure where you got the idea my TV is not 1080i and has no HDMI inputs. But it's all good, in any case it IS 1080i and has 2 HDMI inputs.

Is your TV is a CRT?If so it doesn't really have a "native" resolution as such. Manufacturers will normally label them "1080i" because it's the highest resolution they can accept.

Even so, I saw a marked improvement in PQ when I switched from a 480p Tosh DVD player hooked up with component cables to an Oppo (DV-981 in my case) running 1080I over HDMI. This was on a Tohsiba 46" CRT. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all waiting to get the Oppo. And if you have a fixed pixel display (Plasma, LCD, DLP), all the more reason to get an excellent upscaling player.

 

[mfabien]

Not sure where you got the idea my TV is not 1080i and has no HDMI inputs. But it's all good, in any case it IS 1080i and has 2 HDMI inputs.

...because you are saying your display is 1080i which is normally a CRT RPTV. And I don't know of any CRT RPTV with HDMI (mine has DVI). Your display must be 1080p and you must have either a LCD or Plasma display, no?

 

[obscbyclouds]

...because you are saying your display is 1080i which is normally a CRT RPTV. And I don't know of any CRT RPTV with HDMI (mine has DVI). Your display must be 1080p and you must have either a LCD or Plasma display, no?

There's more than a few RP CRT's with HDMI connections. Toshibas, Hitachi's, and I think even some of the later Mits. models for example. I believe there have also been some manufacturers who have labeled their 720 or 768 plasmas and LCD's as "1080i", probably because that was the highest resolution they could accept (this was before the emergence of 1080p).