TW Blog :: Archives for December 2004
The first step towards philosophy is incredulityDenis Diderot
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Surround Sound Experience with DTS
Relates to Movies
This afternoon I chose to watch a film on my Sony DAV offering a DTS sound track, instead of Dolby Digital 5.1 which seems to be the standard on most DVD's. I chose Master and Commander, a superbly shot film and one of only two DVDs I currently own offering DTS encoding.
To me the difference in sound was phenomenal. Occasionally I switched the encoding but generally found the Dolby Digital to be a little flat with muffled bass throughout while the DTS produced impressive bass and treble at the appropriate times, as well as distributing the sound in a way that gave the sensation of actual being inside the ship. When the early encounter with the Acheron took place, I was diving for the remote before my own walls blew in! Of course, any audio interpretation is heavily subjective and dependant on the acoustics of the environment - in my case a room no larger than nine square metres. Web-wise, the consensus on the two encodings seems to be undecided but this interesting forum entry comparing DTS and Dolby Digital enlightened me on the differences with considerable favour towards DTS.
I will certainly be looking for DVDs offering both encodings from now on although unfortunately this is something that Amazon UK does not always make clear. I assume the reason The Lord of the Rings Trilogy currently only lists a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtrack, whereas each individual film lists DTS as well, is because Dolby is a more familiar label to many people and not that these are actually slightly different releases.
Posted on Dec 05, 2004 at 21:01:02. [Comments for Surround Sound Experience with DTS- 0]
Sony DAV Home Cinema
Relates to Movies
Beyond work, I have been a little bit distracted for the last few days, thanks to a new Sony DAV SB 100 Home Cinema System.
Up until this point I had been reluctant to make the leap to DVD, instead cashing in on the favourable prices of videos, but the Sony system has really opened my eyes. Ok, DVD brings with it a sharper and more enduring picture, but to me it is the dramatic improvement in sound that comes from 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS that makes the home cinema experience so exciting. And the Sony system delivers impressively on this front with four 50 Watt satellite speakers and an 80 Watt subwoofer which combined deliver a well balanced distribution of sound through the five channels. With easy installation, which was good for a novice user like myself, I could not recommend this system enough as a perfect entry to Home Cinema - with a very competitive price on Amazon.
My DVD collection is already growing with a selection of old and new, and I am just itching with excitement for Friday's release of The Lord of the Rings extended version box set - I know what I will be doing next weekend!
Posted on Dec 05, 2004 at 14:59:13. [Comments for Sony DAV Home Cinema- 0]
