Dolby TrueHD logo

Dolby TrueHD is an advanced lossless multi-channel audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories which is intended primarily for high-definition home-entertainment equipment such as Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. It is the successor to the AC-3 Dolby Digital surround sound codec which was used as the audio standard for DVD discs. In this application, Dolby TrueHD competes with DTS-HD Master Audio, another lossless codec from Digital Theater System.

Dolby TrueHD uses Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP) as its mathematical basis for compressing audio samples. MLP was used on the earlier DVD-Audio format, but details of Dolby TrueHD and DVD-Audio differ substantially. A Dolby TrueHD bitstream can carry up to 14 discrete sound channels. Sample depths up to 24 bits/sample and audio sample rates up to 192 kHz are supported. Like the more common legacy codec Dolby Digital, Dolby TrueHD bitstreams carry program metadata. Metadata is separate from the coding format and compressed audio samples, but stores relevant information about the audio waveform. For example, dialog normalization and Dynamic range compression are controlled by metadata embedded in the TrueHD bitstream.

Blu-ray Disc

In the Blu-ray specification, Dolby TrueHD is an optional codec. Dolby TrueHD audiotracks may carry up to 24 bit audio in up to 8 discrete audio channels at 96 kHz or up to 6 channels at 192 kHz. The maximum encoded bitrate is 18 Mbit/s (the same as the uncompressed rate). Since TrueHD is an optional codec, a separate (primary) AC-3 audiotrack must be present on Blu-ray discs that contain a TrueHD track.

All Dolby TrueHD players are capable of downmixing the decoded Dolby TrueHD audiotrack to an arbitrary number of channels more suitable for player output. For example, all Dolby TrueHD-capable players can create a 2-channel (stereo-compatible) downmix from a 6-channel source audiotrack.

Dolby TrueHD sees its most popular usage as a high definition audio codec for Blu-ray Disc. While early Blu-ray Disc players didn't support Dolby TrueHD, many current models support Dolby TrueHD, and an increasing percentage of movie releases feature a Dolby TrueHD audiotrack.

HD DVD

In the HD DVD format, Dolby TrueHD was a mandatory codec. The HD DVD specification permitted the sole (primary) audiotrack of a movie to be encoded in Dolby TrueHD, and the specification requires support for up to 2 channel (stereo) decoding. In practice all HD DVD players decoded multichannel (5.1) programming, and of the few HD DVD movies to be encoded with Dolby TrueHD audiotracks, all were multichannel.

The Phantom of the Opera, released April 18, 2006 on HD DVD, was the first movie to offer a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.

Transport

Connecting a Dolby TrueHD source to a receiver requires a digital link capable of transporting either the encoded bitstream or the unpacked linear-PCM audio data (18 Mbit/s max for a Blu-ray source). HDMI 1.0 (and higher) can transport multichannel PCM-audio, and therefore can transport an unpacked TrueHD audiotrack. An HDMI 1.3 (or higher) link is required to transport Dolby TrueHD in bitstream form.^[1]

TOSLINK (and SPDIF) cannot carry Dolby TrueHD due to bandwidth and content protection limitations. When using either of these connections, a device such as a Blu-ray Disc player will automatically send the Dolby Digital audio.

References

1. ^ "HDMI Part 5 - Audio in HDMI Versions" (2006-08-09).

External links

• Official website