Long live dts!

If blogging had been around 10 years ago, I would have vented regularly about the fact that DVD's were often not including dts digital audio.

Although Dolby Labs has engaged in some of the must logic-contorting spin I've ever seen, I don't know any serious audiophile who doesn't agree that dts provides a superior sound. Common sense would dictate that less compression equals a better reproduction of sound. But Dolby tries to argue that their magic hocus pocus voodoo manages to squeeze superior sound into less space. That, along with their historical deals to make themselves a 'standard' has resulted in DVD after DVD being dished out with only Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. That doesn't even include the fact that I've never seen an over-the-air or satellite broadcast in dts. It's all DD5.1.

So, whenever a DVD I want to see has dts, I cheer the fact that the format is not dead and there are publishers who understand that it is the 'premium' choice for audio. For example, the Lord of the Rings theatrical releases on DVD came only with DD5.1. However, the Extended Editions came with both DD5.1 and dts sound! Hurray! On the dark side (pun intended), George Lucas thinks that using digital film is the way to go, and yet when it comes to audio, he's totally in the pocket of Dolby Labs. No version of Star Wars or Indiana Jones movies comes with dts sound. This firmly places the Lucas DVD's into the "inferior" camp, in my book.

And now I see that the Chronicles of Narnia DVD will have dts (based upon this screenshot of the box front and back Link here ). YAY!! Yet another reason to look forward to this DVD.

Long live dts!!