April 1999

Daylight (DTS)
Reviewed by Roger Kanno
DVD Format

Overall Enjoyment:
Picture Quality:
Sound Quality:
Packaged Extras:

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Dan Hedaya

Directed by Rob Cohen

Theatrical Release: 1996
DVD Release: 1999
Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1
Widescreen (Anamorphic)

DTS DVDs have finally arrived! They have been a long time in coming and have been delayed numerous times, but they are finally here. In order to play these discs, however, you will need a DTS decoder and a DVD player that can recognize the DTS bitstream. Most DVD players manufactured since mid 1998 can do the recognition, and those that can will be identified by the DTS logo, which is usually displayed on the front of the player.

Unfortunately, most DTS DVDs that are to be released in 1999 are older titles that are being re-released and which are already available on DTS laserdisc and or Dolby Digital DVD. The choice of movies that are being released as DTS DVDs is also a bit puzzling in that there are very few high-profile blockbusters slated for release during the initial introduction of this format on DVD.

The one knock against the Dolby Digital format has been its high compression ratio and low bit rate, which should theoretically result in inferior sound. However, I think that Dolby has done a commendable job in perfecting the compression algorithm to provide excellent multichannel sound from this very low bit rate. DTS, on the other hand, boasts a much lower compression ratio and a claimed 20 bits of resolution in each of the channels. This would mean that each channel of a 5.1 DTS-encoded soundtrack has greater resolution than that of a standard 16-bit stereo CD, resulting in truly high-quality, multichannel sound.

One of the first films to be released on DVD with DTS sound is Universal’s Daylight, starring Sylvester Stallone. While this film isn’t exactly Rocky, I was pleasantly surprised by the generally interesting story line and the exciting action sequences. In it, Stallone plays Kit Latura, former chief of the emergency medical service of New York City. When the Holland tunnel is nearly destroyed by an explosion, Latura takes it upon himself to save the survivors trapped inside. Stallone does a credible job in his characterization of Latura. It seems as though Stallone’s best films are the ones in which he plays a regular guy who is faced with great adversity, as opposed to those in which he plays some kind of superhero. Take, for example, two of his best films, Rocky and Cop Land, and compare them and the characters Stallone portrays in them to, say, Judge Dredd and Demolition Man. Even though many of the supporting characters in the superior Stallone films are somewhat one-dimensional, the solid supporting casts keep the characters from becoming overly clichéd.

The DTS soundtrack on Daylight is outstanding. The layering and texturing of sounds from left to right and front to back are amazing. Complex scenes involving crowd noise, traffic, and heavy machinery are all wonderfully natural-sounding and well integrated. Compared to the Dolby Digital version of this DVD, the DTS version offers better retrieval of low-level information, wider dynamic range, and a deeper soundstage. Many people have noted that DTS DVDs are recorded at higher levels than their Dolby Digital counterparts. Using a Radio Shack SPL meter, I generally found the volume of the two versions to be recorded at nearly the same levels. On Daylight, the levels were almost identical during Chapter 8: Horizontal Inferno. During Chapter 40: The Blowout, the levels were actually slightly higher (by approximately 2dB) on the Dolby Digital version.

Although the differences were often subtle, the DTS soundtrack consistently provided higher fidelity and the more involving listening experience. For instance, in Amy Brenneman’s apartment scene, the street noise extends much further behind and to the sides of the front speakers, and the voices on the answering machine are more natural. In the previously mentioned Blowout scene, the bass is a little boomy and the swirling-water effects are slightly edgy in Dolby Digital. The crackling of electricity when Brenneman’s character grapples with a live electrical cable in Chapter 14: High-Tension Wire was startling and much more frightening in DTS. This is one of the finest soundtracks currently available on the DVD format.

The video of Daylight is also of reference quality, but indistinguishable from that of the Dolby Digital disc. In the final scene of the film, the misty, gray skyline provides a stark contrast to the rich, vivid, and well-saturated yellow and red uniforms of the firefighters and Coast Guard personnel. Much of the film takes place in the devastated Holland tunnel, which is unlit and only partially illuminated by the many burning fires. The result is a picture that is very dim and with a lot of reddish hues. However, the picture is never grainy, and the deep blacks and exceptional shadow detail give the film a very dark but realistic appearance.

The Dolby Digital DVD is a collector’s edition that contains cast and crew biographies, audio commentary, theatrical trailers, a featurette, a music video, production art and storyboards, and an extensive making-of-Daylight documentary. It also has Spanish and French Dolby Surround soundtracks as well as English and Spanish subtitles. The DTS version is totally devoid of any extras, including alternate languages and subtitles. Although this disc has been advertised as having Japanese subtitles and there is a menu option for languages, there are no options available for changing either the language or the subtitles. Rumor has it that the Japanese-subtitle option is only enabled when the DVD is placed in a player that is coded for Region 2 (Japan and Europe), but I was not able to confirm this. My only other gripe with the DTS version was the difficulty in determining whether the DTS or Dolby Surround soundtrack was selected during the initial setup menu. This was especially bothersome because the initial audio menu could not be accessed once the disc was started. In order to change the audio track, the disc had to be stopped and restarted, which was very bothersome.

Daylight in DTS is an outstanding auditory and visual experience. The Dolby Digital version is also excellent in its own right and comes with a huge amount of interesting and worthwhile supplemental materials. However, if you have a high-end home theater with DTS capability, this is one DVD that you will want to own to show off your system. It is truly a reference-quality disc.

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