Why should DTS/Higher Bitrate and Additional Extras be mutally exclusive.

I want them both dammit!!

True, it would be nice to have a fully packed disk that was done correctly that contained an awesome DTS track and high bitrate audio, but it seems that studios are going the opposite way.
I would love to see a full soundtrack of the movie in DVD-Audio included as extras on a seperate disk. I know that this will never happen and we're even lucky now if they include an insert that cost them 1 hour of time to make and .10 to print off.
We're now getting forced trailers and commericals as the studios so called extras... I don't see things getting any better.
I will pay extra for DTS and High Quality Video....(Criterion Collections, Superbit, Extreme Editions, Ultimate Editions...etc) but all of these disks are becoming more and more rarer lately.
Too bad Criterion can't get the licensing for the movies that the studios put out a crappy transfer and make everyone happy.

I'd rather have more extras.

DTS is nice, but the difference between DTS and DD isn't enough to warrant losing "good" extras. For example, I own the Collector's Edition of Out Of Sight rather than the DTS version.

they should do all movies as 2 discs ... disc 1 = highest bit rate best sound and video disc 2 = all extra material. that way we always get the best of both worlds. best picture and all the extras u could want

The problem with most documentaries is that they were made while the movie was in production and are being used to sell the movie, so you get too much of the "that director is fantastic to work with, that actor is amazing" nonsense that really doesn't tell you anything about the movie. The best movie documentaries are the ones where they really tell you what happened, both good and bad, while making the movie. Hearts of Darkness is one of the best documentaries ever about a movie, and it mainly points out what a disaster the production was.

Similarly, commmentaries are best when they are unedited, and the people doing them are able to speak freely. Unfortunately, commentaries today are almost always edited together and closely listened to for controversial comments that are then removed.

The picture and sound quality are what is most important to me, and in truth I rarely care at all about extras of any kind, simply because they are usually done from this "the movie is perfect" standpoint, and have no real insight whatsoever. On occasion there are some truly great extras, but IMO they are the exception to the rule. The most important thing about any movie, to me, is the movie itself; and above all else I want the movie in the best quality available.

Personally, I'd settle for DD with extras.

dts really does nothing for me. I can always turn up the volume on the receiver a little.

For me, I'll take the LOTR EE standard anyday.

Actually, DD has a higher decibel rating than DTS does, so actually DTS is quieter than DD is. Just FYI.

The movie is what will always take priority with me, a great barebones movie that looks and sounds good over all the garnishes will get my dollars. I'll take the best picture and sound I can get over the extras/ fluff any day, but like others my first wish for any extras is commentary, namely by the leading actor and director. After that I like deleted scenes. Some documentaries and features are nifty, but I don't come back to those, I come back to the film again and again.

Disc two are for special features disc one needs the best audio and video possible

I'll take fullrate DTS over extras anyday...

DTS because I only watch extras one time but would listen to the DTS every time I played the DVD.

Same here. I'm also this way for 12 Monkeys... what madman would give up that documentary?

I'll take DD, a higher bitrate for the picture, and commentary tracks, DTS is way overrated IMO.

I like extras but if I have to choose between DTS and extras I have to go with DTS.

Ditch DTS completely. Since DD tracks are required by the DVD spec and most folks can't even tell the difference between a DD and DTS track when given a blind test, DTS tracks are pretty much a waste of space. Especially when there's two 5.1 tracks in each format... major waste of space.

Highest priority should be given to the video bitrate over everything else, plus the original soundtrack mix of the movie (even if it's -- GASP -- mono!). Anything else you can fit is fine, but don't sacrifice those first two things.

I'll never understand the fetishism people have for super-deluxe-remixed movie sound... especially incredibly distracting/unnatural loud bass.

Joe 6.1 Pack.

Although I disagree with basically everything you put in your post, the one thing that bothers me the most is the statement: Highest priority should be given to the video bitrate over everything else. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't movies made after the silent era considered equal in parts of video and audio. So shouldn't the soundtrack get a large bitrate as well as the video?

DTS and Higher Bitrate for sure!

Non-fluff extras.

DTS.

Even though I'm not an audiophile and usually don't hear much of a difference, I'll still take that slight (to my ears) improvement over extras 99% of the time as I simply rarely ever watch any extra features.

Nice
Sorry, my sentence construction was pretty crappy. I said "Highest priority should be given to the video bitrate over everything else, plus the original soundtrack mix of the movie," meaning that both the video and original, theatrical soundtrack mix should be maxed.

And, technically speaking, no, the video and audio aren't equal. Dolby Digital maxes out at 448kbs, whereas DVD MPEG-2 maxes out at 10mbs; one eats up a helluva lot more disc space than the other (only 300MB for a 90 minute movie at 448. Neat). Physiologically speaking, you could also make an argument about brain mass dedicated to vision versus hearing, etc, etc...

But that's neither here-nor-there. Once we get an HD-DVD standard moving, hopefully there'll be plenty of extra space to fling at extraneous 10.2 super-surround mixes and the like. For now, I wish they'd just cover the basics really well first -- and then add in the spiffy remixes if there's room left. Most times, I'm sure there would be.

Here's a nifty Dolby vs DTS article to read.

I'd prefer more extras.
Unless the print is completely restored, throwing more bits at it won't help much. DTS is nice but as I don't have a decoder at the moment, I can live with a nice DD track.
On the other side, I am an extras hound, even if I don't get to a lot of them!