Dolby Digital, Atmos or DTS ... what do these audio technologies hide?

With the multiplication of audio formats, not easy to navigate to make the right choice. 01net.com explains the main ones to make sure you do not go wrong.

Be immersed in a match and live the same atmosphere as the stadium? This is certainly what every football lover dreams about in front of his television. If the image participates more and more, including the broadcast of some matches in 4K, the audio is still the poor relation of sports retransmissions.

However, we do not buy a TV only to watch football (well, normally). It is therefore good to know what the different formats used for cinema sound mean. Not always easy to cope with the acronyms and logos displayed on the data sheets of the devices or on the pockets of DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

These are the latter that will usually give you the most systematic access to multichannel audio formats, with several voices in the front, rear and a subwoofer. Netflix also offers some compatible content, both movies and series.
Two major brands are competing for the multichannel home theater market: Dolby and DTS. We start with the first one.

Dolby Digital

It was Dolby who drew the famous "surround" sound in 1982, thanks to the combination of two channels at the front and only one at the back. But it was in 1992 that the real Dolby Digital revolution (and its AC3 compression method) took place, the first audio format to give life to the 5.1 set: three channels in the front, two in the back and a subwoofer. This is the one that still refers today as the basic system of any good home theater.

Dolby True HD

Since then, the format has undergone many changes: Pro Logic II, IIx, IIz, Digital EX or Digital Plus. Among the most recent, two are however more important: Dolby True HD and Dolby Atmos. The first is clearly the Rolls of multichannel sound. No compression is applied to the 14 possible channels in 24 bits and 96 kHz, unlike Dolby Digital which tends to want to save space on the discs to include a multitude of dubbing in several languages or bonuses.

Dolby Atmos

The Dolby Atmos, meanwhile, passes the higher speed by offering in addition a verticalization of sound.

In a movie theater, up to 64 channels are available. Thanks to speakers placed on the ceiling, the fineness of the mesh allows even to give the almost perfect illusion of the displacement of an object.

At home, it would be difficult to have as many speakers in his living room. Nevertheless, the configurations count up to 12 channels and go from 5.1.2 to 9.1.2 through 7.1.4.

The last number refers to the number of speakers placed on the ceiling or at least simulated. It is fortunately possible to simulate them by reflection of the sound thanks to the speakers projecting it to the ceiling.

Regarding sources, it will essentially focus on Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD and some content on Netflix (eg the German series Dark).

DTS

Now let's move on to the second competitor who is in the arena of cinema sound. Launched in 1991, the DTS is Steven Spielberg's answer to Dolby. Also encoded on 5.1 channels, it however compresses four times less the signal, digitizes the soundtrack on 20 bits and offers a bitrate of 1.4 Mbit / s.

It ended up convincing the director to invest in the company and use it for the first time on his film Jurassic Park in 1993. The purists love the rendering they consider better than that of Dolby Digital.

DTS-HD Master Audio

A more modern evolution of the format then emerges with the DTS-HD Master Audio which goes to 7.1 channels, and which improves mainly the audio quality: 24 bits on 96 kHz and flow of 24 Mbit / s.

To transmit it between the TV and the amp, it is mandatory to use an HDMI 1.3 (as for Dolby True HD), instead of a coaxial connection that does not offer a sufficient flow to pass all data.

DTS :X

Dolby and DTS do not let go of one sole. Evidenced by this ultimate evolution of DTS which also puts on the verticality of sound. The format can be up to 32 channels, but amplifiers usually only handle a dozen to get 7.1.4 or 9.1.2. Of course, such spatialization also requires ceiling speakers or models that project the sound to achieve a similar effect by reflection.

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