currently where do the linear pcm soundtracks on blu-ray movie discs derived from? from studio masters?

 new codecs - Joe Murphy Jr 10:28:43 01/09/07 (3)
 some further questions please, - jeromelang 20:54:29 01/09/07 (2)
 some answers - Joe Murphy Jr 23:32:24 01/09/07 (1)

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 new codecs - Joe Murphy Jr 10:28:43 01/09/07 (3)
 some further questions please, - jeromelang 20:54:29 01/09/07 (2)
 some answers - Joe Murphy Jr 23:32:24 01/09/07 (1)
 Thanks for your nicely detailed answers - jeromelang 02:49:04 01/10/07 (0)

Neither has any sonic advantages over LPCM. When they are decoded, they are LPCM. The advantage that each has is in storage space. These new codecs are like zip files for computers. When they're "unzipped" (ie, decoded), they are exact copies of the original.

currently where do the linear pcm soundtracks on blu-ray movie discs derived from? from studio masters?

They are from the studio masters, but they may not be at the bit depth of the original. Most, but not all, of these LPCM soundtracks on BD are recorded as 16/48 rather than the 20/48 or 24/48 of the originals.

Whether it's on BD or HD DVD, it's a shame that the only studio truly taking advantage of these new codecs is FOX. All of their releases are DTS-HD MA (lossless at 24/48 or 20/48). It's not a space issue, as DTS-HD MA is losslessly compressed and actually uses just a bit more space than a 5.1 16/48 LPCM soundtrack. While there aren't any DTS-HD MA decoders in consumer equipment at this time (DTS said the PS3 will have this feature in March and Panasonic promises a firmware upgrade for their player), the core 1.5Mb/s DTS stream is able to be decoded by every BD player and nearly every surround receiver/processor on the market. After new hardware and firmware upgrades come out in a few months, FOX has given everyone who has purchased their titles today an instant upgrade in sound quality to a lossless soundtrack. And since FOX is handling the MGM/UA releases in the US, look for these titles to be DTS-HD MA as well.

As for the rest of the studios, they need to get their collective asses in gear. All of them.

most lpcm soundtracks released so far are derived not from original 20/48 or 24/48 studio masters, but from a lower rez 16/48 version. where do you get this information from? Is there a website detailing this, or are any BD players or av receivers about to display the information on the bitstream?

why the hell studios are doing this? are they afraid that the first few releases might be copied and pirated?

how will lossless at 24/48 or 20/48 compare to dts 96/24?
were there ever any movie soundtrack orginal recorded and mixed at 24/96?

How are we ever to find out whether dts-hd and dd truehd is truely as "lossless" as they claim?

have you actually heard lpcm compare to current dts/dd? How would you dscribe the sonic differences?

Can you suggest some movie titles that will showoff the advantages of lpcm soundtracks?

Thanks

Yes.

most lpcm soundtracks released so far are derived not from original 20/48 or 24/48 studio masters, but from a lower rez 16/48 version.

No, they are derived from the masters. However, they are converted to 16-bit from the 20-bit or 24-bit originals.

where do you get this information from? Is there a website detailing this, or are any BD players or av receivers about to display the information on the bitstream?

Simple math proves this to be the case. Here's a hint: the PS3 can display the audio codec, the number of channels, the audio bitrate, the audio sampling rate, the video codec and the video bitrate.

why the hell studios are doing this? are they afraid that the first few releases might be copied and pirated?

You'll have to ask them. It's probably due to the fact that 20/48 or 24/48 uncompressed LPCM combined with MPEG2 doesn't leave much room for other items they want to put in the data stream. Regardless of whether you are accessing these items/features or not while the movie is playing, they all take up bandwidth in the data stream (ie, they all run parallel in the stream) and storage space on the disc.

how will lossless at 24/48 or 20/48 compare to dts 96/24?

I haven't heard DTS 96/24 (I really hate the 96/24 designation, as it should be 24/96); however, lossless 24/48 should sound "fuller". By how much will be dependent on the listener and the system it's played back on. Also consider the resolution and sampling rates that today's soundtracks are mastered to: 20/48 or 24/48. If it wasn't mastered at 24/96, then DTS 96/24 doesn't get you anything.

were there ever any movie soundtrack orginal recorded and mixed at 24/96?

I have read that a few masters (less than 5?) were 24/96. I have no idea what movies these were for.

How are we ever to find out whether dts-hd and dd truehd is truely as "lossless" as they claim?

They are lossless. Believe it or not.

have you actually heard lpcm compare to current dts/dd? How would you dscribe the sonic differences?

Dolby Digital on DVD is adequate for dialog (not music or dynamic films). DTS at half bitrate is better and full bitrate DTS on DVD is very good. Still, they are not the equal to LPCM on a nice system. The new lossless codecs are the equal to LPCM as long as they are encoded at the same bit depth and sampling rate. Warner Bros uses Dolby TrueHD on a few releases, although they're at 16/48 despite the fact that the masters are 20/48 or 24/48. Note that they're still lossless soundtracks, but not the equal to the 20/48 or 24/48 LPCM masters. Kick-ass FOX, on the other hand, is encoding their movies in DTS-HD Master Audio at 24/48 and these are equal to their masters.

Can you suggest some movie titles that will showoff the advantages of lpcm soundtracks?

If you want to hear how 24/96 LPCM sounds in comparison to Dolby Digital, pick up an AIX Recordings DVD-A and play it in a DVD-A player. Compare the MLP track (5.1 lossless) to the Dolby Digital track (5.1 lossy).