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Encyclopedia > Digital Theatre System
DTS
DTS

DTS (formerly known as Digital Theater Systems), owned by DTS Inc (NASDAQ: DTSI), is a multi-channel surround sound format used for both commercial/theatrical and consumer grade applications (with significant technical differences between home and commercial/theatrical variants: the latter being a traditional ADPCM compression system and the former a sophisticated hybrid perceptual and signal-redundancy compressor). It is used for in-movie sound both on film and on DVD, and during the last few years of the format's existence, several Laserdisc releases had DTS soundtracks. The company which created it, Digital Theater Systems, is now referred to simply as DTS. One of the company's initial investors was film director Steven Spielberg, who felt that theatrical sound formats up until the company's founding were no longer state of the art, and as a result were no longer optimal for use on projects where quality sound reproduction was of the utmost importance. Work on the format started in 1991, four years after Dolby Labs started work on their new codec, Dolby Digital. The basic and most common version of the format is a 5.1 channel system, supporting five primary speakers and a subwoofer, referred to as an LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel. Note however that encoders and decoders support numerous channel combinations and stereo, four-channel and four-channel+LFE soundtracks have been released commercially on DVD, CD and LaserDisc. Image File history File links Dts_logo. ... Image File history File links Dts_logo. ... NASDAQ (originally an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations ) is a U.S. electronic stock exchange. ... Surround sound is the concept of expanding the spatial imaging of audio playback from one dimension (mono/Left-Right) to two or three dimensions. ... Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a modulation technique. ... Pioneers LaserDisc Logo Laserdisc certification mark The laserdisc (LD) was the first commercial optical disc storage medium, and was used primarily for the presentation of movies. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (born December 18, 1946) is a Jewish American film director. ... Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated (Dolby Labs) is a company specializing in audio compression and reproduction. ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product or service — otherwise known as spam. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ...


Other newer DTS variants are also currently available, including versions that support up to 7 primary audio channels (DTS-ES). DTS's main competitors in multichannel theatrical audio are Dolby Digital and SDDS, although only Dolby Digital and DTS are used on DVDs and implemented in home theater hardware. Spielberg debuted the format with his 1993 production of Jurassic Park, which came slightly less than a full year after the 'official' theatrical debut of Dolby Digital ('Batman Returns'). In addition, Jurassic Park also became the first home video release to contain DTS sound when it was released on Laserdisc in January 1997, two years after the first Dolby Digital home video release ('Clear and Present Danger' on LaserDisc) which debuted in January 1995. The SDDS logotype. ... Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies by Dolby Laboratories. ... The official DVD logo. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Jurassic Park is a novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1990. ... Pioneers LaserDisc Logo Laserdisc certification mark The laserdisc (LD) was the first commercial optical disc storage medium, and was used primarily for the presentation of movies. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...


In theatrical use, information in the form of a modified time code is optically imaged onto the film, a DTS processor in the projection booth uses this timecode to synchronize the projected image with the soundtrack audio, which is recorded in compressed form on standard CD-ROM media at 1.5 Mbit/s. The processor also acts as a transport mechanism, it holds and reads the audio discs. The units can generally hold 3 discs, allowing a single processor/transport to handle 2-disc film soundtracks along with a 3rd disc containing sound for theatrical trailers. In addition, specific elements of the imprinted timecode allow identifying data to be embedded within the code, ensuring that a certain film's soundtrack will only run with that film. Timecode is also the title of a 2000 film directed by Mike Figgis which was shot in one continuous take. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ...


One advantage of DTS (for DVDs) is that it has a much higher bitrate than equivalent Dolby tracks. DTS 5.1 typically uses 768-1536 kbit/s (overall), while Dolby 5.1 uses 384-448 kbit/s. Proponents claim these extra bits give higher fidelity and a greater dynamic range, providing richer and more life-like sound. They also claim that DTS is louder and has less hiss at the same volume.

Contents


DTS as a codec

DTS is an enhanced copy (and, according to some movie industry insiders, a hacking) of a French patent called LC Concept, first used in 1990 for the movie Cyrano de Bergerac. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the year. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


On the consumer level, DTS is the oft-used shorthand for the DTS Coherent Acoustics codec, transportable through S/PDIF and used on DVDs, CDDAs and in wave files. This system is the consumer version of the DTS standard, using a similar codec without needing separate DTS CD-ROM media. DTS Coherent Acoustics is the full name for the audio format standard usually known as just DTS. It is covered in US Patent #5,956,674. ... Fiber optic transmitting module TOTX173 S/PDIF or S/P-DIF stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format, also IEC 958 type II, part of IEC-60958. ... The official DVD logo. ... Rainbow Books: Red Book (CD Digital Audio), Yellow Book (CD-ROM and CD-ROM XA), Orange Book (CD_R and CD-RW), White Book (Video CD), Blue Book (Enhanced Music CD, CD+G and CD-Plus), Beige Book (Photo CD), Green Book (CD-i). ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product or service — otherwise known as spam. ...


DTS playback

Since DTS is not a mandatory CODEC for current generation DVD devices, many players did not initially support it. While most modern DVD players now feature DTS support, users wishing to playback special DTS soundtracks require some piece of equipment or software which is capable of decoding DTS. For home cinema equipment, most users choose either a DVD player with a built-in decoder that can decode DTS soundtracks or a separate processor which supports DTS decoding, often in a home theater surround sound receiver. Most modern receivers support DTS.


