R.I.P. Uncompressed PCM (2006-2008)

[DVDSleuth]

Just wanted to echo some of the seniments here concerning the preference of PCM and DTS-MA over Dolby TrueHD. The Dolby tracks don't have as much "oomph!" as the other two and when I watch a Blu-ray, I want the audio to be stellar.

[God of Biscuits]

Originally Posted by DVDSleuth

Just wanted to echo some of the seniments here concerning the preference of PCM and DTS-MA over Dolby TrueHD. The Dolby tracks don't have as much "oomph!" as the other two and when I watch a Blu-ray, I want the audio to be stellar.

Here's a "me too!"

I find that among "DD Uncompressed PCM", TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, the last one is by far the best. it's also lossless, unless your rig can't handle it, then it "degrades" to 1.5Mbps.

The reason that TrueHD and DTS-HD MA are preferred to regular old PCM is that a) their bitrate is higher and b) the quality is higher-still because the stream is COMPRESSED without losing data.

Which means, in the end, that there's more audio information present, and encoded in a better way, than regular old uncompressed PCM.

The PS3 always outputs PCM, so my receiver never even knows what codec was originally used. Happy all around!

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by DVDSleuth

Just wanted to echo some of the seniments here concerning the preference of PCM and DTS-MA over Dolby TrueHD. The Dolby tracks don't have as much "oomph!" as the other two and when I watch a Blu-ray, I want the audio to be stellar.

How do you really know for sure that it has less oomph unless the same movie is released with all three audio codecs on the same disk?

[TENSE]

so does this mean that my playstation 3 will be useless in about 3-4 years when movies come out with DD and DTS HD tracks as a stard regulation instead of PCM? man that sucks.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

How do you really know for sure that it has less oomph unless the same movie is released with all three audio codecs on the same disk?

cause every time we( well me)compare a PCM track to TruHD it always sounds low, im not saying its bad, its just the way they mix it is not as loud as dts or PCM. yes i know louder is not better but still.

maby peterTHX can chime in and explain whay that is.

[Lucy Diamond]

Horse Dooky.

[WickyWoo]

cause every time we( well me)compare a PCM track to TruHD it always sounds low, im not saying its bad, its just the way they mix it is not as loud as dts or PCM. yes i know louder is not better but still.
maby peterTHX can chime in and explain whay that is.

Some keep the dialnorm on, like Warner

Why does it matter how loud it is? Buy yourself an SPL meter, level match and go home happy.

[shido]

Originally Posted by TENSE

so does this mean that my playstation 3 will be useless in about 3-4 years when movies come out with DD and DTS HD tracks as a stard regulation instead of PCM? man that sucks.

Um, no the PS3 can now decode both TrueHD and DTS MA. So you're all set.

[dobyblue]

If DN bothers you and you have a newer receiver, you should be able to bitstream to the receiver and turn DN off.

[Blu3]

I've never been a big fan of DD. Their Noise Reduction technology (NR) was great when everything was analog on magnetic tapes, like cassettes and VHS, but now with digital (DVD, etc.) I don't see the point. IIRC their NR consisted of lowering the noise floor. Unfortunately this also lowered the signal strength, which is why DD volumes were always lower at the same level compared to other technologies or not using anything at all. This was kind of pointless, since when you compensated by turning up the volume there was still static in the background (though not as much). I thought they'd go away when everything went digital but instead they became the norm for DVD. Another fine example of good business dealings (and marketing) outpacing good quality.

To me, DTS just sounds more dynamic, more live. PCM is better yet. DD comes last. I hope DD-HD doesn't become the standard for blu-rays, but unfortunately the business folks will try hard and have a good chance at it since they succeded with regular DD.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by Lucy Diamond

Horse Dooky.

Are you talking about me? if so how is it horse donky? im not the only person that notice this.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Some keep the dialnorm on, like Warner

Why does it matter how loud it is? Buy yourself an SPL meter, level match and go home happy.

Yes the dial norm is on, my receiver says +4 for TruHD.

[chasarms]

Originally Posted by Blu3

. . . I hope DD-HD doesn't become the standard for blu-rays, but unfortunately the business folks will try hard and have a good chance at it since they succeded with regular DD.

Dolby and DTS coexist in the SD DVD world, why wouldn't they do the same in BD land?

[cajmoyper]

Actually, some of my favorite tracks are TrueHD...
30 Days of Night
I am Legend
Blade Runner
NT 2
Spider-Man 2

[Blu3]

Originally Posted by chasarms

Dolby and DTS coexist in the SD DVD world, why wouldn't they do the same in BD land?

Yes, but DD is the standard in DVD land. DTS is optional, and few titles have it (compared to all titles having DD). I hope this time around with BD the scale tips at least 50/50, though I would prefer more DTS-MA less DD-HD. Ideally, PCM on all would be perfect IMO.

[Blu3]

Originally Posted by cajmoyper

...I think TrueHD (BTW, not Dolby Digital TrueHD, or DD TrueHD, or DD THD) gets a bad rap.

Aren't they all the same? Isn't "TrueHD" a Dolby Digital trademark? DD-HD for short?

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by Blu3

Aren't they all the same? Isn't "TrueHD" a Dolby Digital trademark? DD-HD for short?

No, it's just Dolby TrueHD. Dolby has many, MANY different sound formats. Dolby Digital and Dolby TrueHD are 2 entirely different things.

[ganthc]

Hey, I would prefer TrueHD as long as it's not DD+ or just standard DD. I have found that Dolby TrueHD tracks are not bad at all. You just have to know ahead of time that you will be needing to turn it up. Movies like "30 Days of Night," "I am Legend," and "Twister" sound great. In Twister and Untraceable's case, the efficiency of the tracks are incredible, with bit rates at around 1.7 mbps. It's not like you aren't getting the true studio master audio with the codec.

I will also say that TrueHD tracks also tend to get the 48/24 audio as well, whereas LPCM tends to be downmixed to 48/16. Really, I do like LPCM as well, but it's more of an aesthetic thing than it is an actual difference. I think TrueHD gets a bad rap because of Universal and Warner and the fact that you have to boost the volume. Sony and Disney titles have had some excellent audio tracks without needing to do audio leveling.

[CptGreedle]

As long as whatever I listen to is lossless I could care less if it is uncompressed or compressed.

[prerich]