Saving Private Ryan: To DTS or not to DTS, that is the question. - DVDfile.com forum for DVD, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVD

Rock · 11-07-2000, 02:53 AM

Hello, all.

As you may or may not know (based on my thread in the Hardware Area), I am going to actually get some sort of speaker system. Right now I do not have a DVD player that will allow me to take advantage of DTS. The sound system I will get, however, will.

On that note, I was going to finally buy Saving Private Ryan, but I wasn't real clear about which version to get. The regular version has a documentary thingy. The DTS version does not. So, in planning for the future, should I get the DTS version, which will produce better sound, or should I get the one with the doc?

I mean, when making a choice like this I would tend to side with getting the version with the better version of the film. In this case, that means the DTS version. But, if that documentary is kick ass enough, I'll get the regular version.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

(And, yes, I have read the reviews of each disc here on the site.)

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clortho · 11-07-2000, 03:15 AM

The 'documentary' is the 20minute thing made for HBO, enough said.

DTS is the way to go.

Clortho

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***Taxi*** · 11-07-2000, 03:24 AM

Rocky, I've got a sealed copy of the DD version I'll cut you a deal on. Email me.

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brian · 11-07-2000, 03:55 AM

If you cant play DTS now, and you get SPR in dts, you will only be able to listen to it in DD2.0 at the moment. So at the moment, you would get worse sound over the DD5.1 version, but if you get a dts player in the future, you are better off with the dts version. Please, if this doesnt make sense, someone help me explain this better.

Vertigo · 11-07-2000, 04:04 AM

A lot of folks seem to think SPR is the reference DTS disc. Not sure if it's the best, but it's pretty darn spectacular. I'd go DTS even if you have to wait a bit for playability.

Constrictor · 11-07-2000, 03:37 PM

One thing I've noticed when comparing a DD version of a movie versus a DTS version of the same movie, is if the DTS track is a full bandwidth track, then chances are, there will be less extra stuff on the disc then compared to the DD version. Case in point, Apollo 13, Dragonheart, Jurassic Park, Men in Black, SPR. Now granted, its up to you, the consumer to decide if the loss of extra bonus material is worth the potential better sound with DTS.

Notice I said potential. There are some examples where the difference between DTS and DD is so negligable, that it can barely be heard on even the most top of the line home theater systems.

Now, for the movies where there is a noticeable difference, you need to weigh what youre going to lose with the DTS version. Jurassic Park gets rid of some of the bonus features, but not all, Men in Black contains all the same features, but the video quality suffers on the DTS version, Dragonheart and Apollo 13 lose almost all of the extra features.

In my opinion, for movies like Dragonheart and Apollo 13 I would get the DD versions, cause more than likely the minimal improvement in sound quality between DD and DTS on those discs isnt worth losing all the extra stuff (to me). To some people who dont care at all about bonus material and only want the best picture and sound quality, then maybe go with the bare bones DTS discs. Even with Men in Black, although you can see slight differences in picture quality between the DTS and DD versions, most people would agree its only noticeable when you can view the two versions side by side, so even then, maybe its better to stick with the DTS version of that movie.

Now for those who dont know, there have been more and more movies coming out lately touting DTS tracks, but also contain a DD track and tons of features, i.e. U571, American Beauty, Pitch Black. I dont know the exact specs off the top of my head, but a full bandwidth DTS track is considerably larger than a DD track. These movies that contain both a DTS, DD, and bonus material are partial bandwidth tracks, that are much closer in size to the DD tracks. So what that means, is that whatever advantages that a full bandwidth DTS would have over a regular DD track are lessened on the half bandwidth DTS tracks. On an entry level to middle class HT system, there is almost no noticeable difference between these partial bandwidth DTS tracks and the DD tracks.

So why did they put a DTS track and a DD track on American Beauty and U571 when theres such a little difference? I dont know. Dont get me wrong, Im not complaining. But in my opinion, 99.9% of the DVD buying public wont even be able to tell the difference between the tracks on movies like that.

Okay, so this post is getting really long, and Im getting off the topic of the original question. As for which SPR to buy, you need to decide if the loss of the documentary is worth the better DTS track. Thats all it comes down to.

There will be movie purists who dont care about special edition stuff, and those are the people who will almost always buy a DTS version if given the choice, but for the person who likes bells and whistles, I say, only get a DTS version if it contains all the same stuff as the DD version.

