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Definition: DTS


(Digital Theater Sound) A family of digital audio encoding technologies used in movie theaters, home theaters and video games. Introduced in the movie "Jurassic Park" in 1993, the theater soundtrack is maintained on CD-ROMs that are synchronized with the film, making it compatible with existing theater systems (see image below).

DTS formats are not as highly compressed as Dolby Digital formats and therefore take up more storage space. Following are the major formats. See surround sound.

DTS - Digital Surround - 5.1 Channels
Five discrete channels (5) of audio plus subwoofer (1). See surround sound.

DTS-ES Extended Surround - 6.1 Channels
DTS-ES adds a rear center speaker. DTS-ES Discrete uses a dedicated channel, whereas DTS-ES Matrix derives the signal from the other channels similar to Dolby Digital EX. See Dolby Digital.

DTS Neo:6
Part of all DTS-ES decoders, Neo:6 creates six channels (5.1) from stereo sources. The sound fills the room more than stereo but not as well as true multi-channel formats. DTS Neo:PC provides the same capability for computers. See DTS UltraPC.

DTS 96/24
Boosts DVD audio resolution from 48/16 to 96/24. The 96/24 means 24-bit samples of the audio wave taken at 96 kHz rather than 16-bit samples at 48 kHz. Older DTS receivers output a 48 kHz signal. See high-resolution audio.

DTS-HD High Res Audio - DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD formats support 7.1 channels at 96/24 or stereo at 192/24 resolution and also play on older DTS Digital Surround equipment. DTS-HD High Resolution Audio supports bit rates from 1.5 to 6 Mbps, while DTS-HD Master Audio handles up to 24.5 Mbps, sufficient to reproduce the original studio master bit for bit. DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD are competing high-definition Blu-ray audio formats. HDMI 1.3 cables are required. See Blu-ray, Dolby Digital and HDMI.

DTS:X
Introduced in 2015 and competing with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X supports 32 speaker locations and works with any configuration in a hemispherical layout. This "object-based" encoding supports height speakers, but they are not mandatory. Movie makers need only create one DTS:X sound track for both cinema and home theaters. See Dolby Atmos.

DTS Headphone:X
A surround sound format for headphones. See DTS Headphone:X.

DTS Play-Fi
A streaming music protocol over Wi-Fi without data compression. See DTS Play-Fi.




The DTS Time Code
DTS is used with both 35 and 70mm movie projectors. This quad track 35mm film example shows the DTS time code that synchronizes the CD-ROM soundtrack. (Image courtesy of the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.)