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Techno Tidbits & Problem-solving
EXPER
T
Dolby Digital Surround EX
This new recording technology is able to play 6.1 channel sound and was developed in a collaboration between
Dolby Laboratories and Lucasfilm, Ltd. for the film "Stars Wars: The First Episode", the first movie ever to be
made with Dolby Digital Surround EX technology. In a movie theater this format affords the listener vivid
surround sound experience replete with the effect of sounds flying overhead, even for those seated towards the
sides of the theater.
Dolby Digital Surround EX contains surround back channels which are dubbed into the soundtrack in the studio.
The channels are encoded into the left and right channels of the soundtrack so this format can be compatible
with Dolby Digital 5.1 channel decoding. For a list of movies that contain Dolby Digital Surround EX soundtracks
see Dolby website at: http://www.dolby.com
THX Surround EX technology was developed for movie theater use originally but has been extended for home
theater use and consumers can no benefit from this excellent, realistic sound format. (For more details see "THX
Surround EX" on the next page.) This unit is equipped with a THX Surround EX decoder.
DTS
DTS
D
TS has been adopted as a sound recording format in the movie theaters since the release of “JURASSIC
PARK” in 1993, and has a good reputation for high quality sound and dynamic surround effects.
In this system, 6 channels of digital sound are recorded on CD-ROM. DTS adopts a simultaneous playback
format. With a low rate of compression of sound signals and a high rate of transmittance, a higher sound quality
format is produced. For this reason, the format is being introduced in more and more movie theaters, and is
being adopted for home use as DTS Digital Surround. When used with movies it's called DTS-LD DVD and for
music software (5.1 channel CD) as DTS-CD.
DTS-ES
DTS launched a new surround format in November 2000. This has come to be known as DTS Extended
Surround or simply DTS-ES. The technology has been advanced to include two new home formats DTS-ES
Discrete 6.1 format, and DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 ch format, both are able to playback discrete, 6.1-channel content
from DVDs and CDs. Both of these formats are compatible with a conventional DTS 5.1 ch decoder. In this
system each channel is encoded and decoded individually, adding to the separation of the channels. Since DTS
adds a third surround channel, the surround back channel, the realism and all-encompassing nature of the sound
reaches levels not seen before in home theater. This unit is equipped with a DTS-ES decoder.
DTS Neo:6
This is a matrix decoding technology that transforms two-channel sources into 6.0 channel surround sound.
There are two modes, CINEMA MODE and MUSIC MODE.
DTS 96/24
This high-quality format will be used for software which will be available from November, 2001. For compatibility
with equipment that was produced before this format was made, DVD players can play this software using a
conventional DTS 5.1ch decoder. This unit is equipped with a DTS 96 kHz/24 bit decoder to take advantage of
the higher sound quality available.
