Zen Traveler Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 Over the years I have witnessed several Home Theater demos, with the person putting on the demonstration using either the Dolby or DTS "Specialty" disks that use movie cuts. Are these disks mastered or mixed different from the same scenes we get on the mass produced full length movie DVD's? The reason I am asking is that I like bringing my own media to audition products. Yesterday the salesperson threw me a curve by having me hear a cut on one of these disks (of a movie which I didn't bring) and having me listen to a certain element of the scene. When I got home I put on the full length DVD and jumped to the scene. He was right. There was a difference. I want to make sure the difference was in the PRODUCT and NOT in the DISK. Am I comparing apples to apples? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted July 17, 2005 Share Posted July 17, 2005 I know for a fact that the DTS demos use the "Full" bitrate of 1536kbps vs. the 768kbps that you get on MOST retail DVDs. There are some exceptions to this, as some DVDs do use full bitrate dts, but many of the demos on the dts demo discs are from movies that use the lower bitrate on the retail release. I don't know about any Dolby demo discs, but I believe the standard that you find on Retail DVDs is 448kbps and that there is no support for higher bitrates in home gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 17, 2005 Author Share Posted July 17, 2005 Thanks for your response toddvj. Let me ask it another way. Would the same cut from a movie on the DTS Demo disk, that may have a higher bit rate compared to the full length DVD of the same title, have better sound quality, if being played on a Denon DVD 3910? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 I wish I would have used a catchier title for this thread The exact disk involved was the DTS specialty disk playing a cut from "Chicago," compared to the same scene on the DTS version of the DVD movie. It was when the 2 female lead vocals sang together. I was auditioning speakers and the salesperson pointed out how you could hear the separation of the 2 voices. When I got home I played the same scene and could barely hear the individual separation of the two, but not as clearly as on the speakers he was having me audition. In both situations the DVD player was the Denon DVD 3910 and THX ultra II Denon receivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Yes, you would have better sound quality on the Demo disc due to the higher bitrate when played through the Denon 3910. The speakers could also make a big difference, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 18, 2005 Author Share Posted July 18, 2005 ---------------- On 7/18/2005 9:48:16 AM toddvj wrote: Yes, you would have better sound quality on the Demo disc due to the higher bitrate when played through the Denon 3910. The speakers could also make a big difference, though. ---------------- Thanks. That was what I was looking for. I realize the speakers could/would make a difference, but I wanted to make sure I was comparing apples to apples as far as the source material was concerned. I will post my impressions of the speakers involved after I have done my auditioning and research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Rex Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 I think it's a fine title, it got me to look and wondering if I should own a demo disk. Really, I could get used to it on my system and then when I go window shopping for speakers/systems I would have a good reference from which to make a valid comparison. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northshore Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 Being a collector of Demo disc for a number of years I can say that most all of the Dolby Digital and my favorite the DTS demo's have extremely high bitrates. With that being said, the sound and picture quality are IMO far superior to off the shelf DVD's. These disc are designed to showcase a system in the showroom of your dealer to impress you into buying products. Yes, the system has to handle the high quality bitrate in the showroom but buyer beware, these disc will expose weaknesses in your system. If your components and speaker selection can handle it just put on your seatbelt and hang on. I truly enjoy every January when the newest DTS demo disc is unveiled at the CES annual show.My two cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 24, 2005 Author Share Posted July 24, 2005 ---------------- On 7/17/2005 7:07:19 PM tkdamerica wrote: ...The reason I am asking is that I like bringing my own media to audition products. Yesterday the salesperson threw me a curve by having me hear a cut on one of these disks (of a movie which I didn't bring) and having me listen to a certain element of the scene. When I got home I put on the full length DVD and jumped to the scene. He was right. There was a difference. I want to make sure the difference was in the PRODUCT and NOT in the DISK. Am I comparing apples to apples? ---------------- ---------------- On 7/24/2005 9:21:58 AM Northshore wrote: With that being said, the sound and picture quality are IMO far superior to off the shelf DVD's. These disc are designed to showcase a system in the showroom of your dealer to impress you into buying products... ---------------- In my case I think it was to TRICK me into buying their Product. I want to be an informed shopper and thanks to you, I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 So now trying to make a system look and sound it's best is trickery??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 25, 2005 Author Share Posted July 25, 2005 ---------------- On 7/25/2005 8:43:21 AM toddvj wrote: So now trying to make a system look and sound it's best is trickery??? ---------------- Read closely my original post. ---------------- On 7/17/2005 7:07:19 PM tkdamerica wrote: The reason I am asking is that I like bringing my own media to audition products. Yesterday the salesperson threw me a curve by having me hear a cut on one of these disks (of a movie which I didn't bring) and having me listen to a certain element of the scene. When I got home I put on the full length DVD and jumped to the scene. He was right. There was a difference. I want to make sure the difference was in the PRODUCT and NOT in the DISK. Am I comparing apples to apples? ---------------- BTW, I was auditioning speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 Okay, I reread it, and fail to see any trickery. He told you to listen closely to a certain part of a scene he was demoing, and used the best possible material he had available. I should hope somebody will take the time to do that for me next time I am shopping for gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Rex Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 ---------------- On 7/25/2005 12:28:27 PM toddvj wrote: Okay, I reread it, and fail to see any trickery. He told you to listen closely to a certain part of a scene he was demoing, and used the best possible material he had available. I should hope somebody will take the time to do that for me next time I am shopping for gear. ---------------- I think he is saying it is "trickery" if the disc being used to do the demo is not able to be reproduced on his home system with his standard DVDs. In other words, the sales person would be trying to trick him into buying bigger/better equipment that he might not need simply because the salesperson isn't using the same quality reference material. I think that was the point of the story but I could certainly be mistaken. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 25, 2005 Author Share Posted July 25, 2005 ---------------- On 7/25/2005 12:28:27 PM toddvj wrote: Okay, I reread it, and fail to see any trickery. He told you to listen closely to a certain part of a scene he was demoing, and used the best possible material he had available. I should hope somebody will take the time to do that for me next time I am shopping for gear. ---------------- Sorry toddvj, I didn't see this or I would have responded sooner I brought 2 DVDs that I was familiar with to audition his speaker setup. After we played the 2 DVDs I brought and I commented that I liked his setup, but I think my Klipsch Reference series sounds better on movies he said "well let's try something else." He then proceeded to pull out the DTS demo disk and played the cut from "Chicago." He then said, "Listen to the separation of the 2 female vocals." I did, and he was right, they separated very well. I couldn't remember (not having seen the movie in a year and only watched it once) how it sounded on my HT.I told him that I had the movie and I would listen to it at home and see how my speakers measured up. (He didn't say at this point, the information you were so kind to give me at the beginning of this thread.) When I got home I put in my copy of "Chicago," and sure enough the separation wasn't as defined. The reason I say "tricked" is that if I wasn't savvy enough to explore this matter further, I may have taken that demo as an apples to apples comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted July 25, 2005 Author Share Posted July 25, 2005 ---------------- On 7/25/2005 4:58:52 PM D-Rex wrote: ---------------- I think he is saying it is "trickery" if the disc being used to do the demo is not able to be reproduced on his home system with his standard DVDs. In other words, the sales person would be trying to trick him into buying bigger/better equipment that he might not need simply because the salesperson isn't using the same quality reference material. I think that was the point of the story but I could certainly be mistaken. D ---------------- Thanks D! That is EXACTLY what I was saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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