Spruce Technologies, DTS, and Minnetonka Audio Software announced the first integrated solution for encoding, previewing and authoring DTS digital surround audio within DVD productions.

The announcement pairs Spruce's DVDMaestro DVD-authoring system with Minnetonka's new Surcode DVD Professional software, which recently met the rigorous requirements of DTS certification. Surcode DVD Professional allows users to encode uncompressed audio into the DTS algorithm for use in a DVD, eliminating cost and time for sending material out of house for encoding.
Spruce will offer Surcode DVD Professional as an option to , its professional DVD authoring solution for Windows NT. In addition, the most recent software release of DVDMaestro, Version 2.8, supports preview of DTS-format audio content during authoring, using the Netstream 2000 board from Sigma Designs. DVDMaestro 2.8 with the Netstream 2000 card and Surcode DVD Professional option provide DVD authors a complete, easy, end-to-end solution for DTS audio on Windows NT-based systems.

As a primary alternative to Dolby audio AC-3 for 5.1 surround on DVD, DTS digital surround audio is growing rapidly in adoption, with support from leading Hollywood directors and music lovers worldwide. With the affordability and unhindered access to DTS offered by the Spruce- Minnetonka-DTS option, DVD authors can now easily leverage DTS 5.1 audio to meet customer demand for advanced audio fidelity in DVD production.