SenorSmoke

My priority when watching movies on my HT is definitely sound quality.

Some of the PCM tracks on LD that I would like opinions on are Falling Down, Heat, Commando, The Game, Seven, Miller's Crossing, etc.

I would also like some recommendations on other LD PCM tracks that smoke their DVD counterpart.

fitprod

Almost all LD stereo surround PCM soundtracks smoke their DD 2.0 surround DVD counterparts. In truth, due to the way most DD 5.1 DVD are configured to work well with traditional surround sound systems, LD 5.1 soundtracks usually smoke their DVD counterparts.

When DD was made a part of the DVD spec, Dolby themselves recommended to the studios that they include both a 2.0 Surround and 5.1 Surround on thier discs, so they would not have to compromise the full 5.1 soundtrack. Unfortunately many studios are too cheap/lazy to do this. Paramount and New Line seem to be the only studio that regularly do this.

fitprod

DVD Polizei

This is the only reason I regret getting rid of my LD collection: The sound.

digitalfreaknyc

There is no competition between an uncompressed soundtrack and what we have on DVD. The LD will win hands down (if it's the same master, obviously).

darkside

I prefer the LD sound as well. However, I have run across some DD 5.1 and DTS tracks that were better or at least the same quality on DVD. The place were LD excelled was stereo and regular surround sound tracks. The DVD equivelent of those is usually very inferior to the LD.

digitalfreaknyc

I think you should take a listen to those 5.1/DTS tracks. Most people would say you are sorely mistaken.

Mike Lowrey

So basically, are we talking the difference between an uncompressed .wav file and say a 128K .mp3 file?

digitalfreaknyc

Yup. you got it.

Adrenaline

Check out a DVD-Audio disc and compare the 24bit/96hz version to the DD 5.1, a whole different ball game.

darkside

Some films have had better mastering done to them since the original surround tracks for the LD. I certainly haven't noticed it in the majority of cases (Jurassic Park is one that is much, much better on LD and the DTS LD track of Boogie Nights is much better than the DVD version), but it is possible for the DTS and DD tracks on the DVD to be just as good if not slighty better if properly mastered. Many older films had stereo surround mixes in the theater and then again on LD. By the time of their DVD release though they were given DD 5.1 remixes and typically sound much better than they original stereo surround LDs. This case is not true of mono sound films though. I rarely like how those sound in DD 5.1 remixes.

Our ears are all different so as always with sound you have to make up your own mind about this. My point was simply that it is not an absolute that LD has to sound better. The reason so many DVDs don't sound better is probably the fault of sound engineers mixing the DVDs as much as the limitations of the technology. Look at how many horrible DD 5.1 DVD mixes like Jaws there have been. Give me the original mono on LD any day.

BTW DD 5.1 tracks are compressed on LDs as well as DVDs. Also there have been DVD movies with full bitrate DTS. Mono, stereo and surround are probably always going to be better on LD because they are uncompressed, but the same isn't always true of DD 5.1 and DTS.

matome

I weigh the anamorphic picture quality over sound, but it's many a time that I've been tempted to throw in the laser version of a movie I have in both formats when it's a non-digital track. DVD Pro-Logic is the sux0r.

For the OP's question my Falling Down & Heat laserdiscs rip the DVD versions a new one. I also have the R2 DTS version of Heat as well and it's even close to call in that case as well. The LD sound just has more "punch" in all regards.