You will need to consult the owners manual and release notes for your Blu-ray player to determine its level of support for Dolby TrueHD.ĭolby TrueHD is a mandatory audio format on HD DVD players, but only in 2-channel mode. When a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is included on a Blu-ray disc, a companion Dolby Digital track must also be included for compatibility reasons. (See note below about audio mixing in HD DVD and Blu-ray players)ĭolby TrueHD support is optional on Blu-ray players, however. A third option is that the audio is decoded by the player and output via 6-8 analog outputs.
The audio data also may be sent to the A/V receiver in Linear PCM form instead of raw Dolby TrueHD. It is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, supporting up to 8 full-range channels of sound at 24 bits / 96 kHz at a bit rate up to 18 Mbps.ĭolby TrueHD can be transmitted in bitstream format via HDMI 1.3 and above. If you are interested in more information about DTS-HD Master Audio and the other DTS audio formats that can be found on Blu-ray/HD DVD discs, please see DTS Digital Sound on Blu-ray and HD DVD Explained.ĭolby TrueHD is a lossless audio technology developed for high-definition disc-based media (Blu-ray and HD DVD).
This document covers information about the audio formats created/licensed by Dolby that can be on Blu-ray (and HD DVD) discs.
The Blu-ray format not allow provides for higher quality picture quality, it also makes possible the best sound quality ever seen on a home video format! The Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats are capable of delivering a movie soundtrack that is an exact match to the original as created by the movie studio. The additional storage capacity of these new formats provide for higher quality options to be available to the movie studios creating HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. The introduction of high definition disc formats allows many of those limitations to be removed. However, some technical limitations of the sound format on DVD causes it to run in second place in the eyes (and ears) of many reviewers and enthusiasts to DTS Digital when both formats are available on DVDs. It is the most common sound format on DVD, and most all current A/V receivers and processors are capable of decoding the Dolby Digital format. Not only is Dolby involved in the sound reproduction in movie theaters, it can be found on most DVDs. The name Dolby Laboratories has a long history in the movies, and is probably one of the most recognizable brands in the industry when it comes to sound technology.