DTS-HD vs DTS: Lossless Quality and High-Resolution Audio
Compare DTS-HD (lossless) with standard DTS codec. Understand quality improvements and when to use each.
Table of Contents
- DTS and DTS-HD: Evolution of DTS Codec Family - Learn the History
- Quality Comparison: Lossless vs Lossy - View Comparison
- Bitrate and File Size Considerations - Learn about Bitrate and File Size Considerations
- Backward Compatibility Architecture - Compatibility Information
- When to Choose DTS vs DTS-HD - Compare Formats
DTS and DTS-HD: Evolution of DTS Codec Family
DTS (lossy) is the original codec introduced in the 1990s. DTS-HD adds lossless variants with high-resolution support. DTS-HD is not a replacement but an enhancement, with DTS core backward compatibility. DTS-HD Master Audio enables perfect audio quality. Understanding both helps in audio format selection for Blu-ray and professional audio.
Quality Comparison: Lossless vs Lossy
DTS (Lossy): Audio quality excellent at high bitrates. Subtle artifacts at medium bitrates (192-256 kbps). Professional-grade quality but not perfect. DTS-HD Master Audio (Lossless): Bit-perfect audio reproduction. No quality loss, no artifacts. Identical to original uncompressed audio. Quality is theoretically perfect. Practical Difference: Lossless quality advantage is significant for critical listening. Professional mastering requires lossless quality.
Consumer listening may not perceive DTS lossy artifacts. High-quality equipment benefits more from lossless quality than consumer-grade systems.
Bitrate and File Size Considerations
DTS (Lossy): 192-768 kbps typical. Compact file sizes. 2-hour film: 1.5-4.5 GB audio depending on bitrate. DTS-HD Master Audio (Lossless): 1.5-3.0 Mbps typical. Larger files than lossy DTS. 2-hour film: 13.5-27 GB audio (approximate). File Size Comparison: DTS-HD is 5-10x larger than lossy DTS at equivalent bitrate. Blu-ray infrastructure supports the larger sizes. Streaming would be impractical; Blu-ray is primary platform. Bandwidth: Blu-ray can accommodate DTS-HD bitrates.
Streaming services typically use lower-bitrate lossy codecs instead.
