DTS vs. AC3

[arggg14]

Age old question here... Many of my ripped movies have DTS tracks, but i've quickly learned that DTS doesn't play well with Synology NAS systems and many other devices. My set up is pretty simple. 2.1 in the living room with a decent sub and sound bar from Samsung. I think the most I could see myself doing in the future is 5.1 with some standing speakers. Should I just keep my DTS tracks on the movies or doesn't it make no difference if I convert to AC3? Space isn't really an issue.

I guess another option is to adjust the movie files to hold one track for optimal sound (assuming there is a difference) and another for compatibility. I can use remux to change the audio track format, but it looks like it writes over the source track. Is there any way (or other software) to keep the source and then create a separate audio track in AC3?

 

[StoneyG]

If possible, I'd leave the DTS tracks intact. On DVDs, DTS tracks were of a higher bitrate than AC3 tracks. If you converted them to AC3, it'd be like making an AAC of an AAC. Many Blu-ray discs have lossless high resolution Dolby and DTS tracks. Personally, I'd try to keep the tracks as is, whether they're lossy or lossless, for whenever you may find yourself with a really sweet home theatre setup down the road.

Is it not possible in Handbrake to passthrough both audio and video tracks (or just audio tracks)? I know that Handbrake allows you to make multiple tracks of a single audio stream/track. For instance, if there was only a Dolby 5.1 track available, you can both preserve it as a track ('AC3 passthru'), and also demux the same track to say, a separate AAC track, making your file iTunes/Apple TV/iOS friendly.

 

[BeechFlyer]

If possible, I'd leave the DTS tracks intact. On DVDs, DTS tracks were of a higher bitrate than AC3 tracks. If you converted them to AC3, it'd be like making an AAC of an AAC. Many Blu-ray discs have lossless high resolution Dolby and DTS tracks. Personally, I'd try to keep the tracks as is, whether they're lossy or lossless

If it's lossy compression, then yes, leave it alone. Those are delivery formats, and trying to do any kind of processing (such as re-encoding) on such material usually yields disappointing results.

Different story if the compression is lossless, but the old "DTS" on DVDs - while better than AC3 - is still a lossy format.