11-07-2000, 02:53 AM	#1 (permalink)
Rock Cunning Linguist Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Parts Unknown	Saving Private Ryan: To DTS or not to DTS, that is the question. Hello, all. As you may or may not know (based on my thread in the Hardware Area), I am going to actually get some sort of speaker system. Right now I do not have a DVD player that will allow me to take advantage of DTS. The sound system I will get, however, will. On that note, I was going to finally buy Saving Private Ryan, but I wasn't real clear about which version to get. The regular version has a documentary thingy. The DTS version does not. So, in planning for the future, should I get the DTS version, which will produce better sound, or should I get the one with the doc? I mean, when making a choice like this I would tend to side with getting the version with the better version of the film. In this case, that means the DTS version. But, if that documentary is kick ass enough, I'll get the regular version. Any opinions would be appreciated. (And, yes, I have read the reviews of each disc here on the site.) ------------------ DVDFile.Com Administrator TheGreatOne@DVDFile.com My [partial] DVD List The VCR industry in the 1800s was more primitive than today, largely because VCRs wouldn't be invented for another 75 years or so.

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11-07-2000, 03:15 AM	#2 (permalink)
clortho Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Hemet, Ca	The 'documentary' is the 20minute thing made for HBO, enough said. DTS is the way to go. Clortho ------------------ I am the Keymaster clortho@hotmail.com

11-07-2000, 03:24 AM	#3 (permalink)
*Taxi* Administrator Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Orygun	Rocky, I've got a sealed copy of the DD version I'll cut you a deal on. Email me. ------------------ Taxi DVDFile Administrator

11-07-2000, 03:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
brian Digital Jesűs Emeritus Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Wisconsin	If you cant play DTS now, and you get SPR in dts, you will only be able to listen to it in DD2.0 at the moment. So at the moment, you would get worse sound over the DD5.1 version, but if you get a dts player in the future, you are better off with the dts version. Please, if this doesnt make sense, someone help me explain this better.

11-07-2000, 04:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
Vertigo Actor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA	A lot of folks seem to think SPR is the reference DTS disc. Not sure if it's the best, but it's pretty darn spectacular. I'd go DTS even if you have to wait a bit for playability.

11-07-2000, 03:37 PM	#6 (permalink)
Constrictor Actor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Chicago Heights, IL	One thing I've noticed when comparing a DD version of a movie versus a DTS version of the same movie, is if the DTS track is a full bandwidth track, then chances are, there will be less extra stuff on the disc then compared to the DD version. Case in point, Apollo 13, Dragonheart, Jurassic Park, Men in Black, SPR. Now granted, its up to you, the consumer to decide if the loss of extra bonus material is worth the potential better sound with DTS. Notice I said potential. There are some examples where the difference between DTS and DD is so negligable, that it can barely be heard on even the most top of the line home theater systems. Now, for the movies where there is a noticeable difference, you need to weigh what youre going to lose with the DTS version. Jurassic Park gets rid of some of the bonus features, but not all, Men in Black contains all the same features, but the video quality suffers on the DTS version, Dragonheart and Apollo 13 lose almost all of the extra features. In my opinion, for movies like Dragonheart and Apollo 13 I would get the DD versions, cause more than likely the minimal improvement in sound quality between DD and DTS on those discs isnt worth losing all the extra stuff (to me). To some people who dont care at all about bonus material and only want the best picture and sound quality, then maybe go with the bare bones DTS discs. Even with Men in Black, although you can see slight differences in picture quality between the DTS and DD versions, most people would agree its only noticeable when you can view the two versions side by side, so even then, maybe its better to stick with the DTS version of that movie. Now for those who dont know, there have been more and more movies coming out lately touting DTS tracks, but also contain a DD track and tons of features, i.e. U571, American Beauty, Pitch Black. I dont know the exact specs off the top of my head, but a full bandwidth DTS track is considerably larger than a DD track. These movies that contain both a DTS, DD, and bonus material are partial bandwidth tracks, that are much closer in size to the DD tracks. So what that means, is that whatever advantages that a full bandwidth DTS would have over a regular DD track are lessened on the half bandwidth DTS tracks. On an entry level to middle class HT system, there is almost no noticeable difference between these partial bandwidth DTS tracks and the DD tracks. So why did they put a DTS track and a DD track on American Beauty and U571 when theres such a little difference? I dont know. Dont get me wrong, Im not complaining. But in my opinion, 99.9% of the DVD buying public wont even be able to tell the difference between the tracks on movies like that. Okay, so this post is getting really long, and Im getting off the topic of the original question. As for which SPR to buy, you need to decide if the loss of the documentary is worth the better DTS track. Thats all it comes down to. There will be movie purists who dont care about special edition stuff, and those are the people who will almost always buy a DTS version if given the choice, but for the person who likes bells and whistles, I say, only get a DTS version if it contains all the same stuff as the DD version.