DD 5.1, DTS and Audio Options

On my TV, it gives me a few audio options "Mono", "Stereo", "Expanded Stereo", and "Sound Logic Stereo.Which one should i choose to watch TV with? I have no clue which is best. Another thing, how can you tell if you have DD 5.1 capabilities on your TV? I have a 32 inch General Electric TV. Also, what are all the things you need to buy to upgrade to DTS? (i got a job now!) Give me some feedback on these issues.

If you have a GE tv you certainly DON'T have 5.1 and i don't believe any tv does for that matter. You need a reciver or dvd player that is capable of dd 5.1 or dts. Oh if you have satellite and your satellite box has 5.1 out then you can watch shows (very few are available right now) in 5.1

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I have seen the new face of poverty and it is DVD...

My DVD player has logos for DTS and Dolby Digital.

[Paff]

You need to buy a Dolby Digital/DTS receiver, 5 speakers, and a subwoofer. I recommend a Yamaha receiver and Klipsch speakers. A good receiver will run at least 3-400 bucks, and you should probably put another 500-1000 into the speakers. Enjoy.

how about a Dolby Digital/DTS receiver with all the speakers included. i got a 500 dollar system in mind with 500 watts and 100 watts in the subwoofer alone. sound good enough? it is sony

[Vincent Pina]

Sounds like the system I recently bought. It certainly puts the goods out. Make sure the receiver has the Dolby Digital/DTS decoders installed. Some are only Dolby Digital/DTS ready, and expect your dvd player to have the decoders, which it probably doesn't unless you payed a shitload for it.

[mutleyhyde]

Yeah, your player may have the logos, but it may only be AC-3(Dolby 5.1)/DTS **ready**. I hate the use of that terminology. It dupes newcomers into thinking that a unit already has everthing you need for AC-3 or DTS play. I much prefer AC-3/DTS **compatible**. In any event, to take advantage of the digital signals, there has to be a decoder somewhere along the way. At the time, I got a separate, stand alone decoder to achieve this. I was a little leary of the all-in-one recievers, as I felt that if something went wrong with the decoder, I'd still have my receiver as the decoder was in for repairs. That's probably not so much of a concern these days, as decoder technology is not so new anymore. One more reason to either have a separate decoder, or one in your receiver as opposed to one in your dvd player... do you want everything going through your dvd player? If the decoder is in your player, and you want to hook up a digital satelite feed or digital cable, you can't just go directly to your reciever with the audio, it has to first be routed through the player. That's at least one more whole set of cables, and also more of a pain in the ass.

It sounds like you've got the hook-up there, DotR, even though it is Sony, lol. Just make sure that there is an actual decoder in the receiver, and that it's not just digital "ready". If it doesn't, see if your dvd player has one. if neither one does, you need that stand alone unit, or another receiver altogether.

Did any of that make sense? Let us know what you find out.

Final word... I used to think that I could live by DD5.1 alone, because it basically did the same thing as DTS, right?; in addition to separating the three front channels from each other and the rear channels, both DD5.1 and DTS separate the rear channels from each other. This is what Dolby Surround did not do. So I thought, "well, they're the same thing." Well, I was VERY wrong! My first DTS dvd was T2 Special Super Duper BAD-ASS Edition. Ahhh, now I could test both the DD5.1 and DTS signals from the same source material. The DTS track absolutely blew the doors off of the 5.1 track. Not only was the DTS signal clearer and MUCH louder than the 5.1, the separation was much more defined and richer as well. So my point is, if it's a question of cost and your debating over the DTS question, have some showroom show you the difference before you totally write off DTS. It's quite stunning.

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"When I go to confession, I don't offer God small sins - petty squables, jealousies - I offer him sins worth forgiving!"

May the Hammer eternally bleed!
M. Hyde

[This message has been edited by mutleyhyde (edited 01-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by mutleyhyde (edited 01-28-2001).]

