Unofficial DTS CDs?

[Turtleboy]

I see a lot of unofficial DTS CDs available for download.

How are these done? Are they any good?

I am not talking about the ones that a ripped from DVD-A and are made into CDs, but the ones that are "upmixed" from what I have to assume is the standard redbook CD.

[oblio98]

There are two types of these "hobbiest" DTS CDs.

Type One are created from 1970's vintage Quadraphonic tapes and LPs. These are generally discrete mixes of music released in the '70s. However, the results are dependant on the source material, the electronics used to decode and/or record the sources, the hardware and software used by the converter, and the skill of the converter with regards to recording, processing (NR/EQ, etc), and final creation. There are many that are good, as well as some that are not. In fact, many of the popular titles have been done by many converters, so you may have to search a few times to get one that's good.

The second type of hobbiest DTS CD are those that have been sourced from stereo sources, then "futzed" with using software and hardware phase decoders. The results from this process vary widely. There are some that have created excellent results, such as the "TOUP" discs. Again, others are so-so.

Whenever you are dealing with these "hobbiest" titles, it's pretty much a crap shoot.

However, if the labels released this stuff properly, and with regularity, all of the above would be moot.

Ho-Ho-Ho!

[CAVX]

I just down loaded Peter Gabriel's "SO" as an upmixed 5.1 DTS CD and I am quite impressed with how this has been done. There is no over the top aggressive surrounds so reminds me of simply listening to the 2CH album with Neo6 or PLII, but works quite well without the pulling issues that plague some phase/matrix decoders...

I will try and find other titles that I like and sample them as well....

Mark

[oblio98]

Originally Posted by CAVX

I just down loaded Peter Gabriel's "SO" as an upmixed 5.1 DTS CD and I am quite impressed with how this has been done. There is no over the top aggressive surrounds so reminds me of simply listening to the 2CH album with Neo6 or PLII, but works quite well without the pulling issues that plague some phase/matrix decoders...

I will try and find other titles that I like and sample them as well....

Mark

"SO" was released as a 5.1 SACD and is still currently available. Someone must have converted it to DTS and uploaded it. Not good. It's one thing when it's done with out of print '70s quad material, but we should do everything we can to support legit modern surround releases - not steal and share them.

[Ovation]

SO is only a 2 channel SACD. The only 5.1 SACD of Gabriel's music is UP, his most recent studio recording.

[oblio98]

Originally Posted by Ovation

SO is only a 2 channel SACD. The only 5.1 SACD of Gabriel's music is UP, his most recent studio recording.

Oooops! My mistake. Of course, you are correct. Someone must have Frankenstien'd the stereo disc. I got my two letter titled releases mixed up!

[CAVX]

Originally Posted by oblio98

"SO" was released as a 5.1 SACD and is still currently available. Someone must have converted it to DTS and uploaded it. Not good. It's one thing when it's done with out of print '70s quad material, but we should do everything we can to support legit modern surround releases - not steal and share them.

If multi channel recordings were available here (Australia), then yes I would buy them. It seems desperate times call for desperate measures...

Occasionally you might find a Dual Disc with DD, but the MLPs versions are very few and far, I'm afraid. As for true DVD - A and SACD - virtually non existent...

Mark

[beeerlover]

Originally Posted by oblio98

There are two types of these "hobbiest" DTS CDs.

I would like to submit a third type of DTS audio CD that the word hobbiest seems to just not do justice to:

There is a format that is extremely uncommon and quite time comsuming/difficult to create. So uncommon that I have only found 1 circulating that I did not make myself in all my years of being an internet junkie.

I do not claim to have created nor perfected this format, but it is the only format I am willing to spend my time with & that is what I refer to as 'DTS Matrix' :
using multiple recordings of a live concert placing the soundboard recording in front channels and an audience recording in the rear channels. Or sometimes using 2 audience sources if they are good enough, and if I can tell which was close to the stage and which was far from the stage.

The results have been mindblowing with unsurpassed realism & accurate sound directioning.

I have only done this with Pink Floyd recordings soo far, but I might be interested in another project using a different band, if the recordings are worth the time it requires to produce.


If anyone wishes to learn more or to download one of these, send me a private message or email, as I do not check this site as often as I should...
& I do not know this site's policies on posting URLs-- will just save them for email/PM

[CAVX]

Originally Posted by beeerlover

I do not claim to have created nor perfected this format, but it is the only format I am willing to spend my time with & that is what I refer to as 'DTS Matrix' :
using multiple recordings of a live concert placing the soundboard recording in front channels and an audience recording in the rear channels. Or sometimes using 2 audience sources if they are good enough, and if I can tell which was close to the stage and which was far from the stage.

That would certainly make the "crowd" come alive. One of the things that bugs me with "live" recordings in the lack of spacial ambience or any direction in the crowd noise. Occasionally you might here a isolated whistle on one side...

Doesn't Pento use DTS as well.

Also given that you using 2 CH(?) source material to create some of the MC, is it possible to "sample" parts and assign them to the surrounds - I thinking more on the lines of upmixes of electronic based music from groups like Yello...

Mark

[boondocks]

There are a lot of methods for converting stereo to multichannel.
Sadly, some folks that don't know and could care less are quick to denigrate any
and all conversions. No, you can't take a stereo song and get perfect separation.
Yes, you can more often than not get much, much better than DPL or NEO.
Some songs, due to the recording process, do not lend themselves easily to
separation based methods. However, in almost every case, a better sound is
achievable.
Live recordings are a different animal altogether, and my hat is off to those of you
that have good methods for these. I would love to hear your work.
regards,
boondocks

[beeerlover]

Originally Posted by boondocks

There are a lot of methods for converting stereo to multichannel.
Sadly, some folks that don't know and could care less are quick to denigrate any
and all conversions. No, you can't take a stereo song and get perfect separation.
Yes, you can more often than not get much, much better than DPL or NEO.
Some songs, due to the recording process, do not lend themselves easily to
separation based methods. However, in almost every case, a better sound is
achievable.
Live recordings are a different animal altogether, and my hat is off to those of you
that have good methods for these. I would love to hear your work.
regards,
boondocks

sure
here's one of my best (David Gilmour last year):
bardfresh.free.fr/Portfolios/audio/dg2006-04-04-blp016+017/

also, just uploaded to yeeshkul.com is one I did not make but it is a really good Led Zeppelin 2007 mixed by a buddy of mine

[Disclord]

I don't have Bitorrent or anything like that and just want to know, where can I get the DVD-Audio "version" of Dark Side Of The Moon - the one that was released by Alan Parsons onto the net?