More to a TrueHD soundtrack than an increased dynamic range?

[admin_exported]

Reading the Dolby Digital/Dolby TrueHD Dark Knight thread got me thinking. Is there really that much more to lossless HD audio tracks than just the increased dynamic range? As I mentioned on that thread, watching the the Dark Knight with the True HD track the other night on my Yam 763, when I had the volume loud enough to make the dialogue the right volume, the loud bits nearly lifted the roof of the house off!

Normal Dolby digital and DTS soundtracks have always sounded excellent and very detailed to me, and really the dynamic range that they have is enough for most home viewing isn't it?

I've only done one back to back listening of a True HD soundtrack and a Dolby Digital soundtrack and that was on the ACDC live at Donington BD. (great way to make yourself feel old by the way, trying to spot yourself at the front of a concert in 1991 when you were the grand old age of 19 and considerably hairier...) and I was surprised to find that I preferred the sound of the DD track to the TrueHD track. Obviously I realise that an old concert isn't anything close to the best way to compare the two tracks, so i'd be interested to know what people who have done a back to back comparison on some recent films think the noticeable differences between the old DD/DTS soundtracks and the shiny new HD versions are.

 

[Anonymous]

hmm, 56 reads and no opinions on the difference between HD and normal soundtracks...
Oh well, in order to elicit more interest and replies my next thread will either be entitled 'Cheap HDMI cables are better than expensive ones' or 'LCD is much better than Plasma' 🙂

 

[pete321]

I've said in the other threads, I don't think True HD is particularly worthy of inclusion on blu-ray compared to DTS-HD and PCM. I can notice a distinct improvement with the latter, but not a massive differance with most Dolby True HD.

As I've said in another thread, the studios seem to use DTS in it's HD guise on blu-ray's far more readily than they used plain old DTS on DVD's. On DVD's Dolby Digital was the studios soundtrack of choice (although I thought DTS was usually better), but on blu-rays Dolby THD doesn't get used as much. Not an exact science, I can only go by the blu-rays I've seen and either PCM or DTS-HD seems more common (I'm glad to say).

 

[professorhat]

I'm not sure there is a wrong or a right answer here. People always seem to be concerned when they think the Dolby Digital track is better than the TrueHD track, but, after you've made sure your settings are all correct and you are actually getting TrueHD, what's the issue if you do? For me, I can't say I really bother comparing the different soundtracks any more (other than when someone requests it here), but on each occasion I have, I have noticed an improvement on the TrueHD soundtrack (be that a better soundstage, dynamics, transients etc.). But if you don't, that doesn't mean there's something wrong with you.
Just listen to whichever soundtrack you prefer and enjoy the film!

 

[Anonymous]

I don't normally go out of my way to compare the soundtracks, but the thought occurred to me when I was watching the AC/DC concert I mentioned that I hadn't checked which track I was listening to, and when I did I found it was the dolby digital one, and on switching to true HD I was surprised to find it didn't sound quite as good to me. It was almost as if the room had more pressure in it when listening to the HD track, which was a strange feeling which my ears didn't like. I guess that it was possibly kicking out some bass that you feel rather than hear.

Its not really a massive concern (although I did make me start to think about speaker upgrades) I was just curious what differences other people had heard on the HD tracks.

I see some back to back comparisons in my future to decide if I generally prefer one track to the other. I may even bore you all with my conclusions!

 

[pete321]

You usually only get one HD audio choice on a blu-ray due to the increased file size. I personally would rather have a DTS-HD or PCM soundtrack and feel conned when I pick up a blu-ray box and it says True HD on the back because I know I'm probably not going to enjoy the film as much as if it was a DTS HD or PCM soundtrack.

Given the big part surround sound plays in immersing you in a film, and having sampled the delights of DTS HD and PCM, I can't help thinking... this could have been better when it's True HD!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Pete - I'm not sure that a film isn't going to be enjoyable just because it has a True HD soundtrack - Cloverfield and the Dark Knight disprove this. I do feel the Spiderman movies could've sounded better, and there are a few other slightly disappointing True HD movies, but I wouldn't go as far as to say they affect enjoyment that much.

Overall, DTS MA soundtracks do seem to be better, a little like the old DD vs DTS thing we had with DVD.