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RE: Fine, but unimportant in the grand scheme of things

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In Reply to: RE: Fine, but unimportant in the grand scheme of things posted by 4season on September 04, 2007 at 21:02:06

>>but it still wasn't too clear to me whether there would be an actual quality difference between the HD DVD and Blu-Ray soundtracks? If B-D does indeed get the better soundtrack, that's probably the version I'll buy, otherwise, eh, whatever.<<

I speak and read German. Keep in mind that these are the European versions of the release, not the US versions. What it says is that the Blu Ray version will have English-language soundtracks in garden-variety Dolby Digital and in 5.1 PCM. Non-English-language soundtracks (i.e. German/French/Spanish) will be in Dolby Digital.

The HD DVD version will have all soundtracks in Dolby Digital Plus. So for a European who wants the best-quality soundtrack in a language other than English, the HD DVD version will be a better choice, assuming everything else is equal (and assuming the information on the website is correct). Keep in mind that we're also assuming that a PCM soundtrack is always superior to a Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack, which in each individual case may or may not be true.

Sadly, it's this kind of uncertainty and variability that helped to marginalize and ultimately kill off DVD-Audio. I hope the BDA and the HD DVD people realize this before it's too late.

Follow Ups:

A lossless PCM soundtrack will always be "truer to the source" than any lossy soundtrack. - oscar 20:36:36 09/05/07 (7)
Your DD+ soundtrack might sound better (I seriously doubt it) based on any particular HT system because of how they massage the sound but it won't represent the original intent of the master audio tape. I'll lobby for the highest possible audio resolution be made available to me on HD media. So far, Blu-Ray has done a better job of delivering this than HD DVD has.

If HD DVD wants my business, they are going to have to start routinely releasing movies with lossless audio tracks AND "almost artifactless" video. I seriously doubt they can do it; though even Blu-ray would have trouble meeting the standard I'm asking for.

"Transformers" is another blockbuster release screaming for the best possible AQ/SQ. Unfortunately Paramount saw fit (and/or did not have choice) to release this without a lossless audio track. This development just further reinforces suspicions HD DVD cannot deliver topnotch video and lossless audio with the same movie because of storage limitations/bandwidth limitations.
- *sigh* - Jack G 05:20:31 09/06/07 (0)
  > > > Unfortunately Paramount saw fit (and/or did not have choice) to release this without a lossless audio track. This development just further reinforces suspicions HD DVD cannot deliver topnotch video and lossless audio with the same movie because of storage limitations/bandwidth limitations. < < <
  
  Troy is 20 minutes longer, and has TrueHD. Paramount chose not to use lossless, for reasons only they know, and use DD+ at 1.5Mbs instead. Let me know when BD puts out a better version.
  Jack
- Sorry, but "always" is a sweeping generalization... - racerguy 21:19:35 09/05/07 (5)
  ...and is also not always correct. As an example - I have a concert DVD that has both PCM and lossy DTS on it. The DTS soundtrack is clearly superior to the PCM soundtrack, because much more care was put into creating the DTS soundtrack. The PCM soundtrack was obviously a quick-and-dirty dump, and it sounds horrible.
  
  Edits: 09/05/07
  - Alright, I failed to imply the possibility of different masters for - oscar 17:18:03 09/06/07 (0)
    the released lossy or lossless audio track. Maybe I should have caveated with: "everything else being equal".
  - PCM on a DVD? You're talking about Dolby Digital and that is a lossy algorithm - Jazz Inmate 10:08:30 09/06/07 (3)
    Oscar is talking about lossless PCM at a greater bitrate than DD provides. I don't see how a reasonable person can argue against lossless PCM. It just seems like you'll poke around until you find one example where the DD and LPCM versions sound the same and use it to bash the idea that lossless PCM is the way to go. That's just a counter-quality position.
    -------------
    "I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
    - You should try reading what I actually wrote... - racerguy 10:17:08 09/06/07 (2)
      ...and respond to that (if you can), because your irrelevant pontificating just makes you look clueless.
      
      Edits: 09/06/07
      - It didn't change since the first time I read it, and my reply stands - Jazz Inmate 12:52:13 09/06/07 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: You should try reading what I actually wrote... posted by racerguy on September 06, 2007 at 10:17:08
        
        And you're back to the insults. Surprise, surprise.
        -------------
        "I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)
        
        Whatever you thought you read seems to be different from what I wrote, as usual - racerguy 12:59:13 09/06/07 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: It didn't change since the first time I read it, and my reply stands posted by Jazz Inmate on September 06, 2007 at 12:52:13
        
        > > And you're back to the insults. < <
        
        Oh, sorry about that. Let me try a compliment instead:
        
        Jazz, your ability to read a post and completely miss the point is truly impressive.

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