Dolby Atmos, Auro, and 3D audio thread - Blu-ray Forum

doctorD · 06-18-2012, 09:28 PM

I couldn't find any thread on this.

Well it appears that Dolby has a new audio which they are calling "Atmos". They have indicated that this new audio technology will be in 14 theaters for the viewing of Pixar's BRAVE. This is the first I've heard of their new tech. Here are some videos of them discussing it which involves placing left and right speakers overhead:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/16/d...ter-locations/

Trekkie313 · 06-18-2012, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorD

I couldn't find any thread on this.

Well it appears that Dolby has a new audio which they are calling "Atmos". They have indicated that this new audio technology will be in 14 theaters for the viewing of Pixar's BRAVE. This is the first I've heard of their new tech. Here are some videos of them discussing it which involves placing left and right speakers overhead:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/16/d...ter-locations/

Here....
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...62#post6082462

doctorD · 06-18-2012, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

Here....
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...62#post6082462

Funny thing is when I started to create this thread earlier that thread was not there. I got side tracked with something else and just submitted.

Oh well, I guess the mods can combine the two and rename his thread as the Dolby Atmos Technology

sycro · 06-18-2012, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorD

Funny thing is when I started to create this thread earlier that thread was not there. I got side tracked with something else and just submitted.

Oh well, I guess the mods can combine the two and rename his thread as the Dolby Atmos Technology

That thread's not really about Atmos. I just mentioned it because someone said theaters couldn't support 22.2.

doctorD · 06-18-2012, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycro

That thread's not really about Atmos. I just mentioned it because someone said theaters couldn't support 22.2.

I thought the same thing but Trekkie313 had mentioned the thread. I guess we'll see what the mods will do. Anyways, it looks like from the video that theaters will be able to go to 62.2 surround with this new technology...I'm guessing this is dependent on theater size.

drummerboy_2002 · 06-20-2012, 05:23 PM

There used to be 3 threads focused on Atmos with an additional 2 or 3 honorable mentions, totaling around 6+ pages of discussion, but they all got wiped out during the great blu-ray.com server cluster#$@%. A lot of great stuff was lost. RIP.

ZoetMB · 06-20-2012, 05:58 PM

Atmos is much more than placing speakers overhead.

In Dolby Atmos, you have your traditional 7.1 mixing in which you direct sounds to channels which in turn feed banks of speakers.

On top of that, you have an object model. This is where the mixer can place a sound in 3D space (a mono sound). You place it in space rather than send it to a specific speaker or bank. Upon playback, based upon the setup in the theatre, the Dolby Atmos system will send that signal to the most appropriate speaker.

In order to facilitate this, each speaker, rather than each speaker bank, is wired to its own amplifier channel.

In addition, there are overhead speakers (also individually wired) and there can be rear subwoofers. These are not in their own channel. They are not intended to be used the way the ".1" channel is used, but to give the surrounds a wider frequency response, since wall mounted surrounds tend to be smaller speakers than the fronts. This is to solve the problem that as sounds move from the front to the sides, the timbre can change.

In current setups, the left and right surrounds usually are mounted starting about 1/3 of the way back from the screen. In Atmos, there can be additional speakers on the left and right sides between the surrounds and the screen. These are only object driven. The purpose is to provide a better transition of sounds when they pan from the front to the sides.

"Brave" was mixed traditionally to 7.1 and then the object model was placed on top of the standard mix. And since this is the first time it's been used, it may not yet be used to the fullest extent of its capabilities.

However, a Dolby Atmos theatre does not have to install all the speakers and amp channels to be considered Atmos. As long as they use the Atmos playback processor, it's considered "Atmos". The playback processor will assign where sounds should play based on the setup in the theatre. I'm sure Dolby did this so that theatre owners wouldn't be scared off by large new investments, but I think it's a big mistake. When you go to an Atmos theatre/presentation, you should know what you're getting. If you go to an Atmos theatre that doesn't have the overheads or hasn't separately wired the surround speakers, you might not hear a difference and might not return.

