Which is better dolby surround or 5.1

Dolby Labs created AC-3, better known as Dolby Digital , to take advantage of the space and offer higher bandwidth sound. In , Digital Theater Systems DTS came along with its own competing digital surround sound technology that first featured in the movie Jurassic Park. At first, the technology was available only on an exclusive selection of discs before trickling down to DVD and LD.

DTS features a higher bit rate, which delivers more audio information. Both technologies offer you the benefits of surround sound via codecs available for 5. Both technologies are used by studios to compress dense files for multi-channel audio support for common applications like TV shows and movie playback via Blu-ray, DVD, cable and satellite TV systems.

Your receiver, during playback, then decompresses the files. Both audio standards also implement extra technologies like encoders specifically for enhancing stereo, an older Pro-Logic standard for simulating surround sound. The codecs also convert down or up to match the number of speakers, enhance surround sound and other tasks. The formats make use of compression technology to save space on DVD, Blu-ray or during streaming. You will also come across lossy DTS and Dolby Digital, which means that audio is degraded to a certain degree from the original source.

Others offer lossless studio level performance while offering some sort of space-saving compression. Comparing Dolby Digital vs.

At higher bit rates it is virtually indistinguishable from the source audio. Two Atmos home setup examples. Dolby Digital Plus is the established standard for 5. So older AV receivers can still get 5. Fiber optical cables support surround sound with up to 5. Almost all the television programming gets broadcast in surround sound but there are many Blu-ray discs offering enhanced sound quality. Audio Quality : HDMI is renowned for its video quality, but it also can carry audio without the need for multiple cables.

HDMI 1. Both HDMI and optical pass digital audio from one device to another. Both are better than analog the red and white cables. Dolby Digital and DTS can both deliver fantastic surround sound experiences — but there are some key differences in the way that they achieve that end result. The major differences are the compression levels and bit-rates.

Dolby Digital compresses 5. DTS, on the other hand, is less compressed and supports higher bit-rates of up to 1. The compression gap widens when you step up to the competing HD formats.

Dolby Digital Plus supports up to 1. In theory, less compression during encoding equals more detailed audio that delivers a soundtrack closer to what was originally intended. Case closed, then? Not so fast. Dolby argues that its codecs are more efficient than DTS codecs, and thus can sound every bit as good or better, even at a lower bit-rate. Ultimately, you can expect a fine home cinema experience from both, and often your choice of soundtrack will come down to whichever is supported by your source material.

These top-of-the-line, cutting-edge home cinema audio technologies from Dolby and DTS are a step up from traditional surround sound. They recreate object-based effects, such as a plane flying overhead or bullets zinging around the room, thanks to multiple audio signals aimed at set-ups with a greater number of speakers than the standard 5.

Neural:X will then create extra pseudo channels to make full use of all the speakers in your room. However, that has changed recently. If your AV receiver supports this processing mode, you will increase the You will need a very advanced AV processor to get to this amount of speakers. However, there are one or two integrated AV receivers that have channels of amplification. If you have one of these, you will be able to upmix any DTS soundtrack across your complete speaker system.

The aim of DTS Virtual:X is to give you the 3D experience of an object-based soundtrack — but without you having to install any height speakers. So, 2. Stereo or surround. Dolby prevents this in their licensing agreement. But it can be effective in giving an extra sense of space. Some AV receiver models often the more expensive ones! THX certification means that a product meets certain standards defined by THX , which aims to set the highest standards for home theater video and audio equipment.

While we should never assume that a product without THX certification must be of poor quality, we should be confident of a high-quality product where we find this mark of approval. The three listening modes — Cinema, Games and Music — are similar to Pro Logic in that they can play any type of source material and match it to the speaker setup you have in your room.

The difference with the THX listening modes is they also add equalization to the audio to tailor the original soundtrack mix to suit a home environment. The theory is that movie soundtracks are mixed to sound good at high volumes in movie theaters but will sound different at lower volumes in regular rooms. Therefore, these modes are designed to alter the frequency response of the sound you hear and allow for the differences between an actual movie theater and your room.

If you have these listening modes on your equipment, you may find that you can improve the sound in your room by activating these settings. Give it a try and see what you think. The aim is to provide the best image and audio quality currently available through a combination of new content and certified hardware. While not precisely a surround sound format as such, I thought it would be helpful to mention it here as you may well come across it as an audio format and wonder what it is.

Image content is optimized for large 4K HDR displays with a new mastering process so that you get an exceptionally bright and colorful image. The audio is mixed with a special version of DTS:X, designed for surround sound systems with elevation or height speakers. Having said that, the algorithm will adapt to systems with different speaker layouts than those mentioned. So you will be able to use it regardless of your speaker layout. While AV receivers and processors are also starting to appear with the technology built-in.

As for the content, you should see more appearing as time goes on. Plus, the technology can be streamed, so keep a lookout at a streaming service near you! However, each manufacturer will often provide additional DSP Digital Signal Processing listening modes for you to choose from. These different versions will provide other processing options to alter the sound that you hear through your system.