DTS and Surround recording\'s.

[Mixmaster]

I myself am a tech-head. Everything in the multimedia industry... computers, audio and video, I just love to explore. Soon the IBC (International Broadcast Convention) is going to be held in the RAI exhibition in Amsterdam. I\'m going to be there for sure, above all you always get loads of free material on CD and DVD. The stands to look for are the ones from DTS, THX, Dolby Digital and several more.

This upcoming event raised a question. Will TDRS-music in the near future be making audio recordings in Dolby Surround or even DTS?

I\'ve noticed that almost every new Home cinema system, HIFI system or any sound system contains 5 speakers and a subwoofer for the ultimate surround experiance.

I already own several DVD\'s which where recorded in Dolby 5.1 and DTS and I can say that the experiance is absolutely mindblowing.

[snubnog]

I\'m a tech-head too and I like your angle.

I\'m currently saving up for a new system incorporating 5.1 and DVD Audio/SACD so I\'m curious about this also.

Quick question though, correct me if I\'m wrong, but I was always under impression that the Dolby and DTS systems you refer to were inferior in sound quality to CD, due to the fact that they compress the audio (albeit very effectively, but Lossy), whereas DVD Audio and SACD are a much higher resolution than CD and offer 5.1 as a standard option (uncompressed).

I\'m sure the Dolby Surround and/or DTS options were added to enable DVD Audio disks to play on standard DVD Video players that weren\'t compatible with the higher resolution DVD Audio track. They simply play the Dolby track instead of the high resolution track.

This is essentially the same tactic that SACD uses by carrying the standard CD layer that is read by standard CD players whereas SACD players would read the higher resolution layer.


But yeah, back to your point, I\'d love to hear something like Anatomize in high resolution 5.1!

[Mixmaster]

Hi Snubnog.

Thanks for the reply. Well.. this idea came to my mind when I was trying out several Audio DVD\'s and DTS demo\'s that I\'ve received from DTS themselfs during a convention where I was. Anyway... I was going through my CD collection and I suddenly realised the huge potential  for Synthesizer music, seeing I\'ve become a big fan of Vince DiCola\'s work. Because he does allot of music composing on Keyboards and synthesizers, what good oppertunity is there to record an album in 5.1 surround, perhaps even in DTS quality, to reach the full dimension capable with synthesizer technology.

I also saw you mentioning SACD. Sadly though I can\'t play those on my DVD player. Mine is a NAD T 512 (Region free made) Which will only play CD, DVD, MP3 and Mpeg Multichannel.

Oh well... time will come when I buy a DVD Player that play\'s all formats.

[Travis]

I have been interested in multi speaker sound. I grew up between mono and stereo. The Beatles records, the first records I owned, were mono.
It\'s all there in glorious black and black. Most people listen to their  music on CD\'s or stereo MP3\'s. In order to deliver multi channel sound you must use a media like DVD to deliver it. I must consider the fact that the most popular format for delivering music we make here will almost never see a second pressing, not enough demand. So it can\'t be justified to release our music in a less popular format. Perhaps someday, maybe a live DVD show or something. Meanwhile, go listen to the first Beatles or Elvis or Frank Sinatra records. It really hasn\'t gotten any better that that.

[snubnog]

I know what you\'re saying Travis...I, like most people don\'t currently own a multi channel amp, speakers or player and on top of that, my favourite method of listening to my CD\'s is on headphones because of the superior quality (where I\'m limited to stereo because I only have two ears...heh)...

...but SACD in particular is "supposed" to be backwards compatible with standard CD players (obviously there\'s always gonna be some brands that don\'t work) with it\'s standard stereo CD layer and then an SACD layer that can carry both a stereo and multi channel track that would be read by SACD players...so at some point in the future when the costs to press an SACD are as low as a standard CD, theoretically you could just press SACD\'s and not rule anybody out.

I\'m suppose I\'m saying; it just presents the option of listening to a high resolution stereo and multi channel version of the album without ruling out the universal stereo CD standard.

Did that make sense? Heh


In all honesty, now that I think about it, I find the high resolution aspect the most appealing over and above the multi channel option.

[jigsaw]

recently i have been taping shows  24bit 96Khz... though i can\'t listen to them on CD or DVD..the quality is amazing compared to good ol\' cd\'s(16bit / 44.1K).  when blue lazer comes out..be ready for great audio for video.

i rather hear PCM audio on a DVD then 5.1 surround...i feel as though  compression is not good for the audio.

[snubnog]

Jigsaw, it\'s so good to hear people are already taping at the higher resolution!

And I agree with you about PCM being a priority over 5.1, I\'m totally anti-lossy compression, but what I\'m trying to say is that SACD and DVD Audio offer both high resolution uncompressed PCM stereo and high resolution uncompressed PCM 5.1. You can use one or the other or both on the same disc. Therefore the 5.1. aspect is like an added bonus, it isn\'t intended to replace stereo as such but offers an alternative method of presenting the music in addition to the standard.

The compressed Dolby Digital and DTS options are added to the DVD Audio discs purely to enable people who own a standard DVD Video player that is not compatible with DVD Audio to play the discs at a lower resolution. This isn\'t required on SACD discs (or possible) because they have the standard CD layer to be read by standard CD players and DVD Video players.

To complicate matters even further but to increase compatibilty, DVD Audio Dual Discs are double sided and have a standard CD on one side to enable them to play in standard CD Players.