Lena:

There are a lot of ways that a soundtrack can be manipulated. These can range from simple equalization, to compression, to use of the "signal optimizers" that FM stations use in order to maximise the "loudness" of their signal. I doubt that DTS goes to the extreme of the last approach, but I did document without a doubt that the surrounds were louder and the overall level was higher in the DTS version. These alone would give the impression of a more "enveloping" soundfield, and more subjective "punch", compared to the Dolby Digital version.

I really wish that everyone on this board could have participated in the comparison that we did between the data compressed version and the original source master. It would have given a greater appreciation to the tradeoffs involved with the compressed formats. I hear those masters on a regular basis, so I am somewhat jaded, but I wish more of you could also have that reference.

I doubt that there will ever be available the uncompressed soundtracks, simply because of the high data overhead involved. That's a shame, especially when spending a lot of money to get the best sound quality possible, to have a comprimised sound in the first place.

If there ever was an argument for the existance of DVD-A and SACD, this was it!


[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited February 08, 2003).]