SACD vs. DVD-A vs. DTS vs. DD

[JSE]

I still fairly new to HT and Digital Audio in general. I have a basic understanding of SACD/DVD-A and DTS/DD but what I am trying to figure out is this:

Why is music simply not released in DTS or DD? Why is there the need for SACD/DVD-A? I am struggling a bit with the differences between these formats and why or why can they not be cross-used (word?) for music and HT. It seems like it would be much more simple. I think I am being clear in my question? If not, let me know.

Thanks,

JSE

[Woochifer]

All DVD-A discs come with a DD and/or DTS backup track, so even if you don't have a DVD-A player, you can still enjoy surround music in full 5.1 output with any basic DVD player and a digital output. Before DVD-A and SACD even released any discs, DTS Entertainment did issue several surround music discs in the DTS format. They're in the process of reissuing those early DTS releases as DVD-A discs (with DTS backup tracks still included).

SACD and DVD-A are high resolution digital formats designed to take advantage of the larger disc capacities now available. The difference between these formats and DD and DTS is that they are noncompressed (well, sort of for DVD-A) formats, whereas DD and DTS are compressed. The difference between DD and DTS is that DD uses a much more aggressive compression scheme. DTS uses a higher resolution bitrate than DD, and accordingly IMO has better overall sound quality.

The reason why you have DD and DTS on movie soundtracks and not the higher res SACD or DVD-A formats is simple. DD and DTS save disc space and allow more room for video information. SACD and DVD-A carry no moving pictures and can therefore devote almost all available disc space to audio data. But, their reason for existence is not solely to satisfy demand for a higher resolution audio format. SACD and DVD-A are both copy protected formats that cannot be output through a digital connection, only the analog outputs can be used. Basically, the recording industry is hoping that the market moves to these protected multichannel formats because they cannot be ripped into MP3 files like CDs can.

The reason that you have competing SACD and DVD-A formats is also a little more complicated. Basically, Toshiba and Warner hold most of the DVD patents and DVD-A falls under this umbrella. Sony and Philips have had a nice licensing cash cow for the past couple of decades with their CD format Now that the CD patents are expiring, they need a new source of licensing revenue. Sony and Philips' original proposal was not selected, so they went ahead and pursued SACD as a means to muscle their way into people's DVD players. If they succeed in seeding the market with SACD discs (and their backwards compatibility with CDs with dual layered discs is their trump card), they basically force the market towards universal players, which in turn gives them the licensing revenue.

If you want to compare how the two formats stack up for yourself, Sir Terrence has suggested in the past trying out Twister or any of the three Lethal Weapon director's cut DVDs. Those discs have both DD and DTS soundtracks that were simultaneously encoded off the same master source at the same level (surprisingly few DVDs are done this way), and you can switch the soundtracks on the fly using the audio button.

[JSE]

That really clears things up for me and my sometimes non-tech thinking mind. So, what about this new format that is said to be coming in a few years? HD DVD or something like that. Will this be a "best of both worlds" solution for music and movies?


Thanks again,

JSE

[Woochifer]

That really clears things up for me and my sometimes non-tech thinking mind. So, what about this new format that is said to be coming in a few years? HD DVD or something like that. Will this be a "best of both worlds" solution for music and movies?


Thanks again,

JSE

Won't happen until 2006 at the earliest. The DVD Forum picked the HD-DVD format just last month (a design from NEC/Toshiba won out over the Blu-Ray format that Sony, Panasonic, Philips and a few others were pushing), and there are still a slew of issues to resolve before hardware and discs start coming out. The most important question is how backwards compatible with the current DVD format the new HD-DVD format will be. A lot of hardware manufacturers are steamed over how quickly DVD hardware got commodified and turned into a low margin appliance basically, and want to avoid that with HD-DVD.

And there's no reason why Sony and its partners can't still produce players and titles in the Blu-Ray format. Sony was able to sustain the SACD format because they control about one-fifth of the recording industry, and Sony Pictures has a similar market share of the movie industry. Sony does not have to issue HD-DVDs just like they don't currently produce DVD-As. That would of course create all kinds of problems in the market, as the DVD-A/SACD format war has slowed down the adoption of high res surround music.

[JSE]

It seems like Sony tends to go against the current most of the time. They produce great technology, but it always seems to be in direct competition with a more universal technology/format. Sony's digital cameras are no exception. Almost all of them only work with Sony's memory sticks while everyone else uses more universal cards. Sony has been hurt a little in the digital photography sector because many pro and amateurs have spent a ton of money of Scandisk or CF cards and they don't work with Sony cameras and you cannot get large capacities with Sony's memory sticks. Anyway, just blabbing.

Long Live BetaMax!!!!!!

JSE

[mtrycraft]

Its not the number of bits but the algorythms used :) withing limits of course.

[joel2762]

[QUOTE=Woochifer]All DVD-A discs come with a DD and/or DTS backup track, so even if you don't have a DVD-A player, you can still enjoy surround music in full 5.1 output with any basic DVD player and a digital output. Before DVD-A and SACD even released any discs, DTS Entertainment did issue several surround music discs in the DTS format. They're in the process of reissuing those early DTS releases as DVD-A discs (with DTS backup tracks still included).

Really!? So I can buy a DVD-A disc and listen to it on my regular dvd player!? That's awsome!!! I'm going to go shopping!