Is DTS-HD MA winning the race over DolbyTrue HD???

[avliner]

Just out of curiosity, but lately I've noted that the majority of new BD releases are coming with DTS-HD MA encoded soundtracks though...

Any specific/technical reason for that??

 

[jostenmeat]

Just out of curiosity, but lately I've noted that the majority of new BD releases are coming with DTS-HD MA encoded soundtracks though...

Any specific/technical reason for that??

Couldn't tell you anything for sure.

48.06% of BDs are with DTS-MA. That's nearly half of all BD's.

21.23% are with TrueHD.

An easier thing with DTS-MA is that the lossy stream is already provided within. With TrueHD, you have to add an accompanying lossy track for those with are using legacy devices. I suppose that may mean more disc space, though with 50GB available, I don't know how often it even matters.

The other thing is that certain studios have exclusive deals with any given codec company. For instance, I think both Fox and Lionsgate only do DTS-MA.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't why, but all I know is that I like the way DTS & DTS-HD MA sound over DD & TrueHD.

For example, I prefer Iron Man 2's DTS-HD MA over Iron Man 1's TrueHD.

But I agree with you on the assessment; I think DTS-HD MA is winning over more and more studios over Dolby.

Oh, yeah, I can't stand the fact that when I watch a movie with both TrueHD & DD, the DD is the DEFAULT soundtrack and I have to manually change to the TrueHD soundtrack!

Thank goodness I can use DVDFab to get rid of that DD soundtrack so now my movies only play TrueHD.

With DTS-HD MA, I don't have to worry about it because it is always the default soundtrack.

 

[avliner]

Couldn't tell you anything for sure.

48.06% of BDs are with DTS-MA. That's nearly half of all BD's.

21.23% are with TrueHD...

Thanks Josten,

if the above figures are correct, we can say that even 5.1 PCM is doing better than DolbyTHD (which accounts for 30.71% though).

Maybe that's a matter of economic$$, who knows?


AcuDef,

to be honest I'm not sure which one's best though, due to the fact that there's not any BD that I know of with both HD codecs encoded.

What I prefer from Dolby tracks is that the bass is not so overly accentuated (IIRC, all DTS tracks are encoded with a + 3dB over Dolby).
Notwhitstanding that, there are truly gems on DTS, but as I said, I'd like to do a cross-check between both HD codecs, in order to really know which sounds best to my ears though

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks Josten,

if the above figures are correct, we can say that even 5.1 PCM is doing better than DolbyTHD (which accounts for 30.71% though).

Maybe that's a matter of economic$$, who knows?

Could be, since the studios do have to pay to use one of the discussed codecs. Mch PCM is free, but it uses much more disc space.

AcuDef,

to be honest I'm not sure which one's best though, due to the fact that there's not any BD that I know of with both HD codecs encoded.

What I prefer from Dolby tracks is that the bass is not so overly accentuated (IIRC, all DTS tracks are encoded with a + 3dB over Dolby).
Notwhitstanding that, there are truly gems on DTS, but as I said, I'd like to do a cross-check between both HD codecs, in order to really know which sounds best to my ears though

I have never tried to compare, because I inherently believe there should be no difference; they all are designed towards the same goal, and that is to provide the lossless representation of what was created in the studio.

That said, the only title that comes to mind with both codecs is Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I read somewhere that Spielberg demanded that DTS-MA be added to the title, but of course I have no idea how true that is.

 

[avliner]

Good tip on the Close Encounters Josten; thanks for sharing that!

 

[Seth=L]

I will agree that the DTS-HD product is far more streamlined, and it certainly performs well. Any good compression codec has the potential to sound excellent, even standard Dolby Digital can sound excellent. My personal experience with most DTS-HD and MA soundtracks is that they are immensly dynamic without having an overall output loss. Any of my HD DVDs with Dolby TrueHD are oddly quiet compared to Blu-ray DTS-HD soundtracks (maybe that's just the hardware though).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

AcuDef,

to be honest I'm not sure which one's best though, due to the fact that there's not any BD that I know of with both HD codecs encoded.

Red Cliff 1 & 2 (at least the International BD Release) have not 1, not 2, but 3 HD-audio codecs on the same discs: Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD MA, & PCM.

I've compared all three codecs on the same disc as far as the SPL meter levels taken at the same times throughout the film. Obviously, they varied. But overall, TrueHD was the LOUDEST soundtrack in this case by a good 4 dB on the SPL meter over DTS-HD MA!

All I know is that I own probably 500 BDs. Overall, the DTS-HD MA soundtracks just sound the best to my ears, follow by TrueHD, follow by PCM.

 

[krzywica]

In my experience it varies wildly and the TrueHD tracks are every bit as capable as the HDMA tracks. You will notice this with concerts on BD especially. Chris Botti, John Mayer, David Gilmore, The Police, and Dave Matthews all sound spectacular in TrueHD. Also Metallica Nimes, and a few concerts with DTS-HDMA audio are also stellar.

 

[avliner]

Guys,

you know what? I always prefer Mch PCM over DTHD/DTS-MA; I mean, to have the player decoding though... Have been cross-checking several times, all level matched and so and - to my ears - LPCM does sound a tiny bit better...

Funny thing is that all 3 modes should sound the same, under the very same conditons, right? Not talking on BD's only, but DVD's as well (at least thru my Oppos DV- 983 / BD-80). With the Panny though, I've it set to bitstream, due to the lack on internal decoding and I only change to PCM if I want to listen to a Mch PCM encoded BD.

 

[PEXPRESSFAN]

Yes

I have always liked DTS over all other sound.

 

[Rogozhin]

I have always liked DTS over all other sound.

Me too.