Stripping audio with DVD Shrink

[Ishnohiwa]

Greetings,

I'm about to strip some audio from my DVD The Bourne Identity and can choose between "AC3 6-ch. English" (size 0,28 Gb) and "DTS 6-ch English" (size 0,56 Gb).

Can anyone tell me the difference between these two versions and perhaps recommend which one to strip?

Thanks in advance! :)

Ish

[mrbass]

My friend says there is a huge difference between DTS and 5.1 sound. However, if you don't have an awesome setup then you may not notice the difference. His sound system setup alone is well over $100,000 so he can hear 'the DTS difference'. I don't even have 5.1 sound setup so I take his word for it.

I'd say if your sound system is less than $2,000 dollars you might get by with 5.1 just fine. Why don't you test it yourself and draw you own conclusion. Do you want DTS at the sacrifice of lower video quality?

[2COOL]

Be advised that a DTS only DVD can only be played as intended on a DTS setup. That's why there was a rule in the commericial DVD authoring world that states that if DTS is present, there must be another existing compatible audio with too. That's why you never see DTS only DVDs, unless it's for promotions.

[Ishnohiwa]

Well, I do know my Pioneer XV-DV1000 does support DTS sound, so I guess I'll try and find a difference between these two on my audio set.

But you're right MrBass, my preference goes for optimal video quality while having ok sound. Just when possible I'm also trying to go for the best sound as well, while keeping the movie on 1 DVD-5.

I just re-encoded the DVD with level 3 in DVD-Shrink and skipping the DTS sound. I'll have a look/listen to how it is now. I'm also going to do the movie while keeping the DTS sound, although this would possibly ask for a level 4 re-encode because of space. I might even just go for 2 DVD-5's, since I'm not too bothered by spending a tiny bit more for a complete DVD.

Thanks for your comments, MrBass and 2Cool.

Ish

[mpucoder]

Originally posted by mrbass
My friend says there is a huge difference between DTS and 5.1 sound.

I think you mean AC3. 5.1 is the channel arrangement, not the encoding method.

And, yes, to comply with specs an NTSC DVD must contain either AC3 or LPCM. DTS, due to licensing costs, and being late to the table with final specs, is not supported by all NTSC players.

[SidDan]

well, you might aswell keep the DTS only since almost every new player have the DTS support and who knows in the future when you have the option to watch your movie in a real good home theatre system, then you will be pleased by yourself you kept the DTS.
The other format I must notify you all is called Dolby Digital 5.1, the big difference with DTS is the sound in center, the speach is much nmore better quality aswell as the tiny sound details which comes along ;)

[Ishnohiwa]

While watching the DVD I've changed from 5.1 to DTS, which indeed does represent quite a difference. DTS gives off a much better quality in my opinion (especially center sound indeed, as you mentioned) and is quite easy hearable. This then explains the twice its size in Gb's ;)

Ish

[fusion007]

The audio on DTS DVD’s is sonic “clone” of the original film soundtrack. Due to this, the audio on an average DVD takes up three times more “space” than its Dolby Digital (DD) counterpart. Since DTS takes up so much of a disc, many DTS version DVD’s do not include other language features like DD discs do.

What you trade in language and other extra features you gain in superior sound. Since a DTS soundtrack is essentially a “master quality” copy of the original print, it does sound better. The most obvious aspect is that it sounds a typical 4dB louder than DD, this is known as signal to noise and dynamic range. Additionally, the individual sounds in a movie, are slightly clearer and crisper. The loud and soft ends of the soundtrack hit deeper, and generally have less “static.” (generally attributed to the 4dB increase in volume) Lastly, the five channels have a more distinct feel to them resulting in less sound mixing of one speaker to another, and the 3-D sound is more pronounced.

[Grover]

Originally posted by fusion007
The audio on DTS DVD’s is sonic “clone” of the original film soundtrack. Due to this, the audio on an average DVD takes up three times more “space” than its Dolby Digital (DD) counterpart. Since DTS takes up so much of a disc, many DTS version DVD’s do not include other language features like DD discs do.

