Are DVDs never DTS only?

[MrCynical]

First of all apologies for the heresy I'm about to commit - pasting a quote from a Wikipedia article in a serious discussion I'm thinking of getting a media streamer, and my choice (the EVA8000) rather unfortunately can't downmix DTS to stereo the way my £25 Toshiba dvd player can (or at least claims to). I was therefore worried about the possibility of a DVD only having DTS audio, and therefore not being playable via the streamer.

However, Wikipedia suggests that the "DTS only" DVDs I've been worried about don't actually exist, as they're required by the DVD spec to carry an alternative:

The DVD title must carry one or more primary audio tracks in AC-3 or LPCM format (in Europe, MPEG-1 Layer 2 is also an allowed primary track format). The DTS audio track, if present, can be selected by the user.

Can anyone put my mind at rest? Would be happier hearing confirmation from somebody on here than buying a significant amount of kit purely on the word of a Wikipedia article.

[Badger0-0]

That quote, AFAIK, is correct.
Even with DTS, they still default to DD 5.1 and you actually have to choose DTS.

[Jbev]

AFAIK ALL DVD's must carry a Dolby Digital soundtrack (Mono, 2.0, 5.1etc) this was part of the original spec. for DVD.

I belive this changed for BR and maybe HDDVD to include a DTS track.

Please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong

ATB and Merry Christmas


Joel

[elbowdan]

DTS only DVD's (for example very early Universal Region 1 releases like 12 monkeys, Waterworld and Daylight) all carry a Dolby Pro Logic surround track for users with players that could NOT decode or pass DTS from the disc to an amp. This was due to the fact that if DTS was selected under those circumstances the audio would either be silent or the sound of static would be heard.
These discs were mainly the higher (full bitrate) DTS audio of 1.5 mbps which would take up more room. Only later when DTS was more common place the bitrate was lowered to accommodate both DTS and Dolby 5.1 tracks along with the better compression techniques to fit all that and the film onto the one dual layered, single sided disc.
Other than that I can't really add to the thread seeing that Dolby is like the minimum spec for DVD regardless.

[MrCynical]

Result! Thanks everyone, was hoping that would be the answer.

[Shaun666]

Originally Posted by elbowdan

DTS only DVD's (for example very early Universal Region 1 releases like 12 monkeys, Waterworld and Daylight) all carry a Dolby Pro Logic surround track for users with players that could NOT decode or pass DTS from the disc to an amp. This was due to the fact that if DTS was selected under those circumstances the audio would either be silent or the sound of static would be heard.
These discs were mainly the higher (full bitrate) DTS audio of 1.5 mbps which would take up more room. Only later when DTS was more common place the bitrate was lowered to accommodate both DTS and Dolby 5.1 tracks along with the better compression techniques to fit all that and the film onto the one dual layered, single sided disc.
Other than that I can't really add to the thread seeing that Dolby is like the minimum spec for DVD regardless.

The remake of the Haunting was another. Every one says it's a rubbish film but I quite enjoyed it and the soundtrack is awesome !

[elbowdan]

Originally Posted by Shaun666

The remake of the Haunting was another. Every one says it's a rubbish film but I quite enjoyed it and the soundtrack is awesome !

Yep it was the first DTS 6.1 discrete surround track on DVD which carried a Dolby Pro Logic track too but sadly the DTS wasn't the full 1.5 mbps bitrate.

[Sonic67]

Originally Posted by Badger0-0

That quote, AFAIK, is correct.
Even with DTS, they still default to DD 5.1 and you actually have to choose DTS.

Not quite. Phantom of the Opera on DVD defaults to DTS. DD is there as an option. There's a note in the DVD case to switch if you hear nothing.

The Phantom Of The Opera: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Minnie Driver, Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow, Joel Schumacher: Amazon.co.uk: DVD

Important note: Initial playback of this DVD defaults to the DTS (Digital Theatre System) soundtrack, therefore customers without such equipment will not hear any sound. Please note that this is NOT a fault with the DVD.

If you are not in possession of a DTS compatible sound amplifier, you need to change the film's soundtrack type from the main menu.

In order to do this, please follow the instructions below:

1. Click the "set-up" option.
2. Select either Dolby Digital Surround Sound or Dolby Digital Stereo as appropriate.
3. Select "Play Movie". The film will now play with a universal audible soundtrack.

[Badger0-0]

Ah, well mostly then

I stand corrected

[criggy]

Not sure about this, but don't superbit dvd's default to dts?

Don't know if this applies to all superbit dvd's..........

[Intruder369]

However, Wikipedia suggests that the "DTS only" DVDs I've been worried about don't actually exist, as they're required by the DVD spec to carry an alternative:
[/quote]

I have a disc that is only in 1 audio format and that is DTS, you cannot even play it on your CD Player or in stereo for that matter. The disc is a music disc rather like a DVD Audio disc, but only carries 1 format and that is DTS. So if Wiki are stating that you cannot get such discs then they are totally wrong. As a matter of fact I find this format a lot better than any DVD Audio Disc, because it does not have any menu's on, and you can stick it straight into your DVD player and press play, without having to turn your TV on. I wish more artists would make discs in this format, because it saves a lot of messing about.

The disc I am refering to is the album On Air by Alan Parsons in DTS.

[elbowdan]

Originally Posted by Intruder369

However, Wikipedia suggests that the "DTS only" DVDs I've been worried about don't actually exist, as they're required by the DVD spec to carry an alternative:

I have a disc that is only in 1 audio format and that is DTS, you cannot even play it on your CD Player or in stereo for that matter. The disc is a music disc rather like a DVD Audio disc, but only carries 1 format and that is DTS. So if Wiki are stating that you cannot get such discs then they are totally wrong. As a matter of fact I find this format a lot better than any DVD Audio Disc, because it does not have any menu's on, and you can stick it straight into your DVD player and press play, without having to turn your TV on. I wish more artists would make discs in this format, because it saves a lot of messing about.

The disc I am refering to is the album On Air by Alan Parsons in DTS.[/QUOTE]

Ah, yes. Those are CD's released by DTS which only carry DTS audio. They did a massive batch of them including the likes of Sheryl Crow and Sting but I understand that they would only really work in a DVD player that was compatible with DTS and heard out of the Amp end exactly as if you were running a DVD with DTS audio.

[neroon]

didn't a limited edition HK DVD of Jackie Chan's "the Myth" only have a Fullbitrate DTS track & no DD?

[mikegambit]

The Queen Greatest Hits dvd's only carry 5.1 in DTS.

The DD option is only stereo- and its not very good.

I had a bit of a job playing DTS cd's on the PS3 .

No problems on any dvd or Bluray players

[elbowdan]

Originally Posted by neroon

didn't a limited edition HK DVD of Jackie Chan's "the Myth" only have a Fullbitrate DTS track & no DD?

Yeah I think that was the 3 disc Avante Garde Edition (limited to so many copies) but I think a 2 disc version was released with a half bitrate DTS and Dolby Digital track.