[TheMosco]

So I think DTS is too short of term to search with because I get no results but here goes:

I am home for spring break and I am trying to watch a dvd that only has a DTS soundtrack. My dvd player, receiver, etc are all at my apartment and I am stuck here with only my powerbook. DVD player wont give me sound. I turned to what I thought would work, VLC. They don't support DTS audio on mac os x so that didn't work. The only thing I was able to find was info about DTS passthrough which obviously doesn't help. Is there any other random media player app out there that will play a DTS audio track from a DVD?

[Goldfinger]

That's weird, every DVD should have a DD track. DD it part of the DVD spec, DTS not.

[plastiqueusa]

No, every DVD is not required to have a Dolby track--there are also DTS audio music discs which don't have a Dolby Digital version. They max out the DTS bitrate and fill the disc with it. I wish there was some kind of plugin for Quicktime or something.

[Apfhex]

I'm not surprised the disc doesn't have a DD 5.1 track (well, I am a little), but I would think it'd at least have a DD stereo track. Even my Spiderman 2 Superbit edition has 5.1 DD and DTS.

BTW a search trick I learned from another thread, if you include a wildcard in your 3-letter search, such as dts*, it'll work. Which found this thread discussing a beta of VLC with DTS support.

I could have sworn I read recently that the latest version of Apple's DVD Player finally supported DTS. Oh, right—I saw this on XLR8:

I purchased a 20" iMac Intel Core Duo 2GHz computer on February 13, 2006. After fussing with the computer trying to get Dolby Digital or DTS sound, searching forums on the subject and coming close to calling my Apple Store or AppleCare, I gave up and seriously considered returning the computer for a PowerMac. Before boxing it up, I tried one last thing.
- Open DVD Player without a disc in the optical drive. Under the DVD Player menu item, click "Preferences" or use Command-comma Click "Disc Setup"
Change the audio output pulldown to "Digital Out - Built-in Output"
This setting can only be changed when a DVD is stopped or a disc is not in the drive. If the disc is paused or playing, this pulldown will be grayed out.

With the proper cable (and adapter for iMacs), you will experience pristine Dolby Digital or DTS sound. I have confirmed 6.1 DTS with The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition, and 5.1 DTS & 5.1 Dolby Digital with Spider-Man 2 Superbit.

However, I don't know if this would work on your PB. It might only work with digital external speakers.

[plastiqueusa]

Right, it seems like it would need an external decoder from what the description says. It would just pass the bits out through the optical jack, and leave the decoding to another device.

[plastiqueusa]

I've heard that older versions of VLC (0.72) have a functioning DTS decoder; you might also check that out.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by plastiqueusa

No, every DVD is not required to have a Dolby track--there are also DTS audio music discs which don't have a Dolby Digital version. They max out the DTS bitrate and fill the disc with it. I wish there was some kind of plugin for Quicktime or something.

In fact, the current DVD-Video standard DOES require a PCM or DD soundtrack for NTSC discs and either an MPEG-2, PCM or DD soundtrack for PAL discs. If a disc doesn't have the required soundtrack, then it is, strictly speaking, violating the standard.

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.6.2

tooki