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We take a look at DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) technology for the home.

A DTS (Digital Theatre Systems) entertainment disc contains high quality surround sound music, designed for playback on a home theatre system. The DTS sound format is designed to give you the same music you know and love, but now all around you, the way music should be heard.

A DTS entertainment disk contains music encoded in DTS surround sound format. This means that your equipment must have the DTS logo on the front in order for it to be able to decode the information on the disk. In practice this is rarely a problem since almost all DVD players and home theatre systems on the market today feature DTS technology.

Make sure that your DVD player is connected to your surround amplifier or receiver by a digital cable – this is usually a thin black cable that plugs into a socket marked ‘digital’ or ‘optical’. If your surround amplifier has a DTS logo on the front, that means it contains a DTS decoder chip that turns the digitally coded music coming from the DVD player into audio signals that go to your surround speakers.

Check that all your speakers are connected properly to the surround amplifier, and in the right place. The left and right speakers go where stereo speakers would normally go, in front of you and to each side. The centre speaker, as the name suggests, goes in front of you, in the middle between the left and right speakers. The left surround and Right Surround speakers go to each side of you, and slightly behind you. All five speakers should form a circle of sound around you. The subwoofer can go anywhere really, but in most cases it’s best to have it on the floor near the centre speaker.

Surround Music DVD

Your DVD player’s video out is probably already connected to your TV – you’ll need the TV switched on to be able to see the menus on a DTS Surround Music DVD. When you put a DTS DVD in the player, you will see a menu appear with several options. Select the ‘Audio Setup’ option and make sure it’s set to ‘DTS’. If no menu comes up, just a blank screen, you probably have an auto play DTS 5.1 Music Disk, in this case, just press play and it should work without further ado.

Many surround amplifiers will detect that you are playing a DTS disk and switch to DTS mode automatically. If not, you might need to manually select DTS on the amplifier. You’ll know when you have it right, because you’ll hear the music coming out of all your speakers.

Frequently asked questions and details of how to set up your system to play DTS discs in surround sound.

FAQ: How does it work?

We take the original master recordings of great records and remix them into surround sound, using some of the greatest record producers in the business. The new mixes are then pressed onto a standard disk with the DTS surround process.

FAQ: What equipment do I need to play it?

DTS disks will play on any home theatre system with the DTS logo on the front -
that's pretty much every system out there. Just put any DTS disk into your home theatre DVD player and you'll hear surround music.

FAQ: Does it only play on home theatre systems?

DTS disks play back on any surround system with DTS capability - that means not only home theatres, but also many in-car surround systems and quality PC soundcard and speaker systems. Even game consoles like the Playstation 2!

FAQ: Why is it so cool? Does it sound better than a CD?

DTS uses the full potential of your DVD music system. It not only gives you full surround sound, but is also capable of much higher quality than a standard CD. So yes, it sounds much better. All it takes is one listen, and you'll hear the difference.

FAQ: I only have a stereo system, can I still listen to the discs?

If the disk is a DVD it usually also contains a stereo version of the recording as well as a DTS surround version, and this will play back perfectly on any DVD player in stereo. However we strongly recommend the purchase of a real surround system, the difference in sound is amazing, and well worth the investment.

FAQ: How do I make sure my system will play the discs in surround?

For best results your system needs to have the following components:

1. DVD player with DTS logo
2. Surround Amplifier/Receiver/Decoder with DTS logo
3. At least 6 speakers: Left, Centre, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, and Subwoofer (some systems have an extra centre rear speaker, which is nice, but not essential)

DTS (Digital Theatre Systems, Inc.) is a digital technology company dedicated to delivering the ultimate entertainment experience. DTS decoders are in virtually every major brand of 5.1-channel surround processors, and there are 280 million DTS-licensed consumer electronics products available worldwide. A pioneer in multi-channel audio, DTS technology is in home theatre, car audio, PC and game console products, as well as 5.1 Music Discs, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio and DVD-ROM software. Additionally, DTS is featured on more than 22,000 motion picture screens worldwide. Founded in 1993, DTS is headquartered in Agoura Hills, California and has offices in the UK, Japan and China.

The latest releases to be made on the DTS DVD-A format include QuAUDIOPHILIAc by the late great Frank Zappa - together with: Legion of Boom by The Crystal Method and The Complex by the Blue Man Group.

More information available in Home Electric, Music, DVD / Home Video