Has anyone tried to play DTS 5.1 DVDs in their TL DVD-A player?

Never knew there were so many enhanced format CD / DVD on the market today. Seems like every manufacturer is trying to set the standard for enhanced quality music.

In looking for DVD-A titles I happened upon several that are encoded with the DTS 5.1 standard. The seller hypes them as DVD-A formats, but you go to web sites dedicated to the DVD-A format and they never actually say whether the DTS 5.1 (which is different than the DVD-A standard) will work in a DVD-A player.

Any experience out there??

 

I bought a couple of DTS discs because their albums wern't in DVD-A and they sound fine. They don't have the crispness of the excellent Demo DVD but they still sound pretty good.

BTW, a well mixed sterio Cd will also sound good but a badly mixed DVD-A will sound terrible. GIGO

 

I have a few DTS 5.1 CDs (not DVDs). They sound pretty much as good as CDs, but with 5.1 channels of audio.

 

Your owner's manual will tell you what formats the system supports and DTS is one of them. Here's a link for a listing of DTS Discs.

 

Thanks for the replies.

FlashG... You are correct, I've found nothing that even comes close to the quality of the demo DVD the saleman used during the test drive.

If anyone ever finds a good one, they should put out the word.

 

seberle, there are a couple of threads about favorite DVD-A discs. Here's one to start you off with; Favorite DVD-A's.

 

If your taste runs to classical music, watch out! This Panasonic audio system is very limited in dynamic range and you may have to boost volume levels to get decent listening. Evidently, it was optimized for pop music, much of which is compressed these days.

 

I have to listen to "Flamenco a Go-Go" and "Sinatra at the Sands with Count Basie" over level 30. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Winelight are good at 12 to 14. These are all DVD-A's but they were obviously mixed/produced with different audiences in mind.

When you dial in the correct volume they all sound sweet.

 

Yep! You hit the secret. I have to crank up just about all of the Telarc recordings to over 25 routinely. Panasonic cheapened out on the dynamic range. Interestingly, Harmon-Kardon is doing the same thing for their new Mercedes and Porsche audio systems. What a waste!

 

I always thought DTS was theoretically "supposed" to be clearer than DVD-A because DTS holds more information or something...

But i cant really tell. i ve heard DTS discs sound better than DVD-A and also DVD-A sound better than DTS. it just depends on what kind of disc.

DTS plays in the TL. I think i have the Eagles Hell Freezes Over disc. Its good

 

This is from the DTS FAQ:
How does DVD-Audio compare to CD?

"DVD-Audio improves upon CD just as DVD-Video improves upon VHS. DVD-A offers better sound quality as well as 5.1surround sound and video extras. Every DTS Entertainment DVD-Audio title includes MLP tracks for DVD-Audio players and receivers with six inputs, plus DTS 5.1 tracks for DVD-Video players with DTS Digital Out capability."

Why is it that DTS Entertainment DVD-As are compatible with all DVD-Video players, but other labels’ DVD-As are not necessarily compatible?

"The DVD-Audio technical specifications describe “DVD-Video compatibility” as an option, not a mandatory feature. While DTS-E believes that all titles should offer such a valuable feature, some content providers may choose to market discs that are only designed to play on the new DVD-Audio players. Ultimately, it’s the consumers who will decide how important such compatibility really is by their purchasing trends."

You can also find info about DVD-A here. And info on DTS can be found here. In all honesty, not all DVD-A discs sound all that good and that comes down to whoever did the mix.

 

You have it backwards. The ones that are LOUD are the ones lacking in dynamic range. Classical stuff is recorded at a low level so the crecendos can get to their full loudness. The difference between the loudest & softest points of the disc IS the dynamic range. Material that is all loud all the time LACK dynamic range. I have never heard a car stereo that is able to handle classical music as well as the TL. The first thing my wife (who is a classical nut) noticed on our test drive of the car was that she could FINALLY hear classical well in a moving car, without constant gain-riding.

 

It's the other way around. DVD-A has MUCH higher resolution than DTS (or Dolby Digital). Just compare the DTS disc Marvin Gaye--Forever Yours, with the DVD-A The Marvin Gaye Collection (different title & song order, but the exact same material & mix). The DVD-A sounds MUCH better.

 

ah here we go... DTS is not as highly compressed, which is why people say it is louder and clearer... or something:

Digital Theater Systems Digital Surround is an audio encoding format similar to Dolby Digital. It requires a decoder, either in the player or in an external receiver. See 3.6.2 for technical details. Some people claim that, because of its lower compression level, DTS sounds better than Dolby Digital. Others claim there is no meaningfully perceptible difference, especially at the typical data rate of 768 kbps, which is 60% more than Dolby Digital. Because of the many variances in production, mixing, decoding, and reference levels, it's almost impossible to accurately compare the two formats (DTS usually produces a higher volume level, causing it to sound better in casual comparisons).

DTS originally did all encoding in house, but as of October 1999 DTS encoders became available for purchase. DTS titles are often considered to be specialty items intended for audio enthusiasts, so some DTS titles are also available in a Dolby Digital-only version.

DTS is an optional format on DVD. Contrary to uninformed claims, the DVD specification has included an ID code for DTS since 1996 (before the spec was even finalized). Because DTS was slow in releasing encoders and test discs, players made before mid 1998 (and many since) ignore DTS tracks. A few demo discs were created in 1997 by embedding DTS data into a PCM track (the same technique used with CDs and laserdiscs), and these are the only DTS DVD discs that work on all players. New DTS-compatible players arrived in mid 1998, but theatrical DTS discs using the DTS audio stream ID did not appear until January 7, 1999 (they were originally scheduled to arrive in time for Christmas 1997). Mulan, a direct-to-video animation (not the Disney movie) with DTS soundtrack appeared in November 1998. DTS-compatible players carry an official "DTS Digital Out" logo.

