First time shopping for new audio system.. Need to be educated..

[DK37]

Hello,

I am looking to purchase some HD audio systems for my new home and need help! I have ZERO knowledge about how audio works. I have googled around for the past few weeks and all I saw was bunch of technical stuff that I don't understand... So I am hoping that some of you could ask very basic questions I have..

First of all, the reason I want to buy new audio system is to play HD audio for watching sports games, movies, streaming, music, etc..

I just have a pretty old 32 inch screen TV that I bought ~3-5 years ago. My friend had recommended DTS HD system and I want to make sure if I understand the technology correctly.

My understanding is all these audio equipment with DTS logo means they can decode and play DTS HD sound. But I presume the content that I am playing will HAVE TO BE encoded with DTS technology.. ? You guys are probably laughing at me already.. but I just lack very basic understanding of how all of this works

For example, if I buy the sound system with DTS HD capabilities and just watch regular TV channel with it, will I just get regular sound? If that's the case... I mean.. are there lots of DTS encoded contents out there these days to make the audio system upgrade worth the money? Generally what kind of DTS HD encoded contents out there other than Blu-Ray discs?? Does it cost a lot of money for the content makers for encoding sound with DTS technology??

I also read somewhere that HD audio is generally not supported for streaming services like NetFlix and Hulu. Is this b/c NetFlix doesn't stream in HD audio or none of the contents (movies) that NetFlix carries were never encoded with DTS technology (but I thought all Blu-Ray content have to be encoded in DTS)?

What about spotify? Do the songs also need to be encoded with DTS technology to experience DTS HD sound?

What about Dolby? Are there more contents out there encoded with Dolby HD technology? I presume I wouldn't be able to play Dolby HD encoded movie with DTS HD sound system?

Sorry for dumb questions.. but I'd really appreciate if somebody could walk me through all this.

Thanks!!

 

[markw]

you've got a pretty good handle on this.

a DTS capable system will be able to play back any source in whatever format in which it's been recorded. Whatever receiver you buy that can decode DTS, which is all of them, will be able to play Dolby Digital, stereo or mono as well. But, they won't play back in DTS. That's like having a HD TV and expecting a rerun of "The Honeymooners" to show in full screen HD in color and with DTS sound.

Your receiver will play back your source in whatever scheme it was recorded In, be it DTS, Dolby Digital, Stereo or even plain old mono so yes, to play back in DTS, the source must have been encoded with DTS initially.

Most receivers have an "auto" function which will play back your source in the best format available, be it DTS, DD or stereo, which will probably show up as either DPL or Neo, depending on how you set your receiver.

As far as I know, about the only recordings consistently recorded with DTS are Blu-rays, and that's not even a 100% certainty. DVD's and some streaming services like Netflix, amazon, and probably others will top out at plain old Dolby Digital, which doesn't suck. Your music services like Spotify, Pandora, and Slacker will top out with two channel stereo.

So, to sum it up while DTS is nice and a preferred method, I think only Blu-ray, and maybe a very few DVD's offer it,

to realize the benefit of these newer hi-glitz DD/DTS formats, you'll need to feed your source directly to your receiver with a HDMI cable. Digital coax and fibre optic will only allow your basic DTS or Dolby digital at best,

 

[Thunder240]

I think you may be confused about two different -- but sort of related -- usages of the term "HD" in the audio world.

1) HD (high definition) is usually used to refer to a digital audio format that is better than CD (compact disc) quality in either its sample rate, it's bit depth, or both sample rate and bit depth. CD quality is 44.1 kHz sample rate / 16 bits. Digital TV typically transmits in 48 kHz / 16 bit, and that is still considered "standard definition", not high definition. HD bit depths are typically 24 and 32. HD sample rates include 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, etc. kHz. These HD formats can be stored uncompressed, in which case they are referee red to as PCM (pulse-code modulation), or compressed. The two most popular compression formats for HD audio music are FLAC and ALAC. Both are lossless formats.

2) Multi-channel audio formats like Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS Master HD differ from their 'parent' formats (DD and DTS) in that they are lossless rather than lossy. But additionally, they are also capable of handling better-than-CD quality sample rates and bit depths. Still, the majority of Blu-Ray audio tracks utilize either DD TrueHD or DTS MA-HD but nonetheless are 48/16 rather than being better-than-CD quality. But you do find the occasional Blue-Ray that contains 96/24 or 192/24 content.

What does this mean for you? As long as all of the HD content you are listening to is on Blue-Ray disc (including PS3/PS4 games), if you have a DTS MA-HD capable receiver, and your BD player is connected with HDMI, it will be transparent to you. However, when you start trying to download content, that's when you'll need to learn how to configure your systems to properly handle HD audio and start paying close attention to formats and such. I'm not aware of ANY service that currently streams HD music, though I'd love to learn of one!

Final note: HD radio is completely different. In that context HD stands for "hybrid digital".


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