icarus
01-31-2007, 09:55 PM
With the recent thread about THX, I decided to set up a thread to discuss the different formats. To attempt to clear up what the differences are.
Dolby Pro Logic
Dolby Pro Logic provides left, center, and right front channels and a single surround channel. However, Pro Logic is a "matrix" format with a certain amount of channel-to-channel leakage. This flaw is not audible under most circumstances. Pro Logic is still used to decode the audio Portions of Many Videotapes and NTSC TV broadcasts.
Dolby Pro Logic II
This is a very sophisticated update of Pro Logic's matrix approach to surround sound. It adds stereo surround capabilties so it can call it a 5.0 faormat and it features greater channel seperation. Pro Logic II includes two modes, both a movie, and a music mode, thus making it a very suitable surround application.
Dolby Digital
This is the original 5.1 format. It is discrete in that channel-to-channel seperation is in total, an important consideration when trying to locate the origin of specific portions of movie sountracks. Dolby Digital accounts for the majority of all multi-channel software available today.
DTS
This Dolby competitor initially promised superior sound because it used less digital
compression to convey sound from the dubbing stage (where movie soundtracks are made) to your home. Recent comparisons have proven these claims difficult to defend, especially with DVD, which uses a more compressed version of the original DTS format.
Dolby Digital EX
A Dolby Digital variant, EX adds a third surround channel to Dolby
Digital’s two. This extra channel (called Center Back or Surround Rear, depending on who
you ask) is not discrete but is matrixed onto the stereo surround information. Technically,
that makes it a “5.1+” format but is commonly – though erroneously – referred to as a
“6.1” format. It gives the sound engineer a more complete audio palette from which to
construct a convincing sense of directionality for surround information. You need Dolby
Digital EX encoded software, an EX decoder, and an extra rear speaker (or speaker pair)
to enjoy the sonic benefits.
THX
It’s not a surround sound format at all even though it is often confused with one.
THX is a set of standards and technologies designed to make a home theater sound more
like a movie theater. As such, it deals with audio signals only after they’ve already been
decoded. While generally accepted as legitimate for movie soundtrack reproduction, THX
has inspired some controversy in audiophile circles where it is said to compromise music
reproduction.
So I think I've got it all pretty well covered, and I hope that this is very informative, and if any of this is worng please correct me.
Dolby Pro Logic
Dolby Pro Logic provides left, center, and right front channels and a single surround channel. However, Pro Logic is a "matrix" format with a certain amount of channel-to-channel leakage. This flaw is not audible under most circumstances. Pro Logic is still used to decode the audio Portions of Many Videotapes and NTSC TV broadcasts.
Dolby Pro Logic II
This is a very sophisticated update of Pro Logic's matrix approach to surround sound. It adds stereo surround capabilties so it can call it a 5.0 faormat and it features greater channel seperation. Pro Logic II includes two modes, both a movie, and a music mode, thus making it a very suitable surround application.
Dolby Digital
This is the original 5.1 format. It is discrete in that channel-to-channel seperation is in total, an important consideration when trying to locate the origin of specific portions of movie sountracks. Dolby Digital accounts for the majority of all multi-channel software available today.
DTS
This Dolby competitor initially promised superior sound because it used less digital
compression to convey sound from the dubbing stage (where movie soundtracks are made) to your home. Recent comparisons have proven these claims difficult to defend, especially with DVD, which uses a more compressed version of the original DTS format.
Dolby Digital EX
A Dolby Digital variant, EX adds a third surround channel to Dolby
Digital’s two. This extra channel (called Center Back or Surround Rear, depending on who
you ask) is not discrete but is matrixed onto the stereo surround information. Technically,
that makes it a “5.1+” format but is commonly – though erroneously – referred to as a
“6.1” format. It gives the sound engineer a more complete audio palette from which to
construct a convincing sense of directionality for surround information. You need Dolby
Digital EX encoded software, an EX decoder, and an extra rear speaker (or speaker pair)
to enjoy the sonic benefits.
THX
It’s not a surround sound format at all even though it is often confused with one.
THX is a set of standards and technologies designed to make a home theater sound more
like a movie theater. As such, it deals with audio signals only after they’ve already been
decoded. While generally accepted as legitimate for movie soundtrack reproduction, THX
has inspired some controversy in audiophile circles where it is said to compromise music
reproduction.
So I think I've got it all pretty well covered, and I hope that this is very informative, and if any of this is worng please correct me.