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DVD & blu-ray Audio

blu-ray audio can playback to 48 KHz 24 bit to 5 full-range speakers plus a 20 to 120Hz 24 bit, separate bass speaker. The original audio is compressed, selectively removing details and data is discarded. Most people cannot notice much of a change in audio quality. File sizes are much smaller and output to all 5 full range speakers for DVD and to 7 full range speakers for blu-ray is possible.


Height channels for enhanced audio experience is available on selected blu-ray discs with DTS-X, Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D. Matching speakers and A/V receivers are required in order to hear the full audio from these disks. Usually, blu-ray disks that support 4K playback are the ones that have these higher end audio tracks.


A/V Receivers

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blu-ray 4K players

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High Definition Blu-ray surround sound

  • dolby TrueHD
  • dolby atmos
  • dts audio


  • dts-x
  • auro3d
  • Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are formats that allow blu-ray audio file can be read and expanded back to 5 channel playback plus bass 5.1 or even 7 channel playback plus bass, 7.1. All the speakers get audio signals that are recreated equal to the originals at a sample rate of 48KHz. No data is lost.


    Dolby Atmos, DTS-X and Auro-3D allow for height speakers from 5.1.2 to 13.2 and require a compatible A/V Receiver and the extra speakers in order to playback this blu-ray audio. Some channels are uncompressed and others are compressed depending on the audio brand.

    Linear PCM

    One file can playback 96 KHz or 192 KHz stereo uncompressed or 8 channels uncompressed.



    Blu-ray audio type
    &
    Number of channels
    Encoded or Original Waveform PCM Lossless? (quality considered same as original) Included in blu-ray players? Recommendations for surround system

    Dolby Digital (DD) - format used for DVDs, 5.1-channel surround sound.

    Encoded

    No

    Standard

    Mid range - Analog in, okay. HDMI preferred

    DTS Digital Surround - format used for DVDs, 5.1-channel surround sound.

    Encoded

    No

    Standard

    Mid range - Amplifier to handle DTS.

    Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) - extension of Dolby Digital, 7.1-channel surround sound.

    Encoded

    No

    Optional

    Mid range - Analog in, okay. HDMI preferred.

    Dolby TrueHD - lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of audio.

    Encoded

    Yes

    Optional - most with HDMI only out. Some have analog out.

    High end with HDMI input

    Dolby Atmos 5.1.2, 9.1

    Compared to DTS-X: Dolby Atmos produces smaller files with its more efficient compressible codec, meaning more data can fit on the disk.

    Some original channels Yes. Other channels are compressed.

    Requires a Dolby Atmos A/V Receiver

    High end with HDMI input and additional speakers and amplifier channels are required to take advantage of the height channels

    DTS-HD High Resolution Audio - extension of DTS, 7.1-channel surround sound.

    Encoded

    Yes

    Optional - most with HDMI only out. Some have analog out.

    High end with HDMI input

    DTS-HD Master Audio - lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of audio.

    PCM

    Yes

    Optional - most with HDMI only out. Some have analog out.

    High end with HDMI input

    DTS-X 9.2

    DTS:X can be encoded with a higher maximum bitrate than Dolby Atmos.

    Some original channels Ye. Other channels are probably compressed

    Requires an Auro-capable A/V Receiver

    High end with HDMI input and additional speakers and amplifier channels are required to take advantage of the height channels

    Auro-3D - height channels 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 11.1, 11.2, 13.1 and selected advanced auto stereo

    Mixing and decoding 2 or 3 channels in PCM
    100% Channel separation
    Ultra-low latency decoding
    Compatible with existing standards (Blu-Ray, HDMI, DCP)

    Some original channels Yes. Other channels are probably compressed

    Requires an Auro-capable A/V Receiver

    High end with HDMI input and additional speakers and amplifier channels are required to take advantage of the height channels

    Linear PCM (LPCM) - up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio.

    PCM

    Yes

    Standard

    High end with HDMI input



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