Dolby True HD - so far not impressed

danger boy

I watched Batman Returns last night switching between both Dolby True HD and regular core Dolby Digital. I could not hear any difference between the two. Both sounded like just the core DD.

I have a Panny BD55 player that is hooked up with analog 5.1 cables to my pre amp. works like a champ. I go and switch on the fly between the two and I am trying like really hard to hear a difference. and i just can't. I turn off the subwoofer for more critical listening and same thing.

Maybe this BD movie isn't a good example of what DD TrueHD can do or sound like.. but... with DTS HD MA I can right away tell a big difference between that and the core DTS track.

Anyone have a good movie in Dolby TrueHD that sounds fantastic? Let me know and I'll rent it..

From what I've read, Dolby TrueHD is suppose to sound really amazing and close to DTS MA.

Ron-P

I cannot tell the difference between TrueHD and DTS-HD MA but I sure can tell the difference between those compared to DD. The difference is quite noticeable.

mantis

danger boy wrote: »

I watched Batman Returns last night switching between both Dolby True HD and regular core Dolby Digital. I could not hear any difference between the two. Both sounded like just the core DD.

I have a Panny BD55 player that is hooked up with analog 5.1 cables to my pre amp. works like a champ. I go and switch on the fly between the two and I am trying like really hard to hear a difference. and i just can't. I turn off the subwoofer for more critical listening and same thing.

Maybe this BD movie isn't a good example of what DD TrueHD can do or sound like.. but... with DTS HD MA I can right away tell a big difference between that and the core DTS track.

Anyone have a good movie in Dolby TrueHD that sounds fantastic? Let me know and I'll rent it..

From what I've read, Dolby TrueHD is suppose to sound really amazing and close to DTS MA.

Couple problems I think of.
1) Did you calibrate the 5.1 outputs correctly? Small/Large test tone, even response on all channels?
2) What does it mean you shut off the sub for critical listening??? Movies require sub Bro, it's part of the mix.

I'm completely thinking your system is not setup correctly. It's a huge difference between the 2 formats. If you ever listened to a cd then a Sacd of the same recording, it's easy that difference.

Batman is a excellent Blu ray to show off sound. Spiderman 3, Crank , Fantastic 4 part 2 , many many good titles to show off the format.

I'm with Ron with the HD and MA, they both sound incredible and I have not noticed a big difference between the 2. Not like DD and DTS of the past.

I wish you luck and hopefully it's something easy like a calibration. If you need any help with that, I can help,

Dan

millerman 3732

danger boy wrote: »

From what I've read, Dolby TrueHD is suppose to sound really amazing and close to DTS MA.

There not supposed to close there supposed to be identical, and like Mantis said, the analogs can be tricky to set up, thats one of the main reasons I got rid of my panny bd10, I never got it set up just right.

nikolas812

I also notice a huge difference.

I think the last one I toggled back and forth on was. Batman Begins. The difference was night and day.. It wasn't subtle..




Nick

metal83

There are numerous BD's out with excellent HD audio quality in both formats.
I don't notice much of a difference, if any at all, between HD and MA. But compared to other formats it's night and day! On the very rare occasion that a blu-ray doesn't have one of the HD audio formats, it bums me out (luckily this hardly ever happens).

genjivn

Here are a few BDs with excellent TrueHD track:
- The Dark Knight
- Kungfu Panda
- Eagle Eye
- Transformer
- The Fall
- Casino Royale

Don't know any movie with both DTS-MA and TrueHD for a fair comparision. But some movies have the best DTS-MA track that I could not find any movies with TrueHD that equal in SQ.
- Kingdom of Heaven
- Alien vs. Predator
- X-men The Last Stand

danger boy

yup, i've calibrated the system for 5.1. turning off the sub makes it so there is no bass to interfere and cover up the sound from the fronts, center and surround. I realize a subwoofer is important in a home theater movie watching.

i will try another movie as suggested. if everything else in my system sounds good from the Blu player.. but so far Batman Begins in DD TrueHD doesn't.

cheddar

genjivn wrote: »

Don't know any movie with both DTS-MA and TrueHD for a fair comparision.

There seems to be a fair amount of licensing competition between the studios for different exclusivity to lossless formats. However, top tier asian releases not only often include all three formats (uncompressed pcm, TrueHD, DTS-HD MA), they often master them in full 7.1 surround. While some of these make it across the pacific, you may have to import them as this is not always the case. But the attention to sound design and mastering on these disks is often worth it.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?id=1935&show=review

It is difficult not to be impressed by what Mei Ah Entertainment have delivered in the audio department. And I think that anyone who acquires this disc will instantly agree with me. Covering the full spectrum of HD codecs Blu-ray has been utilizing thus far Red Cliff arrives with Mandarin: DTS-HD MA 7.1, Mandarin: LPCM 7.1, and Mandarin: Dolby TrueHD 7.1. So, pick your poison! This disc delivers and it does so with a bang. No matter what your personal preference is when it comes to high-definition audio Mei Ah Entertainment have made sure that you will not be disappointed. I personally opted for the DTS-HA Master audio but did experiment with the other two tracks as well. To make a long story short Red Cliff sounds mighty impressive! Even if you are not a fan of the genre John Woo champions, and I am certainly not one, it is hard not be appreciative of what the DTS-HD Master does to this film. Loud and gut-punching bass is blended expertly with the active surrounds during the key battle scenes where the sound of clashing swords, galloping horses, and soldiers fighting each other is pretty impressive. The audio mixers for this disc must have spent a great deal of efforts making sure that everything is optimized to perfection as I really could not find a single bit to complain about. On the more subtle side of things the epic music, a feature that has a very prominent role in this film, comes off the speakers filling your room with energy. All of the surrounds are actively used and, yes, Red Cliff will test your system. Finally, the dialog is crystal clear, very easy to follow and without any issues that I need to report. Optional English, simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese subtitles are provided.

danger boy

i'm not looking to find a BD that has both DD HD and DTS MA. i doubt one exists. you never know though.

cheddar

danger boy wrote: »

i'm not looking to find a BD that has both DD HD and DTS MA. i doubt one exists. you never know though.

As noted in the previous post, they do indeed exist and multiple lossless formats are quite common in asian mastered blu-rays. IMHO, many asian mastered disks put US disks to shame in sound quality and sound design. For whatever reason, US studios seem content to just put 5.1 tracks on even their premier releases while disks from China are regularly mastered in 6.1 or 7.1. And the sound design itself is often very lackluster on US disks especially if they are not one of the top few releases.

Places like Hong Kong seem to have a very serious audiophile community as you can often find basement malls there with all manner of uber high end tube gear, etc. I think that this attention to high quality sound has rubbed off on their mastering of blu-ray tracks. Only my opinion, of course, but I think including ALL three lossless formats on their premier releases reflects the attention their film industry pays to high quality sound mastering in the first place. Even a goofball release like Initial D (available as a common US release) has a great lossless uncompressed PCM sound track (although it doesn't have TrueHD and DTS-MA tracks).

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1254/initiald.html

With a disk that has both, it might help you diagnose your problem if the DTS-MA track sounds exactly the same as the TrueHD track on the same title. Probably not worth the trouble if you don't like asian movies to begin with. But for people who like martial arts or asian gangster flicks, they might want to at least sample an import. A little pricey at 30-40 bucks. But it might be worthwhile for those that like the genre and want a real treat with 5 star rated audio and video from US review sites.