As someone else posted, only 14 theatres in North America will play "Brave" in Atmos, using prototype hardware. Here's the listing from Hollywood Reporter:

AMC Burbank 16
AMC Century City 15
the El Capitan Theatre
ArcLight Sherman Oaks
AMC Van Ness 14, San Francisco

AMC Downtown Disney 24, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

AMC Garden State 16, Paramus, N.J.

AMC BarryWoods 24, Kansas City

Brenden Theatres at the Palms, Las Vegas

Centry at Pacific Commons and XD; West Plano, Texas

Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Collection, Chicago.

SilverCity-Yonge Eglington Cinemas, Toronto
Cinetopia Vancouver Hall 23, Vancouver

Five theaters in California and not one in NYC. That's a drag.

sycro · 06-20-2012, 06:15 PM

I'll be at the Brave Atmos showing in Kansas City, even though it's a little bit of a drive from southeast KC where I live to northwest KC where it's showing. Hopefully they have a fairly complete setup for it.

drummerboy_2002 · 06-20-2012, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Atmos is much more than placing speakers overhead.

In Dolby Atmos, you have your traditional 7.1 mixing in which you direct sounds to channels which in turn feed banks of speakers.

On top of that, you have an object model...

Good synopsis. Though Atmos supports up to 9.1 channel beds. The additional 2 channel beds being left and right overhead.

D1-2005 · 06-20-2012, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycro

I'll be at the Brave Atmos showing in Kansas City, even though it's a little bit of a drive from southeast KC where I live to northwest KC where it's showing. Hopefully they have a fairly complete setup for it.

Thats where I'll be this weekend! But I happen to live right down the street so it is really awesome that they chose my theatre. Lets hope its a great experience

dobyblue · 06-20-2012, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

SilverCity-Yonge Eglington Cinemas, Toronto

I asked them about it and got a response saying it's in their new UltraAVX cinema which contains Dolby Digital 7.1 surround. I know there's a list of 7.1 capable theatres for Dolby now, but no mention of Atmos. I've sent them back another response to please confirm as they made no mention of Atmos.

As I pointed out:

http://www.cineplex.com/Movies/Famou...px?story=41253

Unlike Dolby Surround 7.1, which uses different audio channels, Dolby Atmos can render sounds in space by harnessing individual speakers instead of entire speaker arrays. Dolby Atmos also adds overhead speakers

Aerodude73 · 06-21-2012, 08:16 AM

dobyblue · 06-23-2012, 01:12 AM

Looks like I'm heading to Toronto tomorrow to experience Dolby Atmos!

Johnny Vinyl · 06-23-2012, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Looks like I'm heading to Toronto tomorrow to experience Dolby Atmos!

Where and what movie?

thedude22 · 06-23-2012, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycro

I'll be at the Brave Atmos showing in Kansas City, even though it's a little bit of a drive from southeast KC where I live to northwest KC where it's showing. Hopefully they have a fairly complete setup for it.

Me and the wife are going to the 11:30 showing tomorrow! I already preordered my tickets and I wanna get there a little early so I can get a good seat and look around to see what they've added!

Aerodude73 · 06-23-2012, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Looks like I'm heading to Toronto tomorrow to experience Dolby Atmos!

Very nice!! Be sure to report back with your thoughts/review of the new Audio system (& maybe some Photos IF Possible...

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Vinyl

Where and what movie?

The Only movie currently showing (or soon to be) with this new Audio system (Dolby ATMOS), is the new Animated movie, "BRAVE".

sycro · 06-23-2012, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedude22

Me and the wife are going to the 11:30 showing tomorrow! I already preordered my tickets and I wanna get there a little early so I can get a good seat and look around to see what they've added!

That's the same show I'm planning to attend! Perhaps I'll see you there and never know it

thedude22 · 06-23-2012, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycro

That's the same show I'm planning to attend! Perhaps I'll see you there and never know it

Yeah but me and you will stick out because we'll be the only one looking around before the show starts and actually paying attention to the sound! I'm excited to see how it turns out.

Aerodude73 · 06-23-2012, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sycro

That's the same show I'm planning to attend! Perhaps I'll see you there and never know it

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedude22

Yeah but me and you will stick out because we'll be the only one looking around before the show starts and actually paying attention to the sound! I'm excited to see how it turns out.

