PS3 Firmware 2.3 Dated with DTS-HD

Yes, another PS3 article. Sony has dated Firmware 2.3 and has leaked a few details on it. Most important is the inclusion of DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio support for Blu-ray. The PS3 was one of the few BD players on the market that did not support DTS-HD. For those who don’t know, DTS is a direct competitor to Dolby Digital 5.1. Many claim it to have better audio quality than DD. Both are lossy codecs which means they loose audio data due to compression. DTS-HD Master Audio however is lossless which means that it is identical to the studio master recording.

On DVD, DTS ran at 448kb/s typical with a 24-bit, 48khz sample resolution. DTS-HD is 24-bit at 96khz. DTS-HD supports up to 6mb/s audio. Higher bit rates mean better quality. DTS-HD has better audio quality than a CD does. DTS-HD Master Audio is also 24-bit at 96khz but has a bit rate of 24.5 mb/s. Audiophiles will love the latter. The big downside is that DTS-HD Master Audio requires a compatible AV receiver. If not, the quality is reduced to 1.5mb/s which is lossy but still better than CD and current DVD quality. Both support 7.1 channels. The PS3 also still can’t bitstreme DTS. If you’re confused by these terms, check Wikipedia.

Also new is a revamp of the Playstation Store. The lovely Grace Chen can explain it better than I can.