[Paff]

Man, the Dolby Digital vs. DTS argument has been done to death. I'll try a few impartial observations:

DTS is intentionally mastered louder and with higher bass levels. When you normalize the two formats, they're quite similar.

Some DTS soundtracks do not sound as good as the Dolby Digital versions.

All DVDs have Dolby Digital, only some have DTS

No one has ever given quantitative proof that DTS is better, it just "sounds better", which is quite subjective.

People who prefer Dolby Digital usually don't have DTS anyway, so it may very well be "sour grapes"

People who prefer DTS are those who just spent a lot on a new receiver, and may be trying to justify the expense.

To sum up, DTS is a bonus, but not a necessity in my book. Most quality receivers have them anyway, so it's a moot point. But if you can find a really good receiver that doesn't have DTS, you'll still be pretty damn happy.

[mutleyhyde]

You know Paff, I had just written a long diatribe poking fun at your post. Unfortunately it got a little bitter at the end, and I only saw trouble coming out of it. I thought better of it, and deleted what I'd said. I'd just like to say that I was making an observation, and that I wasn't taking any sides on any argument. I'm not telling anyone to run out and get DTS. I'm just saying find out for yourself. For the life of me, I don't remember any substantial discussions on the subject here at Horrordvds.com, certainly none that had been done to the death. I think I would've as I've been curious about the format for some time. I've had my decoder for over a year now, and only recently purchased my first DTS discs, T2 and Gladiator. Hardly the actions of someone trying to defend their expenses. So you think DTS is over rated. Fine. I was pretty impressed.

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"When I go to confession, I don't offer God small sins - petty squables, jealousies - I offer him sins worth forgiving!"

May the Hammer eternally bleed!
M. Hyde

[This message has been edited by mutleyhyde (edited 01-29-2001).]

[This message has been edited by mutleyhyde (edited 01-29-2001).]

[gunner]

I only have 2 discs with dts sound.Jaws and Se7en.The jaws disc sounds louder but not much else,while the se7en disc sounds MUCH better in dts.I personally feel that dts is fully capable of alot better quality sound but sometimes companies don't put the blood sweat and tears needed to fully take advantage of the dts capabilities.There's not enough genre titles out there in dts for me to truly make an opinion.

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...cat=2&scat=242

there is a link that i found to a pretty good system with decoders and all for only 400 smackers!! 500 watts too!! can you guys that actually know what is good and what is not tell me if it is ok? Thanks

[Paff]

here's a rather lengthy discussion of "home theater in a box" systems, from a source that's fairly reliable, the Home Theater Forum:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/030184.html

I'm pretty sure any of these systems will do the job, and do it well. Like I said, I personally prefer Yamaha sound through Klipsch speakers, but it took me a while to buy all the components for my system. Hell, buy one of these all-in-one systems, and you can replace each component as time goes by.

[Paff]

Well, you're right there...the DTS vs. AC-3 discussion HASN'T been done much at this site (and I'm more than ok with that). I was talking about some of the many other Home Theater and DVD sites, where that fight goes on quite a bit (and with a lot more venom).

You'll also notice in my post that I criticize the Dolby Digital-only people as well. They spend a lot on DD receivers, all of a sudden a new sound format comes out, so it's easier to justify that "DTS sucks" than to justify buying a whole new receiver, ya know?

I just made a few observations, and based on what I've seen (and heard), DTS is VERY nice, but certainly not a necessity. Dolby Digital IS a necessity. If DayoftheRhodes guy here has a chance to buy a good receiver at a good price, he shouldn't turn it down if it doesn't have DTS, that's all I'm sayin.
And like I mentioned, even entry-level A/V receivers now have DTS anyway, so it's not worth arguing about at all. Agree?

So, if i get a hometheater with the decoders in the recieiver i'm qualified to listen to 5.1 and DTS? Man, that's pretty easy. One more question, would a 500 watt 6 speaker surround sound system be good to listen to music cds with too? Just wondering.