Dolby Digital or PCM audio is required on 525/60 (NTSC) discs, and since both PCM and DTS together don't usually leave enough room for quality video encoding of a full-length movie, essentially every disc with a DTS soundtrack also carries a Dolby Digital soundtrack. This means that all DTS discs will work in all DVD players, but a DTS-compatible player and a DTS decoder are required to play the DTS soundtrack. DTS audio CDs work on all DVD players, because the DTS data is encapsulated into standard PCM tracks that are passed untouched to the digital audio output. DTS discs often carry a Dolby Digital 2.0 track in Dolby Surround format instead of a full Dolby Digital 5.1 track.

 

If I have it backwards, then so does Telarc. I complained about having to crank up the volume to Telarc, and this was their response: Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer (at least one that you will
like). The DVD-A audio system supplied in the Acura TL was not designed
with wide dynamic range classical music in mind. My friend and colleague,
Elliot Scheiner, had collaborated with Panasonic on the overall design of
that system. Elliot is a "pop" engineer/producer. The Acura system was
optimized for "pop" recordings. "Pop" recordings, and especially radio &
XM broadcasts are very compressed. The dynamic range (difference between
loud and soft passages) of such material is greatly reduced as compared to
an uncompressed classical recording of natural dynamic range.

I brought this problem to the attention of Panasonic last year, as well as
to Harmon Kardon who is making a competing car surround system for Mercedes
and Porsche. Neither manufacturer expressed any interest in enabling their
systems to better handle wide dynamic range music such as found in
classical recordings. They felt there wasn't enough interest from
consumers in hearing that type of music in cars. I didn't feel this was a
satisfactory response and I'm still working on the issue. I'm afraid I
don't have a good solution to your problem at this time. The
Acura/Panasonic DVD-A system does not have adequate amplification for
classical music. Panasonic knows it. Elliot Scheiner knows it. No one
wants to do anything about it.r response:

 

DVD-A is a high resolution format, DTS is not. DVD-A has the better audio performance, as Larry Geller has stated.

 

We've had this discussion before. The reason you need to crank up your system when playing dynamic material is because the average loudness is much lower to allow for the headroom that is needed for the loud passages. It has nothing to do about being optimized for pop or classical. This will be the case with every playback system. Here at work, I often work with heavily-compressed (dynamics, not data) material and I set my monitoring volume much lower than I would for very dynamic stuff. Of course, when doing a final mix or mastering, I set the monitors to a reference volume, but that would be too loud when listening all day to "pop" and other less-dynamic material.

Needing to crank the volume for dynamic material has nothing to do with cost-cutting and such. In the studios here at work, we've spared no expense on the monitoring systems and they exhibit exactly the same needs as our cars. You've got to turn it up to hear things with lower average volumes, if you want to listen at the same apparent loudness.

 

I think you may be confusing DTS and DD 5.1 when referring to movies.

 

yeah your right. i eventually figured it out.

DTS is the clearest Lossy format with the highest bitrate there but DVD-Audio is superior in that it is a lossless format... oh well. It sounds just as clear with a DTS disc as a DVD-Audio disc. I think CDs sound pretty good too.

 

I know that my TL will pop on DTS discs sometimes. It is not the disc because I can rewind and it won't do it again in the same spot. I assume its something to do with the processing of decoding the DTS. It will make a harsh pop noise that scares the hell out of me. The first time I thought a huge rock had smashed into the windsheild. That's what it sounds like.

 

I've experienced this before, too, and it happens mostly on one of my DTS discs than any of the others. I believe it's a read error that somehow does not get corrected. It may be caused by vibration or the disc just isn't as readable as others.

Yes, it's startling, especially if you're listening at 25+ volume.

 

Your explanation makes sense. I'm just trying to understand why I have to listen to certain recordings at elevated levels that would blast me out of the car for other recordings. I'm getting the picture. And try to understand...I'm coming from a limited knowledge base that doesn't know a decibel from a artichoke. Thanks for the edification.

 

Like some others I'm starting to get a greater appreciation of the problem. Can you give us some of your ideas of your not so good solutions? I'm wondering why we can't get additional power from a quality add-on amp or would this induce additional noise or other problems?

 

Do you have another system, in your home for instance, that can play multichannel discs? I'm sure you'll find the same variance in loudness in any system you choose. There is no standard level for audio discs, so most will vary. The nearest thing to an exception here is that most recent pop recordings are smashed to the ceiling, so they all are at about the same apparent volume.

 

Good suggestion. Yes, I will try the DVD-A in my home system, but I'm not sure if it will play it. My stuff is pretty antiquated.

 

There is a new "Best of SEAL" album out in 5.1 DTS DVD-A. It's phenominal sounding. Well balanced music which sounds best in the TL.

Link to SEAL album on AMAZON.COM

 

To me, where you can tell the difference between DTS and DVD-A, is in how "real" it sounds. The DVD-A format has soo much more information, and wider frequency range. There are things in recording an instrument, that are not necessarilly heard, but almost felt, ambiance. The DVD-A picks up more of this type of information that DTS doesn't. DVD-A just seems smoother, and lifelike. However, it is nice to have DTS in our TL. Some of the favorite DTS disks are:

Steve Miller Band- Fly like an Eagle
The Police- Every Breath you take (hits)
The Moody Blues- Days of Future Past

The Police disc has a tendency to have that loud pop sound that others are descriving, happen to me. But it seems to only happen once or twice.