[ChrisCoaster]

Just wanted to clear up a few facets on how the most widely used
digital discrete-5channel surround sound format works.

First, is the maximum bit-rate around 196kbps per channel, or is that
the summed bitrate of all channels combined?


Next, if I understand correctly, Dolby Digital does not run all 5
main
channels at the maximum bitrate at all times. Does this mean it
"pools" the maximum bitrate for the *busiest* channel(s) at any given
point in the soundtrack? And what is the lowest bitrate a "quiet"
channel allowed to run at assuming avoidance of unwanted noise?


Finally, is the LFE(sub) ".1" channel running at a fixed bitrate that
doesn't vary like the 5 mains? I figured a fixed bitrate of 32 or
64kbps would be sufficient for a channel carrying content exclusively
under 100 or so Hz.


Thanks for any input you can provide for my ??s!


-ChrisCoaster