audio decoded to 2 channel speakers

[liquidskin76]

Hi All,

Does it matter what base audio codec/quality is used if audio is to be decoded to 2 channel, eg. soundbar?

Will the 2 channel decoded audio be better quality if a higher spec base audio file is being decoded, for example... DTS-HD vs AC3?

I wasn't sure if the extra quality from say a DTS-HD file would be dropped when decoding to 2 channel, basically resulting in same 2 channel audio quality for example as if AC3 was being decoded?

Does the bitrate of the base file mater? Is there a standard 2 channel bitrate, like 256kbps?

Many thanks

[Asmodian]

Yes, it still matters.

When decoding audio you first decode everything and then you decide how to play it. Almost always stereo output is done by mixing the extra channels rather than dropping information.

Bitrate also matters, for a specific lossy audio codec bitrate is proportional to quality. As above you mix the audio channels together to generate the stereo audio, you don't drop information. There are normally used bitrates for particular codecs on particular media but even then they vary somewhat.

DTS-HD MA and TrueHD are both lossless codecs.