ACS and DTS

[LoffKat]

Hello, what is the difference between ACS and DTS on DVD's? which is better and what are the specs? I cannot find info comparing the two anywhere!

[poneal]

ACS is Dolby's Digital encoding for 5.1 surround. DTS is Digital Theater Surrounds encoding for 5.1 surround. Both sound great as far as I'm concerned. I tend toward DTS DVD music over ACS (not for any particular reason) it just seems a little more natural. I'm not a spec. man so can't help you in that department. I can say that I'm a born again listener after hearing DVD DTS music concerts. I was really disappointed many years ago with CD (which have gotten better since first inception) so I stopped buying them. I then upgraded to HT and decided to try out the DTS DVD music concert by the "Eagles: Hell Freezes Over" and was just amazed at how good a job the sound engineer mixed the concert. Is SACD or DVD-A better? Dunno, but I dont think you will hear that much of a difference.

[kelsci]

Poneal and Loffkat; ACS if I am correct is called AC-3. Hopefully if Sir Terrence is about, he might be able to give you the specs you seek, Loffkat.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Hello, what is the difference between ACS and DTS on DVD's? which is better and what are the specs? I cannot find info comparing the two anywhere!

Well actually there is ton's of information about(and read this correction) AC-3(better know as Dolby Digital) and Dts. You can check Dolby's site(www.dolby.com) and read their EXTREMELY biased, inaccurate, and rather stupid review of the Dts encoder/decoder. You can also check Dts website(www.dtsonline.com) for their rebuttal of the stupid, inaccurate and biased review.

You may also check all of the various DVD review sites(www.dvdfile.com, etc) and check what individual reviewers say regarding DVD's that contain both soundtracks.

On my system, in my room, with these ears Dts has a very subtle advantage in sonic quality. It excels in soundfield stability, imaging, bass tightness, and the ability to deliver ambience and low level sound effects.

As a sound designer/re-recording mixer/audio engineer, I cannot gush enough compliments to the Dts system. It is more flexible, can support more bit rates, channels, and upgrades than Dolby Digital. It doesn't suffer from the "brickwall between speakers" or the "collasping center speaker sound" that Dolby Digital suffers when being monitor DIRECTLY from the outputs of its professional encode/decode system. Dts exibits slight degredation at its 754kbps rate(some soundstage shrinkage, loss of air around instruments) none at 1509kbps, and is completely lossless at 24/96khz. It can support from 1-10 channels. Has flexible bit rates that go from 384kbps to 4039kbps(unsupportible by the DVD format). It can encode from 16-24bits without any loss. Dolby digital just doesn't offer this kind of performance, or upgradeability.

My advice to you is to listen on your system, with your ears, in your room, and determine for yourself which sounds better to YOU.

[poneal]

I should have caught that twice (once in reading and once in typing). duh, my bad.

[kelsci]

Your Lordship, Sir T. the T.; IMHO that is a fine answer that you gave Mr. LoffKat on D.D. and DTS. I found the particulars that you stressed on DTS such as the 4039 kbps second rate to be rather fascinating. I can see why you like this CODEC so much. Your reply to Mr LoffKat I hope is read by others as well who want a quick and meaningful education on the DTS CODEC. Kelsci.

[JStudrawa]

Please note, as Terence states, "his ears" etc.... his ears are much more sensitive than mine and quite possibly yours. Read: I am tone deaf.

You and I may only notice that DTS sounds "more" simply due to a higher volume of the recording. On almost every DVD that has a DTS soundtrack I own, switching to DTS in the middle of the movie generally it gets louder. I'm not sure why, it's most likely in the links Terence posted. Though in Kiss of the Dragon, the DTS soundtrack is poor, with weak/muffled lower frequencies.

It's a very subjective call, IMO.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Please note, as Terence states, "his ears" etc.... his ears are much more sensitive than mine and quite possibly yours. Read: I am tone deaf.

You and I may only notice that DTS sounds "more" simply due to a higher volume of the recording. On almost every DVD that has a DTS soundtrack I own, switching to DTS in the middle of the movie generally it gets louder. I'm not sure why, it's most likely in the links Terence posted. Though in Kiss of the Dragon, the DTS soundtrack is poor, with weak/muffled lower frequencies.

It's a very subjective call, IMO.

Josh;

It's good to see you posting here. A couple of things. The Dts soundtrack is not louder. If compared to the printmaster, you will find the Dts track matches it very closely. The effects of dialog norm on the Dolby digital tracks usually LOWER the volume of the Dolby track the preset(or chosen)value(usually-3db which is the default value). The common mistake is to assume that the Dts track was recorded louder.

Secondly, the Dts format is just the carrier of the soundtrack. If the soundtracks sounds poor, it can usually be traced to a problem with the printmaster, not with the codec. The Dolby digital version of Kiss of the Dragon has problems with compressed sound effects, rather enemic sounding gunshots. The bass is powerful.

I didn't know there was a Dts soundtrack of this movie, I thought only a DD soundtrack was released on video.

[JStudrawa]

Thanks, T. Good to be back here, missed the place. I've been out of the loop bad, since now I've taken on the task of renovating houses.

I still see Woodman claiming to have invented the televsion. Adam still modding? Lots of old names I recognize.

Anyway, DD lower or DTS higher, same junk KotD does have a DTS track, and the weak bass is most noticable when the goons crash the hotel in the first part. Either their shotgun or kicking is muffled, I can't remember which.

But my whole point is that I personally can't usually tell the difference between DD and DTS except for the "louder/quieter" aspect when switching. I doubt too many can.

Edit: Kiss of the Dragon (2001)

Also Known As:
Baiser du dragon, Le (2001) (France) (pre-release title)
Baiser mortel du dragon, Le (2001) (France)
KOD: Kiss of the Dragon (2001) (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality and drug content.
Runtime: 98 min
Country: USA / France
Language: English / French / Mandarin
Color: Color (DeLuxe)
Sound Mix: DTS / Dolby Digital

Note: Some google links mention it was a shame not being released with a DTS soundrack *shrug*. The one I have is as above, WITH DTS.

[elances]

Well actually there is ton's of information about(and read this correction) AC-3(better know as Dolby Digital) and Dts. You can check Dolby's site(www.dolby.com) and read their EXTREMELY biased, inaccurate, and rather stupid review of the Dts encoder/decoder. You can also check Dts website(www.dtsonline.com) for their rebuttal of the stupid, inaccurate and biased review.
...

Thanks for the links. I wasn't aware that Dolby had "reviewed" Dts, so it was interesting to read their so-called "data" and conclusions, then comparing it to Dts' two responses. It appears Dolby has hired a spin-doctor away from either the Democratic or Republican Party! Not a very good spin-doctor, at that!

My current processor (Denon AVR-1700) doesn't include Dts decoding, so I haven't been able to compare the two systems in my own home. My preference for Dts is based solely on theater experience and the idea that less compression is better. (Granted, there are other variables in the theater experience, and it is conceivable that a truly inaudible compression scheme could be achieved.) I also believe that many of Dolby's past efforts are a joke...Dolby noise reduction always seemed to make cassettes sound worse in my opinion (I'd rather hear hiss than lose all the high frequencies as Dolby NR seemed to do). Dolby Pro-logic usually sounds like crap, in my opinion (most films on VHS or broadcast tv seem to sound better when I switch to either stereo mode or to Denon's Matrix setting on my processor).

Regards,
Erick