Anyone have a link that explains BD's lossless audio capacities?

[sudbury78]

Can someone point me to a link or explanation as to whatr blu-ray is and how the audio differs from standard dvd? How is the uncompressed or lossless (whatever those mean) differ. I am trying to find facts, etc. Thanks

[Bobby Henderson]

Doesn't Blu-ray.com have a "FAQ" for this already?

To humor the question, the audio on Blu-ray is better in every regard.

DVD typically delivers Dolby Digital at no better than 448 kilobits per second. Nearly every DTS track on DVD is no better than 754kb/s (the DVDs with 1509kb/s data rates are rare). And CD-quality LPCM is usually no better than 2 channels of audio at 1411kb/s or 1536kb/s.

Blu-ray goes way beyond that.

First, let's consider the lossy versions of Dolby Digital and DTS. Dolby Digital 5.1 on Blu-ray typically runs at 640 kilobits per second instead of just 448. Just about any DTS track you find on Blu-ray will be encoded at 1509kb/s instead of the half-rate 754kb/s version found on DVD.

Going above that further, if you have a HDMI-connected home theater surround sound system you may be able to take advantage of next-generation surround formats.

Blu-ray can deliver Linear PCM tracks in up to 7.1 discrete channels and bit rates as high as 24-bits and 96kHz. That goes way beyond the absolute capability of DVD. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio can do the same thing, but do it in data-lossless 2:1 compression. DTS-HD can deliver tracks running as high as 24.6 million bits per second.

Basically anything that DVD-Audio and SACD could do, Blu-ray can also match step for step.

At best, DVD could deliver 6.1 discrete channels via lossy DTS-ES surround sound. On Blu-ray, 8 channels of discrete audio is possible from Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and LPCM formats.

Simply put, audio on Blu-ray has a LOT more capability than it ever had with DVD.

[Windmill McGill]

Thanks for the info bro!

[WickyWoo]

Uncompressed audio means it's the same audio data that is on the master tape
Lossless means it's using a compression format that results in no loss of quaility when it comes out the other end. Like a zip file on a computer, or those vacuum bags you can use to store a pillow or clothing in a much smaller space than normal

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by sudbury78

Can someone point me to a link or explanation as to whatr blu-ray is and how the audio differs from standard dvd? How is the uncompressed or lossless (whatever those mean) differ. I am trying to find facts, etc. Thanks

You will find a complete explanation of all audio codecs in the thread A Guide To Home Theater Audio CODECs.