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Westy, can I ask without you suffering a nervous breakdown: why will we never see full bitrate DTS again?
In essence, it`s all about cost versus the mass market. Though everyone would love to have DTS exclusive discs, the financial side of the deal would be so non profitable it would crush smaller production houses. Dolby Digital is and will ALWAYS be the industry standard discrete digital sound option for both cinemas and the home cinema/tv market. Why? Dolby goes hand in hand with the word cinema, Dolby have pioneered more sound algorithms than any other and have earned it well. Though DTS` claims of its formats superiority are convincing on paper, the reality is that it just isn`t THAT different or superior for it to ever take over as THE premier sound format of choice. Dolby is a bona fide household name, every new cinema projector has a standard Dolby Digital sound reader, every cinema booth has a Dolby decoder installed as standard, cinema soundtracks default to Dolby SR when things go wrong, the equipment to encode onto DVD for production houses is easy to use with full support, and a Dolby chipset to go in an AV reciever or tv is cheap and readily available. Getting the picture?
Ok, so DTS may be able to lay claim to all of the above, but the backing of the worlds most prolific director is not enough to convince DVD authoring houses that giving up the extra features and commentaries in order to store a full bitrate DTS track exclusively on one disc - whilst offering another retail product with Dolby 5.1/5.1EX without the DTS - is a solid financial proposition.
In a blind test, even the full bitrate DTS tracks of the past few years have offered no massive gains against the Dolby track. Why? Because not everyone has a system that can relay the extra dynamic power the track provides. Many people these days have a mid range amp, mid range speakers and affordable cable, which means the the so called `fine nuances and more rounded bottom end`, (what a load of pants - it amazes me how some reviewers dance around the issue and offer hand picked phrases rather than specific examples in order to make themselves believe the DTS is better, when in fact they`re having to MAKE themselves listen out for something different, even though the difference is so miniscule and irrelevant it`s not worth mentioning), are all but lost. Ok those with custom installs may think they`re hearing more, but balance the sound levels, (don`t forget there`s at least 3db of lift in every channel, that includes the LFE channel), and the Dolby track has nothing to be ashamed of. I sometimes wonder whether people would think it was better if the claims had never been made.
I sometimes wonder why DTS even bothered. In the cinema, the sound is stored on compact discs which are time aligned to the movie reel - of course the advantage is instant; no wear and tear, sound is stored optically on digital disc - but with it comes cost and extra effort in order to get the film running. Many projectionists have to endure 20+ showings a day in most multiplexes, many just believe, (and i`ve had this first hand from people who work at the UCI in Cardiff), that the Dolby track is no worse and as such setting up the booth for DTS use is not worth it. Deafeatist? Yes, maybe. Realistic? Definitely.
One format is enough for everybody - the only alternative which is clearly better, (yet ironically still uses the Dolby master), is Sony`s 8 channel SDDS, which is amazing. but not all cinemas can afford it. So do the math. Dolby will never topple as they offer real world solutions to movie/game/tv/DVD sound that is backed up by great support and over 30 years of experience in movie and home audio.
Just as Dolby B Noise Reduction was seen as the most effective solution to cutting out background noise on home audio recordings, Dolby Digital and to a certain extent, Dolby Pro Logic 2, are here and will always be here to stay. And the reason for that is that they do what they`re supposed to do, do it well, and Dolby doesn`t make a huge song and dance about it. Poor Dolby soundtracks are at the hands of the sound engineer, NOT Dolby! Anyone who has witnessed the surround mastery and power in films like Fight Club, Star Wars, (ANY of the movies), Toy Story 2, SPR, Daredevil, Lord of ther Rings etc will know Dolby Digital and Dolby EX offer thrills in massive quantity. So why bother offering DTS full bitrate when they can get this level of sound quality with Dolby AND get some extras on one disc as well?
I`m sorry to upset the DTS bunch here, but a `tighter` low end, (read a +10db lift in the LFE channel in the recording), and a cleaner treble and more cohesive soundstage, (i don`t care what anyone says - the arrows in the opening scene of Gladiator move around the room exactly the same with the Dolby track, and you can hear them just as well), do not mean the Dolby track is better - it makes it merely `different`. Better is when the DTS sound on Lord of the Rings FOTR sounds lifeless during the Mines of Moria and absolutely system destroying in its Dolby EX form during the same scenes. The overall sound is NOT down to the characteristics of the format - it`s all to do with the sound mixer. Find them midway through the credits at the end of every film... ;)
Rik, i told you not to get me started, but i hope this answers your question :)
Westy
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