Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD - release?

[boe]

I was wondering if any tracked how long it was before a new Dolby format or DTS format was release and was actually incorporated into new preamps/receivers. I don't know if these new formats have even been officially released yet but I'm interested in knowing how soon (or not) it is likely we can actually start seeing them in our next products.

I'm not so interested in having a googleplex of speakers but the ability to really process the full bitrates for better sound is of more interest to me.

 

[gene]

Boe;

Thats a great question and we plan on covering DD + and DTS ++ in the near future, though I wouldn't hold my breath for the release of these formats. Keep in mind they are also useless without supportive software and I feel we are still a # of years away from that.

 

[boe]

Thanks for your quick response. I'm hoping they surprise us and get this out the door quickly. It was bad enough when they released so many DVDs a second time with improved audio. I'd hate to relive that with the new Blue Laser and HD DVDs. Fool me once, shame on me...

I'm looking forward to getting a new preamp next year but won't buy one unless I know it will be ready for those two new formats through a downloadable update.

 

[boe]

Boe;

Thats a great question and we plan on covering DD + and DTS ++ in the near future, though I wouldn't hold my breath for the release of these formats. Keep in mind they are also useless without supportive software and I feel we are still a # of years away from that.

I may have missed this ever discussed? Do you know if either group has officially declared any specs so manufacturers can at least prepare for them? Also are the HDMI (1.2?) specs set for the new codecs?

 

[9f9c7z]

I was talking to an engineer at Anthem about fire wire and HDMI interfaces. He said the whole thing is a huge mess in the a/v industry right now. Problem is the specs are so complex (300+ pages) not everyone is make product that actually meets the whole spec. Usually no issues when going between components of the same manf, but when you start integrating different manfs, problems may arise. Also said Denon was one of the few (only?) dvd players that had tested to full compliance with the HDMI spec. I didn't ask what Denon model or other manfs tested.

Fwiw, there is now a HDMI-1 and a HDMI-2. I know the ‘2’ has a bigger plug, more pins/conductors, but don’t have clue why or what the HDMI-2 is intended for.

Personally, I’m not at all sure we aren’t exceeding the current envelope on the whole digital thing.

 

[Jazzwyld]

New Formats

I'm a member of AES, and i was reading the white papers on the DD+ format. It'll be great, but as said above without the software its uselss.

 

[9f9c7z]

Oh, cool! What is slated to be new and improved with DD+ ???

 

[LDanix]

Oooooo! I'm starting to salivate. How many discreet channels are rumored to be in DD+ and DTS++?

 

[gene]

Don't salivate too much. Dolby is still nearly 1 year away from finalizing the spec for DD++ and the horsepower requirements are pretty extensive. The first generation products that claim HD will be compatible with legacy devices and likely downconvert audio to normal DD.

So realistically, we are looking at another 1-2 years for hardware and probably a few years for established software.

Its doubtful any current products will be software only upgradeable to these new formats.

As for HDMI, yes currently Denon is the only manufacturer with HDMI ver 1.1 that I am aware of, but ver 1.3 or higher will be required for HD & DD++/DTS+. Are we having fun yet?

 

[8118]

"Dolby Digital Plus builds on the original Dolby Digital specifications, allowing for higher bit rates and more channels. Dolby Digital Plus has a maximum bit rate of 6mbps and supports 13.1 channels. In comparison, Dolby Digital caps out at 640kbps and 5.1 channels. So Dolby Digital Plus essentially provides 10 times the bandwidth of the original Dolby Digital. The new format also allows for extremely low bit rate multichannel sound for streaming on the Web or over the air. The benefits of the Dolby Digital Plus codec include transient prenoise processing, enhanced channel coupling, adaptive hybrid transform processing, and channel and program extensions.

Whereas the original Dolby Digital signal was sent over either optical or coaxial cables, Dolby Digital Plus uses the new HDMI connector. Content encoded with Plus will be backwards compatible, but the resulting sound won't be as detailed. "