DTS, Inc.

DTS, Inc.
Company type	Public (before acquisition)
Industry	Audio technology
Founded	1993
Founder	Terry Beard
Headquarters	Calabasas, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X, Play-Fi
Parent	Xperi Corporation

DTS, Inc.—initially known as Digital Theater Systems—is a U.S.-based enterprise specializing in advanced multichannel audio solutions for film and video applications. With its headquarters located in Calabasas, California, DTS introduced its hallmark audio technology in 1993, making its first appearance in the movie Jurassic Park. Positioned as a rival to Dolby Laboratories, DTS targets both commercial cinema and consumer surround sound markets. Originally marketed under the name The Digital Experience until 1995, the company licenses its proprietary audio innovations to manufacturers within the consumer electronics sector.

The company was established by entrepreneur Terry Beard and has built a significant presence in the market through a diverse portfolio that includes products such as DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X, and Play-Fi. DTS’s business strategy revolves around licensing agreements and pioneering advancements in audio compression and encoding technologies.

In December 2016, Tessera Technologies Inc. acquired DTS. Following this acquisition, Tessera rebranded itself as Xperi Corporation in February 2017, incorporating DTS into a wider range of audio and imaging technology offerings. This merger broadened Xperi’s international footprint and strengthened its position within the global audio industry.

History

Founded by Terry Beard—an audio engineer and Caltech alumnus—DTS originated after Beard collaborated with Steven Spielberg to present a DTS-remastered version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Spielberg subsequently chose DTS for his 1993 film Jurassic Park, with backing from Universal Studios and Matsushita Electric. This partnership led to the installation of DTS systems in more than 1,000 theaters across the United States.

Development on DTS began in 1991, shortly after Dolby Laboratories initiated work on Dolby Digital. The fundamental format features a 5.1-channel setup, encoding five full-range audio channels alongside a dedicated low-frequency effects (LFE) channel. DTS accommodates multiple channel configurations and has commercially offered stereo, four-channel, and four-channel-plus-LFE soundtracks on formats such as DVD, CD, and Laserdisc.

Later iterations of DTS support up to seven main channels plus LFE (DTS-ES), employing a core-and-extension architecture to maintain backward compatibility. Its primary competitors are Dolby Digital and Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS), though only Dolby Digital and DTS have achieved widespread adoption on DVDs and home theater equipment.

Spielberg was an early backer of DTS, convinced that existing theatrical sound formats fell short of cutting-edge standards. Jurassic Park marked the debut theatrical release with DTS soundtracks and was also the first home video title to feature DTS audio on LaserDisc in 1997. Universal Pictures maintained exclusive support for DTS until late 1997.

In 2008, the cinema division was rebranded as DTS Digital Cinema. The following year, Beaufort International Group Plc acquired this division and renamed it Datasat Digital Entertainment.

Acquisitions and Subsidiaries

In 2012, DTS expanded its intellectual property by acquiring SRS Labs, thereby adding over 1,000 patents related to psychoacoustic 3D audio processing technologies.

Two years later, in 2014, DTS purchased Manzanita Systems, a company specializing in MPEG software solutions for digital television, video-on-demand services, and digital advertising insertion.

Phorus operates as a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of DTS focusing on wireless audio products designed for connected devices.

In 2015, DTS acquired iBiquity for $172 million, integrating iBiquity’s HD Radio broadcast technology with its own surround sound platforms.

Theatrical Application

DTS theatrical audio employs a unique 24-bit time code that is optically embedded onto the film. An LED sensor reads this code, synchronizing it with compressed multi-channel audio stored on CD-ROMs at a bitrate of 882 kbit/s, utilizing APT-X100 compression technology. This setup accommodates multiple discs for both feature presentations and trailers. The time code guarantees precise alignment between the film print and the corresponding soundtrack discs. Unlike Dolby Digital or SDDS systems, theatrical DTS delivers only five distinct audio channels, with the low-frequency effects (LFE) channel integrated into the surround sound channels.

DTS Technologies

The majority of DTS codecs for consumer use are defined within ETSI standards. The primary offerings include DTS Digital Surround, DTS-ES, DTS 96/24, and various DTS-HD formats.

DTS Digital Surround

The DTS Coherent Acoustics (DCA) codec is extensively utilized across LaserDisc, DVD, and Blu-ray media. It relies on adaptive differential pulse-code modulation (ADPCM), in contrast to Dolby Digital’s modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) method.

Although DTS was not included in the initial DVD specification—being added later in 1997—most contemporary DVD players can decode or pass through DTS audio streams. Certain LaserDiscs contain DTS soundtracks that require an external decoder for playback. On the PC side, software players often enable DTS decoding through open-source libraries like libdca.

Gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 support DTS decoding and can output audio via TOSLINK or HDMI connections; however, they lack the capability to decode audio directly from DTS-formatted CDs.

Comparison with Dolby Digital

DTS directly competes with Dolby Digital (AC-3). While Dolby embeds audio data between film sprocket holes—a location vulnerable to physical damage—DTS stores its audio on separate CD-ROMs, allowing for greater storage capacity and potentially higher fidelity. Both codecs operate at varying bitrates depending on the medium; early DVDs featured high-bitrate DTS tracks reaching approximately 1.5 Mbit/s, though these rates were later reduced to optimize disc space usage.

Dolby asserts comparable transparency at its peak bitrate of 640 kbit/s, but consumer releases frequently limit AC-3 to lower bitrates around 448 kbit/s. Advocates of DTS argue that their generally higher bitrates yield superior audio quality, though codec differences make direct comparisons challenging.

Both companies provide codec extensions: DTS employs core-plus-extension streams to maintain backward compatibility while adding enhancements such as additional channels or improved sound quality.

