How is Blu-ray audio better than HD-DVD?

[iaacp]

I have read numerous posts here about how many Blu Ray releases have better audio, and a common attack on HD-DVD is that they have lower audio standards.

Can someone explain this to me, I'm really interested in how it works. And no, this isn't a troll. :P

[rwduke]

HD-DVD had less disc space and so studios like Paramount and Dreamworks as well as Universal for a long time did not put lossless audio on their titles. They used lossy audio formats. Blu-ray has a more disc space and a much better track record of using lossless audio.

[CptGreedle]

check it out!

scroll to the bottom of these sites:

http://hddvdstats.com

http://blu-raystats.com

Over 50% of Blu-ray discs use Lossless audio
Less than 25% of HD DVDs do.
This is because the disc space limitations on HD DVD do not allow HD DVD discs to store so much data. So the first thing they cut back on is audio, then video.
It also helps that BD has a higher bandwidth than HD DVD, but I am not sure how much this will affect audio output.

[clownface]

Originally Posted by iaacp

I have read numerous posts here about how many Blu Ray releases have better audio, and a common attack on HD-DVD is that they have lower audio standards.

Can someone explain this to me, I'm really interested in how it works. And no, this isn't a troll. :P

Basically because theree's less compression for the sound and Blu ray's higher bitrate for audio and video.

[quetzalcoatl]

Originally Posted by iaacp

I have read numerous posts here about how many Blu Ray releases have better audio, and a common attack on HD-DVD is that they have lower audio standards.

Can someone explain this to me, I'm really interested in how it works. And no, this isn't a troll. :P

In theory there is no difference in appilaction that is another story as was pointed out go to the stats site.
It is more what Blu-ray has done in releasing titles with lossless where HD DVD did not.

[hc666]

Audio is the big thing.

I didn;'t care at first, but after I went 7.1 and had a receiver that processed the newer audio tracks, i felt shafted by hd dvd.

the br flicks sound amazing, just watched layer cake with pcm 5.1, it rocked my living room... as well as alice cooper live at montreux on blu.

[Zaphod]

Four words:

Uncompressed Pulse-Code Modulation...

[Kirsty_Mc]

Originally Posted by iaacp

I have read numerous posts here about how many Blu Ray releases have better audio, and a common attack on HD-DVD is that they have lower audio standards.

Can someone explain this to me, I'm really interested in how it works. And no, this isn't a troll. :P

Simple:-

• Higher capacity (can accommodate the lossless audio tracks)
• Higher bitrate (can stream them off disk at a sufficient rate)

[richteer]

Originally Posted by iaacp

I have read numerous posts here about how many Blu Ray releases have better audio, and a common attack on HD-DVD is that they have lower audio standards.

Can someone explain this to me, I'm really interested in how it works. And no, this isn't a troll. :P

There are two ways of compressing sound (video too, but...): lossless and lossy. The former means that no information is lost, and is (or should be!) bit-for-bit comparable to the uncompressed linear PCM master. The latter means than information that was in the master is lost for ever. Audio CDs are lossless, MP3s are lossy. No points for guessing which one sounds best!

Now, lossless compression requires more bandwidth than lossy, which is why HD DVD (with it's severe bandwidth limitations) tends to avoid it. Lossless compression also requires more disk space, which is another reason why it's seldom used on HD DVD. Contrary to what the HD DVD FUDsters will tell you, 30GB just isn't enough.

[iaacp]

Thanks guys!

[Merrick]

Originally Posted by Zaphod

Four words:

Uncompressed Pulse-Code Modulation...

Careful there....

Lossless-compression Pulse-code Modulation

All audio and video (at least that I've seen) are compressed. The video *HAS* to be done with some level of lossy compression because the amount of information is simply too large in general AND because of the effective bandwidth limit between the player and monitor. Both the bandwidth (bit rate) and storage space for BD are greater than for HD DVD, so we get a better picture. The audio can be compressed either by lossless or lossy algorithms. BD *has* used lossless compression more frequently (also, again, because BD has more storage space) than HD DVD so we usually get better audio as well. But HD DVD audio *can* be quite good.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Merrick

Careful there....

Lossless-compression Pulse-code Modulation

All audio and video (at least that I've seen) are compressed. The video *HAS* to be done with some level of lossy compression because the amount of information is simply too large in general AND because of the effective bandwidth limit between the player and monitor. Both the bandwidth (bit rate) and storage space for BD are greater than for HD DVD, so we get a better picture. The audio can be compressed either by lossless or lossy algorithms. BD *has* used lossless compression more frequently (also, again, because BD has more storage space) than HD DVD so we usually get better audio as well. But HD DVD audio *can* be quite good.

Uncompressed PCM has no compression...hence the 'Uncompressed'

[crackinhedz]

PCM is the alpha and the omega

...when you do 'compress' the Master PCM audio, you do it by way of 'Lossless' compression aka Dolby True-HD,Dts-HD Master...or 'lossy' compression aka DD+,Dts-HD High Resolution,DD5.1,Dts5.1 etc. techniques. Weather its decoded in the player or in the receiver, the final result is PCM.

So an Uncompressed PCM track is literally straight from the Master, nothing more nothing less. Its absolute.