What you trade in language and other extra features you gain in superior sound. Since a DTS soundtrack is essentially a “master quality” copy of the original print, it does sound better. The most obvious aspect is that it sounds a typical 4dB louder than DD, this is known as signal to noise and dynamic range. Additionally, the individual sounds in a movie, are slightly clearer and crisper. The loud and soft ends of the soundtrack hit deeper, and generally have less “static.” (generally attributed to the 4dB increase in volume) Lastly, the five channels have a more distinct feel to them resulting in less sound mixing of one speaker to another, and the 3-D sound is more pronounced.

fusion007,

Would I notice the advnatages and extra quality of DTS over DD5.1 with my budget, low-end equipment. I know my DVD player supports DTS, but to make it work properly do I need to have "really good" other equipment ? I have a 5.1 setup but it's nothing special.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is -

"On a lower end, budget home theater setup would the difference between a DTS soundtrack and DD5.1 be -

(a) no noticeable difference.
(b) DTS would sound better than DD5.1 but not as as good as it could sound with top notch gear.
(c) would sound roughtly the same as each other (that's the same as (a) isn't it ?)

Cheers.....

[Ishnohiwa]

Grover,

I guess it's all a matter of finding the right balance between what possibilities you have for playing the DVD and how you want to edit your DVD content.

In my case, I did notice a difference between the two "sounds versions" on my Pioneer XV DV-1000, which costs about 2100 Euro's (around the same in dollars). It's absolutely not a high-end system, but I'm sure it's not *just* a cinema set. I preferred to listen to the DTS sound, although the 5.1 is definately very good.

But...imo it also depends on the way you are able to edit your DVD. Since the DTS version is twice as big as the 5.1 version, I've decided to have it depend on the way I work. Since I'm not experienced at all in reauthoring, I tend to stick to relative easy forms of editing. Whenever there's room for putting the DTS version of the sound on the DVD, I choose for that. If not, then not (simple:P).

Anyway, just sharing my opinion:o)

Ish

[fusion007]

Originally posted by Grover
fusion007,

Would I notice the advnatages and extra quality of DTS over DD5.1 with my budget, low-end equipment. I know my DVD player supports DTS, but to make it work properly do I need to have "really good" other equipment ? I have a 5.1 setup but it's nothing special.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is -

"On a lower end, budget home theater setup would the difference between a DTS soundtrack and DD5.1 be -

(a) no noticeable difference.
(b) DTS would sound better than DD5.1 but not as as good as it could sound with top notch gear.
(c) would sound roughtly the same as each other (that's the same as (a) isn't it ?)

Cheers.....



personally to me quality in most things is a must(at the lowest cost possible).the difference in sound does depend on the amp/dvdplayer/speakers you are using but i have found it very noticable and yes you can afford it on a budget,now having said that as i said above the dts track can be very large so if you are making backups and you are dvd-quality mad then i wouldnt use it,but if you dont mind the loss and really like the dynamic sound dts offers then go for it!.so in the end ofcourse top notch gear is the best option but to the average person(like me)shelling out 2k on a home cinema system is not an option so by getting a cheap amp/speakers id have to say(in my experience)will do the trick. see everybody is different in there opinions of quality some find dvd2one perfect where as others scoff at its blocky picture(with some films),others can even notice imperfections in original dvds(sad but true),some say goodmans are better than sony for sound(not!!!).anywho im rambling i hope i some how answered your question somewhere within all that b.s.

[Grover]

Thanks fusion007,

At this point in time I prefer to allocate more space to the picture quality. DTS is so big (I've seen it over a GB on a couple of movies) up to to 18-20% of the total space on a DVD-R.

Like you said - (perceived) quality of the sound from ones audio gear is up to the individual. If I'm happy with it (AC3 5.1) then Yayyy for me. DTS sure would be nice to have but until the next generation of DVD-R's (larger) come along it's just too much of a tradeoff for me.

Thanks again...