For PC playback, many software players support the decoding of DTS. The VideoLAN project has created a decoding module for DTS called libdca (formerly libdts), which is the first open source implementation of DTS. VideoLAN is a software development project comprising two multi-platform computer programs—VLC media player and VideoLAN Server (VLS)—and several audio/video decoding and decryption libraries. ... libdca is a GPLd software library that can decode the DTS Coherent Acoustics audio format, developed by Gildas Bazin. ...


DTS variants

In addition to the standard 5.1 channel DTS Surround codec, the company has several other technologies in its product range designed to compete with similar systems from Dolby Labs. The primary new technologies are: Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated (Dolby Labs) is a company specializing in audio compression and reproduction. ...

  • DTS-ES (DTS Extended Surround) - includes two variants, DTS-ES Matrix and DTS-ES Discrete 6.1, depending on how the sound was originally mastered and stored.[1] DTS-ES Discrete provides 6.1 discrete channels, with a discretely recorded (non-matrixed) back surround channel; in home theater systems with a 7.1 configuration, the two rear-center speakers play in mono. DTS-ES Matrix provides 5.1 discrete channels with a matrixed back surround audio channel. DTS-ES commonly works on a Matrix system, whereby processors that are compatible with the ES codec look for and recognize "flags" built into the audio coding and "un-fold" the rear-center sound from data that would otherwise be sent to rear surround speakers. This is notated as DTS-ES 5.1. Less frequently, DTS-ES data can be encoded with a Discrete 6th audio channel (the rear-center), meaning that the audio data for the 6th channel is stored separately from the other information, and is not embedded or matrixed among other channels. This is notated as DTS-ES 6.1, as the center rear is completely discrete from the other channels. ES capable processors can recognize the discrete 6th channel, and play it back if connected to the necessary speaker(s). In contrast, Dolby's competing EX codec, which also boasts a center rear channel, can only handle matrixed data and does not support a discrete 6th channel. DTS-ES is backward compatible with standard DTS setups, so non-ES equipment which does not recognize the flags or with ES enabled equipment that lack the extra speaker connections, sound plays back in 5.1 as if it were standard DTS. Only a few DVD titles have been released with DTS-ES Discrete.
  • DTS NEO:6 - Neo:6, like Dolby's Pro-Logic IIx system, can take stereo content and convert the sound into 5.1 or 6.1 channel format.
  • DTS 96/24 - Allows the delivery of 5.1 channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz audio and high quality video on the DVD-Video format. Prior to the invention of DTS 96/24, it was only possible to deliver two channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz audio on DVD-Video. DTS 96/24 can also be placed in the video zone on DVD-Audio discs, making these discs playable on all existing DVD players.
  • DTS-HD Master Audio - Previously known as DTS++ and DTS-HD, DTS-HD Master Audio supports a virtually unlimited number of surround sound channels, can downmix to 5.1- and two-channel, and can deliver audio quality at bit rates extending from DTS Digital Surround up to lossless. Although technically superior over its Dolby counterpart, DTS-HD Master Audio is selected only as an optional surround sound format for Blu-ray and HD-DVD. DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD are the only technologies that deliver lossless surround sound for these new disc formats, ensuring the highest quality audio performance available in the new standards. (n.b. DTS Coherent Acoustics coding system has been selected as mandatory audio technology for both the Blu-ray Disc (BD) and High Definition Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) - [2])

In sound recording, a matrix can refer to a disc in the early stages of processing a record for mass production; see mastering and pressing process discussion at gramophone record. ... Monaural (often shortened to mono) sound reproduction is single-channel. ... The word discrete comes from the Latin word discretus which means separate. ... Description Dolby Digital is the trademark for Dolby Laboratories AC-3 audio coding system. ... The official DVD logo. ... Blu-ray discs Blu-ray Disc is a next-generation optical disc format jointly developed by a group of leading consumer electronics and PC companies called the Blu_ray Disc Association (BDA), which succeeds the Blu_ray Disc Founders (BDF). ... HD DVD (High Definition DVD) is a digital optical media format which is being developed as one standard for high-definition DVD. HD DVD is similar to the competing Blu-ray Disc, which also uses the same CD-size (120 mm diameter) optical data storage media and 405 nm wavelength... Dolby TrueHD, from Dolby Laboratories, is an advanced lossless audio codec based on Meridian Lossless Packing. ...

See also

Description Dolby Digital is the trademark for Dolby Laboratories AC-3 audio coding system. ... This article or section may contain external links added only to promote a website, product or service — otherwise known as spam. ... DTS Coherent Acoustics is the full name for the audio format standard usually known as just DTS. It is covered in US Patent #5,956,674. ... The Dolby logo Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated (Dolby Labs) (NYSE: DLB) is a company specializing in audio compression and reproduction. ... The Dolby Digital vs DTS debate remains a long standing, insoluble debate among home theater enthusiasts and Audiophiles on the internet (via arenas such as usenet groups) and elsewhere. ... A 119 inch projection screen with a high-definition television image. ...

External links

  • DTS technologies

  Results from FactBites:
 
Home Theatre - What is Digital Home Theater? (482 words)
Digitaltheatre.com.au is your guide to articles relating to home theater systems, projectors, furniture, designs, consumer electronics, speakers, home theater setup, installation, wires and cabling, seating, room setup, layout, and a multitude of other subjects relating to digital home theatre.
Home theater is the term used to describe the recent evolution of audio and video systems that offer exceptional quality and superior performance - in essence, it is like having a movie theater in your own living room.
The set-up may be as simple as a DVD player fed through a stereo system and a larger television set, or as elaborate as an entire room professionally wired with multiple speakers and a projection screen.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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