Take Pictures guys!!!

thedude22 · 06-23-2012, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerodude73

Take Pictures guys!!!

I'll take pics but I can't figure out how to upload from a mac!

06-20-2012, 05:23 PM	#6
drummerboy_2002 Active Member Member since:Feb 2009 Location:Atlanta, GA	There used to be 3 threads focused on Atmos with an additional 2 or 3 honorable mentions, totaling around 6+ pages of discussion, but they all got wiped out during the great blu-ray.com server cluster#$@%. A lot of great stuff was lost. RIP. Last edited by drummerboy_2002; 06-20-2012 at 05:28 PM.

06-20-2012, 05:58 PM	#7
ZoetMB Blu-ray Ninja Member since:May 2009 Location:New York Blu-ray collection:172 DVD collection:27 Blu-ray reviews: 3	Atmos is much more than placing speakers overhead. In Dolby Atmos, you have your traditional 7.1 mixing in which you direct sounds to channels which in turn feed banks of speakers. On top of that, you have an object model. This is where the mixer can place a sound in 3D space (a mono sound). You place it in space rather than send it to a specific speaker or bank. Upon playback, based upon the setup in the theatre, the Dolby Atmos system will send that signal to the most appropriate speaker. In order to facilitate this, each speaker, rather than each speaker bank, is wired to its own amplifier channel. In addition, there are overhead speakers (also individually wired) and there can be rear subwoofers. These are not in their own channel. They are not intended to be used the way the ".1" channel is used, but to give the surrounds a wider frequency response, since wall mounted surrounds tend to be smaller speakers than the fronts. This is to solve the problem that as sounds move from the front to the sides, the timbre can change. In current setups, the left and right surrounds usually are mounted starting about 1/3 of the way back from the screen. In Atmos, there can be additional speakers on the left and right sides between the surrounds and the screen. These are only object driven. The purpose is to provide a better transition of sounds when they pan from the front to the sides. "Brave" was mixed traditionally to 7.1 and then the object model was placed on top of the standard mix. And since this is the first time it's been used, it may not yet be used to the fullest extent of its capabilities. However, a Dolby Atmos theatre does not have to install all the speakers and amp channels to be considered Atmos. As long as they use the Atmos playback processor, it's considered "Atmos". The playback processor will assign where sounds should play based on the setup in the theatre. I'm sure Dolby did this so that theatre owners wouldn't be scared off by large new investments, but I think it's a big mistake. When you go to an Atmos theatre/presentation, you should know what you're getting. If you go to an Atmos theatre that doesn't have the overheads or hasn't separately wired the surround speakers, you might not hear a difference and might not return. As someone else posted, only 14 theatres in North America will play "Brave" in Atmos, using prototype hardware. Here's the listing from Hollywood Reporter: AMC Burbank 16 AMC Century City 15 the El Capitan Theatre ArcLight Sherman Oaks AMC Van Ness 14, San Francisco AMC Downtown Disney 24, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. AMC Garden State 16, Paramus, N.J. AMC BarryWoods 24, Kansas City Brenden Theatres at the Palms, Las Vegas Centry at Pacific Commons and XD; West Plano, Texas Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Collection, Chicago. SilverCity-Yonge Eglington Cinemas, Toronto Cinetopia Vancouver Hall 23, Vancouver Five theaters in California and not one in NYC. That's a drag. Last edited by ZoetMB; 06-20-2012 at 06:08 PM.

06-20-2012, 06:15 PM	#8
sycro Blu-ray Prince Top contributor Member since:Mar 2012 Location:Kansas City, MO Home Theater Gallery:15 4K collection:24 Blu-ray collection:2329 DVD collection:60 iTunes collection:20 Trading Score:63	I'll be at the Brave Atmos showing in Kansas City, even though it's a little bit of a drive from southeast KC where I live to northwest KC where it's showing. Hopefully they have a fairly complete setup for it.

06-23-2012, 01:12 AM	#13
dobyblue Super Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jul 2006 Location:Ontario, Canada Home Theater Gallery:71 4K collection:55 Blu-ray collection:655 Blu-ray reviews: 15	Looks like I'm heading to Toronto tomorrow to experience Dolby Atmos!

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