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Author Topic: DTS Audio CD's Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 09-16-2003 07:14 PM                     I have a CD from The Police recorded in DTS Audio that I got from a DTS promotion kit a few years ago. What would it take for me to be able to play this CD at home? Even if I can't listen to it in 5.1 (which I can't because I'm not about to go buy a new speaker system), is there any way I can listen to it at all through my DVD player?  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-16-2003 07:33 PM                        That depends on your receiver. If your receiver supports DTS, then it can be played from any DVD player (through the digital out) or any CD player that has an optical or coaxial digital out. You can't listen to it any other way. That CD is pretty old, but sounds good. I've listened to mine many times over the years. The DTS code completely replaces the LPCM track on a CD or LaserDisc (same bandwidth). I demand you buy a new speaker system. You really need one.  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 09-16-2003 07:34 PM                     So I need a receiver? Can't just play it straigh from the DVD player on my TV?  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-16-2003 07:35 PM                        Nope. Well I guess you could if you routed the receiver's outputs into a mixer (to downmix the 5.1 channels into 2) and then pipe those into your TV.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-16-2003 09:58 PM                     DTS music CDs require a DTS decoder somewhere in the chain for the thing to work. You can't go straight from a DVD player to the TV unless the DVD player has a built-in DTS decoder. If you play a DTS CD from a DVD player without it (and hook the audio leads straight into your TV) all you will hear is white noise, like a TV station off the air. Most DVD-Audio capable DVD players feature built in decoding for Dolby Digital and DTS. That's because the DVD-A signal can only be sent out of an analog output. So the built-in DD/DTS decoders are there for additional convenience (so you don't have to switch between AUX and DVD inputs all the time). Another solution for listening to DTS CDs: portable DVD players. Some have built in DTS decoders and can even do 2 channel downmixed outputs (but it depends on the model). A few car stereo systems have DTS decoders (Kef Kar and Panasonic are a couple brands that come to mind). Computer sound card and speaker systems have still not correctly figured out how to play DTS audio CDs. Support is spotty at best. The latest versions of PowerDVD XP and WinDVD feature DTS pass through, but they often do not handle DTS CD bitstreams correctly. I think the problem is the fact a DTS bitstream is really disguised as LPCM code. The software players insist on doing idiot digital post processing crap to the code to make it sound better or something. The trouble is any changes made at all to the code totally corrupt the compressed and encrypted data stream. This is also an issue with some CD players. Any players with digital volume adjustments or other DSP trickery that monkeys with the LPCM stream destroys the DTS signal. The best results I've seen via computer for DTS CD playback is using a soundcard that sends a pure S/PDIF digital out to an outboard audio decoder and speaker setup. Yamaha has a couple pretty good models. To get to another point, if you are not going to listen to a DTS CD in 5.1 channel mode then why even buy one? You're going to be better off just using a regular 2-channel LPCM disc. I own a few DTS CDs and really like them. The Police disc is good. Sting has a few of his solo albums available in DTS. Don Henley's "End of the Innocence" disc is a good one. Steely Dan has a good disc. Sheryl Crow has one of her studio albums out in DTS-ES 6.1 on CD (I forget which one though).  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 09-16-2003 11:06 PM                     quote: To get to another point, if you are not going to listen to a DTS CD in 5.1 channel mode then why even buy one? quote: I have a CD from The Police recorded in DTS Audio that I got from a DTS promotion kit a few years ago.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 09-16-2003 11:25 PM                        I have about a dozen DTS CDs with most of them featuring classical music. I also have some DTS sound demo titles and they are awesome. Most of them were obtained when I had a 5.1 Adcom sound system powered by separate amps and a Millennium DTS decoder. I now use a Denon AVR 3802 which also does an excellent job processing DTS music CDs as well as DVDs and laserdiscs with DTS soundtracks. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 09-17-2003 12:10 AM                     quote: Sheryl Crow has one of her studio albums out in DTS-ES 6.1 on CD (I forget which one though). Globe Sessions  |  IP: Logged

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