Title : The Ultimate 5.1DD/DTS Surround Test-DVD - (R.K. Edition)



Description :
This DVD is intended to compare the two DVD surrounds formats 5.1DD (448kbps) and DTS (1536kbps/768kbps).

Furthermore this Surround Test DVD can be used to test your A/V-Receiver (5.1DD/DTS decoder) capabilities because it includes LPCM tracks as reference.

Also you can just enjoy the surround because it is 100% mixed in real discreet surround.
A very fine DVD to demo your high-end A/V-Receiver ;)



DVD Info (Audio Only) :
Source : Ambra - Prism of Life - DVD9
Video : NTSC 16/9 (150kbps, still pictures)
Audio : 2x LPCM (1536kbps), DTS (1536kbps), 2x DTS (768kbps), 2x 5.1DD (448kbps) en 2.0DD (192kbps) 
Tracks : 15 tracks
Menu : Yes, Main and Settings (8x Audio selection)




Technical Info Tracks 1 to 8 :

Track 1 :
Original 5.1 DTS track from the Ambra DVD in full bitrate (1536kbps).

Track 2 :
Converted DTS (768kbps) - DTS HD Encoder.

Track 3 :
Converted 5.1DD (448kbps) - Aften 4.1 Encoder.




Track 4 :
Original LPCM (stereo) track from the Ambra DVD

Track 5 :
LPCM from 5.0 DD (448kbps) Aften 4.1 Encoder (stereo only)

Track 6 :
5.0 DD (448kbps) Aften 4.1 Encoder (stereo only)

Track 7 :
5.0 DTS (768kbps) (stereo only)

Track 8 :
2.0 DD (192kbps)


Note : For the necessary decoding of the DTS and 5.1DD (AC3) Foobar2000 is being used.




Testing Surround 5.1DD&DTS :
The surround tracks 2 to 3 are both converted using the same source (track 1).
They should sound (almost) equally.
The reference DTS (track 1) might sound slightly clearer, however this is according to me marginal.

If clear differences are heart between DTS and 5.1DD continue comparing Track 4 to 7.


Checking the stereo tracks :
The reason for checking in stereo is to exclude faults from DTS or AC3 decoders.
LPCM is a very old and simple codec which will in all cases be converted perfectly by any A/V-Receiver and therefore be seen as a reference.

Compare Track 4 with 5 and you will notice that there is almost no differences.
Any differences heart is caused by the codec Dolby Digital and its compression.

Compare Track 4 with 6.
If you hear more differences between 4 and 6 (compared to 4 and 5) this is caused by the Dolby Digital decoder of your A/V-Receiver.

Compare Track 4 with 7 to see if your DTS decodes perfectly.
It should sound almost identical to the LPCM track.

Please note that the stereo tracks (DTS/DD) are in fact encoded in 5.0 surround mode and only L and R are modulated.
I did not included a LPCM track converted back from the DTS track.
The differences would (theoretically) be less than the LPCM conversion of the 5.1DD track.



Callibration :
The DVD can also be used to callibrate your receiver levels for different modes.
Track 4, 6, 7 and 8 are Resp. LPCM, Surround DD, DTS and Stereo DD.
These tracks have all the same modulation (within 0.1dB).
Modern A/V-Receivers have the abbility to adjust levels for these different modes.
Use the LPCM as reference and adjust the others to the same level. 

Please take care that 2.0DD is callibrated in stereo and not in Dolby Prologic.

Before callibrating the different modes it is neccesary to callibrate the levels of all your speakers.
Most modern A/V-Receivers have internal test tones (noise) which can be used to callibrate the 5 (or more) channels to the same level.



I hope you will all ENJOY this "Ultimate 5.1DD/DTS Surround Test-DVD - (R.K. Edition)"