CapableMetal said:
I have a question about your 5.1'd DTS experience....how did they compare to the U.S. LD 5.1? Did you hear any difference with DTS as the source?
Hi Jetrell,
I haven't actually heard the 5.1 AC3 from the LaserDisc set as my CLD-2950 doesn't have an AC3 circuit and the only LaserDisc preservation I could find on Usenet was the Jedi/Feta, which only had the 2.0 track I have in my own captures. I have compared the mixing from the DTS to the mixing from the Blu-Ray DTS-HD track I used to make a 'modern' 5.1 mix for the OUT a while ago, and I have to say I prefer the 97 DTS mix levels, it seems more balanced, the clarity is excellent with that nice treble that makes it sound just like you're sat in the theatre, and the LFE channel was toned down (As the DTS theatre CD's are only 5 channel, I made from doing a low-pass on the surround channels; I read online thats how they produced the LFE in theaters), although that could just be due to the levels I applied to it when I processed it from the surround channels.
Either way, it is a far better mix and not as bass-heavy as seems to be the trend with modern mixes, clarity seems similar on my THX-certified 5.1 setup and it will certainly add much to any preservations made of the Special Editions, even if we can't get a perfect HD picture just yet! I just wish I had the images for the Empire discs so I could compare them to the 5.1 LD track in Adywan's Empire 97SE AVCHD edit!
I have the ESB discs but my internet connection isn't solid at this point so uploading them would be hit and miss. I am working on a solution so that it can be. Would you share your 5.1 conversions of ANH & ROTJ with us? I'm sure some folks here would love to have at least those to start with until borisanddoris and Eldonante are able to complete their processing of the audio for DTS-MA.
As for the channel mixing...there is a DTS whitepaper on the matter which could help you sort out things a bit if you feel your mix is missing a bit.