DTS 70 mm

This format is tailored for theaters utilizing 70 mm film projection equipped with six-track surround sound. Unlike earlier analog magnetic tracks, the broader time code track facilitates digital synchronization without relying on an analog backup track. Given the decline in 70 mm film usage, this format remains specialized and less common.

DTS-ES

Launched for cinemas in 1999 and home theaters in 2000, DTS-ES comes in two versions: Discrete 6.1 channels featuring a dedicated center-surround channel, and Matrix 5.1 which upmixes surround channels to emulate six-channel sound. It preserves backward compatibility by matrixing the center-surround channel into the left and right surrounds for decoders that do not support ES.

Due to rapid adoption of newer formats such as 7.1 surround sound systems, discrete DTS-ES tracks are rare on DVDs. Compared to Dolby Digital EX—which only supports matrixed rear channels—DTS-ES Discrete offers a true discrete sixth channel option.

DTS 96/24

Introduced in 2001, this format was designed to provide high-definition 5.1 audio at 24-bit/96 kHz on DVD Video, representing a major advancement beyond the earlier two-channel constraints. It operates as a core stream with an extension to enhance sound quality.

DTS-HD High Resolution Audio

Belonging to the DTS-HD series alongside Master Audio, this format supports up to 7.1 channels at a sampling rate of 96 kHz and 24-bit depth. It offers bitrates reaching 6 Mbit/s on Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, serving as a space-efficient alternative when disc capacity is limited.

DTS-HD Master Audio

Previously referred to as DTS++, this lossless audio format accommodates virtually unlimited surround channels with bitrates up to 24.5 Mbit/s on Blu-ray media, though the number of discrete channels is capped at eight. It delivers pristine audio quality at up to 192 kHz/24-bit resolution and includes downmixing options for compatibility with systems featuring fewer channels. Both DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD are mandatory lossless formats for Blu-ray.

DTS:X

This object-based immersive sound format enables flexible rendering of audio objects according to speaker layouts, using polar coordinates for precise localization. Combining elements from both Dolby Atmos and Auro-3D, it was first showcased publicly in 2015 and supports extensive multi-channel configurations via processors such as the Trinnov Altitude32.

The professional edition, DTS:X Pro, extends support up to 32 audio channels tailored for large-scale cinema environments while sharing its foundational technology with consumer variants.

DTS Neo:6

A matrix decoding technology that converts stereo or multi-channel inputs into simulated surround sound ranging from 3.1 to 7.1 channels. It achieves improved spatial effects by independently steering multiple frequency bands, offering superior performance compared to Dolby Pro Logic II's broadband steering approach.

DTS Neo:X

Building upon Neo:6, this technology reconstructs audio sources into an expanded 11.1 channel arrangement including height channels, while also providing downmixing capabilities back to conventional speaker setups for broader compatibility.

DTS Neural:X

An upmixing solution designed to complement DTS:X by dynamically redistributing legacy or PCM audio across any speaker configuration—including height speakers—thereby enhancing immersion even when the original content lacks object-based encoding.

DTS Virtual:X

Utilizes psychoacoustic processing techniques to simulate surround and height speakers virtually, enabling immersive audio experiences on systems with limited physical speakers such as TV soundbars.

DTS Surround Sensation

Formerly named DTS Virtual, this technology produces virtualized 5.1 surround sound playback through standard headphones by employing spatial processing methods.

DTS Headphone:X

A spatial audio system that delivers immersive multi-channel sound over headphones, utilizing head-related transfer function algorithms developed by DTS. Widely licensed among gaming headset manufacturers like SteelSeries and Turtle Beach, it supports metadata-driven processing across various platforms including integration with Windows Spatial Audio API on Xbox consoles.

DTS Connect

Targeted at PC users, this system converts multi-channel PC audio into a real-time encoded DTS stream transmitted via S/PDIF:

DTS Interactive: Provides real-time encoding of up to 5.1 channels at 48 kHz/24-bit; implemented in certain PlayStation 2 games.
DTS Neo:PC: Upmixes stereo content into simulated surround sound output encoded as a DTS stream over S/PDIF.

These technologies have been incorporated into PC hardware from manufacturers such as Foxconn and Realtek chipsets, enabling advanced multi-channel playback functionality.

DTS Play-Fi

Play-Fi represents a wireless audio streaming protocol designed for multiroom setups, built upon the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi standard. It was initially launched in late 2012, debuting on Android platforms before expanding compatibility to iOS and Windows devices. The inaugural Play-Fi speaker, the Phorus PS1, was developed by Phorus, a subsidiary of DTS.

Distinct from rivals such as Sonos and Bose SoundTouch, Play-Fi operates as an open protocol embraced by a wide array of manufacturers including Anthem, Arcam, Klipsch, McIntosh, Onkyo, Philips, Pioneer, Polk Audio, and Sonus Faber. The Play-Fi application enables streaming from user devices, DLNA servers, AirPlay sources, and major streaming services like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Prime Music, SiriusXM, Tidal, and Qobuz. In 2017, DTS launched Play-Fi-enabled speakers featuring integrated Amazon Alexa voice control under the Onkyo, Phorus, and Pioneer brands.

Notable features of Play-Fi encompass:

Creating speaker groups for unified playback and volume adjustments
Support for stereo and surround sound setups
Capability to stream distinct audio streams to multiple zones or speaker groups
Broadcasting line-in audio sources across speaker groups
Streaming computer audio output on Windows or Linux platforms (with some restrictions)
Delivering left and right surround channels wirelessly to speakers paired with Play-Fi soundbars
Compatibility with high-resolution audio formats up to 96 kHz / 24-bit

However, Play-Fi does not provide support for Google Cast technology, simultaneous Bluetooth streaming to multiple speakers, or synchronized audio-video playback on platforms other than Windows.

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