11/14/2023 0 Comments Advanced codec 5.2.4![]() Since then, Dolby, DTS, and others have helped advance the state of home surround sound with a variety of iterations. In 1982, Dolby Laboratories introduced Dolby Surround, a technology that piggybacked a surround sound signal onto a stereo source through matrix encoding. Immersion in a three-dimensional audio sphere was not to be given up on, however. Unfortunately, Quadraphonic sound, which provided discrete sound from four speakers placed in each corner of a room, was confusing and short-lived - no thanks to companies battling over formats (sound familiar?). It was called Quadraphonic sound, and it first appeared on reel-to-reel tape. It was the summer of 1969 when surround sound first became available in the home. OK, so now that you know what surround sound is and what the current state-of-the-art tech is capable of, let’s talk about how we got here. Surround sound history Image used with permission by copyright holder That means that each speaker played the same thing and the sound didn’t involve much bass or treble information. For instance, the surround channels in basic Pro Logic were not in stereo and had limited bandwidth. Because of the limited space, however, matrixed surround signals came with some limitations. Dolby was able to allow home audio devices to decode two extra channels of sound from media like VHS tapes, which fed the center channel and surround speakers with audio. Using the matrix process, Dolby’s Pro Logic surround was developed to encode separate signals within the main left and right channels. This approach was the basis for early surround-sound formats like Dolby Surround and Dolby Pro Logic and was motivated in part by the limited space for discrete information on early audio-video media, such as VHS tape. In this case, matrix refers to the encoding of separate sound signals within a stereo source. No, we’re not talking about the sci-fi f ranchise starring Keanu Reeves. We’ll be adding more speakers later (lots more), but for now, we can use this basic five-speaker arrangement as a springboard for getting into the different formats. The next step up involves the addition of a center channel: A speaker placed between the front left and right speakers that is primarily responsible for reproducing dialogue in movies. Surround sound, at its most basic, involves a set of stereo front speakers (left and right) and a set of surround speakers, which are usually placed just to the sides and just behind a central listening position. Understanding a few core concepts will help orient you so that you can follow the conversation to come, so here’s what you should know before we get down to the nitty-gritty: The speakers We’ll get to the history of surround sound and the specs of all the competing formats in just a minute - but first, let’s get the basics out of the way. If you’re a layperson looking to understand how Atmos and its competitors can revolutionize your home theater, you’ll need a quick surround sound primer and a brief history lesson before building your setup. This being a top-to-bottom surround sound guide, however, we need to journey back before we can move forward. Today, most quality AV receivers support object-based surround sound, and the tech that helped revitalize movie theaters was made available in the home.ĭigital music has also gotten the Atmos treatment, with a number of streaming services (Tidal, Amazon Music, and Apple Music, to name a few) already taking advantage of Dolby Atmos Music, an offshoot of its theatrical, object-based sound technology.Ītmos isn’t the only payer in this space, either, as competitors like DTS:X and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio will look to challenge Dolby for sonic supremacy in the months and years ahead. With the development of compatible AV receivers, the battlefield quickly shifted to the living room. This meant that, theoretically, theater operators were limited only by their appetite to add extra speakers and amplification. Known in the industry as “object-based” sound technology, Atmos allowed for up to 128 distinct sound objects to be represented in a given scene, which could be routed to up to 64 different speakers.Ĭompetitors like Digital Theater Systems (DTS) soon followed suit, with the company boasting that its DTS:X technology could produce more individual audio feeds than Atmos, which was hard-capped at 64. With Atmos, the sounds in a theater could now come from distinct locations determined by the professional audio mixers that had arranged them. ![]() McIntosh’s new $8,000 AVR: gigantic power, with a Dolby Atmos catch What is Dolby Atmos Music, and how can you listen to it at home and on the go? Dolby Atmos FlexConnect could eliminate home theater soundbars and HDMI cables ![]()
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