For anyone unfamiliar with this format, DTS-HD Master Audio is DTS lossless by any other name.
Better yet, the encoder will also include a so-called "legacy" core audio stream in the main .dtshd file. This means that all you need to do is create one single file and as long as you set things up properly, the resulting stream will play back through all recievers that are DTS equipped in one form or another.

Where DTS-HD now really scores for me is that the long-awaited StreamPlayer is now bundled with the encoder suite, allowing for desktop playback of these files. You can also add a Quicktime video file at the playback stage too.
The possible advantages of this for a reliable desktop or file server based playback system cannot be overstated. With larger & larger files being generated by the (current) ceiling of 7.1 lossless, more and more serious multichannel fans are setting up home servers on wireless networks. With this streamplayer, you can centrally archive the encoded files on the server, hook up it's outputs to your reciever, and with the StreamPlayer on a wireless laptop, your new entertainment system is finally set up - no need for any messing with menus, just launch the player,m find the file & hit "PLAY".
Better still are the additional options - this is not just for surround fans it would seem.
You can embed a 5.1 downmix into a 7.1 stream as well as a stereo version, and all these will still have the built-in core audio as well, meaning whatever DTS chip your amplifier has installed you will be able to play these files & get output of some description. And as they will already be .dtshd encoded, when you get that new 7.1 or 5.1 amplifier with the right decoders, all your music is already in the right format for this. No need to rework anything.
And if you do ever want to get into HD authoring, you already have the encoded files...........

See http://www.dtsonline.com/pro-audio/mas_pd.php for full details.

Yeah, I love the DTS-HD Master Audio format, and hope it really takes off. Dolby is just always second best, to the equivalent that DTS does. Even once you're in the lossless domaain, DTS excels in the extra features they give the codec.

I wish they gave it a slightly-better-marketable name though!

I hear you loud & clear.
(or not so loud & slightly muddy if using Dobly)

Along with possible dialog normalisation. . what unnecessary crap. Just leave the audio alone...!

Dialnorm is for films. This is something most people also get completely wrong when using Dobly (and it is also now available in DTS-HD MAS as well, although I am not aware of recievers that can - as yet - decode such streams properly. They will certainly be out there if not now then soon.
But I digress.

Dialnorm assumes that the centre channel is being used for, well - dialogue. And the standard accepted is that the level should be around -31dB. So any setting apart from -31 will attenuate by (-31 -dialnorm) so a dialnorm of -27 (for some reason a "default" value) will shave 4dB off the level.

For music encodes, dialnorm should be left alone at -31, and DRC profile should also be set to NONE.