How do non-action films benefit from a DTS track?

[Mr Flibble]

OK - bear with me on this..

All my DTS titles are action films - Stargate, Gladiator, erm thats it. DTS sounds great on these films - explosions and everything are awesome.

American Pie 2 on the R2 release will have a DTS track, but whats' the point in that? How do these films benefit? Or am i talking rubbish as usual :nuts:

[Robby]

I can totally see your point, the only pointless DTS dvd i have is Meet The Parents. However i'll still listen to that track over the others.

I've yet to see American Pie 2 but i would imagine the only advantage would be the music. Still at the end of the day it's still a good marketing tool to stick a dts track on there. And i'm glad universal are bringing more out over here regardless of wether it's good or not. They could have quite easily not bothered.

[tj_director]

Originally posted by Mr Flibble
Or am i talking rubbish as usual :nuts:

yes... :clap:

DTS is still beneficial even if the film was in mono, having a greater range of compression, as opposed to the set compression ratio of dolby, there is more chance of a DTS track sounding better than the dolby. Some of the best sounding films i've heard aren't necersarily action films. The basic idea of surround sound is to create an immersive atmosphere, a couple walking through a park in autumn, the sound of the wind and trees swaying, kids running around in the background... usually DTS will make these sounds clearer and more defined, and natural. So i see there being a benefit there. In the case of American Pie 2, the music sounds more punchy and the bass is better on the DTS track, so a definate benefit there. Also i felt it was just a more immersive track, and it sounds much more cinematic... but the truth is, the difference can usually be very slight... but still better to have the option.

And just to confuse you some more... DTS isn't always the best.. take the case of The Rock: Criterion, where the dolby track is clearly better than the DTS. And like SW: Ep 1, the Dolby is so good, i don't know how much improvement a DTS track would've made, according to the makers, they felt Dolby was the best option for them.

DTS is just another option, technically it's better than Dolby, but's it a case by case thing... I'd like to have the option on any film really. Small Time Crooks (if i'm not mistaken) is DTS mono, and the dialogue sounds more clearer and natural... so basically there's your answer. Clearer and more natural. Explosions, gun fire and car crashes aren't the only factors to consider when judging a sound track. Get yourself a non-action film where it has both tracks, and play around and see what you find :cool:

[Mr Flibble]

I'd have to agree about DD not always being the best option - I've got the U2 Live in Boston DVD, here you can have DD or PCM and the PCM track is so much better :)

As for non-action films, well I'll be making a purchase of American Pie 2, so I can compare them then :)

[DCH]

There is the basic fact that DD is 16-bit (CD quality) and DTS is 20-bit (better than CD quality). It's not just about the bass, as anyone who's listened to a few DTS music releases can tell you...

D.

[Michael Brooke]

<B>DTS is still beneficial even if the film was in mono</B>

If the film was in mono or plain stereo, PCM is by far the best option. I've yet to do a direct PCM/DTS comparison, but the PCM tracks on <I>Glenn Gould: The Goldberg Variations</I> and the Criterion <I>Do The Right Thing</I> are dramatically better than the Dolby Digital equivalents. Similarly, Image Entertainment were quite right to encode the problematic low-quality mono soundtracks of the early Marx Brothers films in PCM, as the result really is as good as it's ever going to get.

And I agree with tj_director - as with anything, you should approach it on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes DTS is practically indistinguishable from Dolby Digital and sometimes it's worse: this is particularly true of low-bitrate DTS tracks where corners have been cut to save disc space.