Dolby Atmos coming soon for home use

[samlop10]

It looks like Godzilla won't be our first blu ray with Atmos :/ (going by its official announcement on this site saying it will have DTS-HD MA).

Should we hope for X-Men: Days of Future Past now?

[kenoh]

Originally Posted by samlop10

It looks like Godzilla won't be our first blu ray with Atmos :/ (going by its official announcement on this site saying it will have DTS-HD MA).

Should we hope for X-Men: Days of Future Past now?

Is the currently announced release of Godzilla suppose to come with Atmos or is that set for another exclusive Blu-ray release?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by kenoh

Is the currently announced release of Godzilla suppose to come with Atmos or is that set for another exclusive Blu-ray release?

We may know more at or just before CEDIA in September at the Dolby press event.

[kenoh]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

We may know more at or just before CEDIA in September at the Dolby press event.

Well I guess I shouldn't be too concerned since I'm waiting for Emotiva or other companies to release Atmos compatible processers which probably won't happen till the end of this year?

Hopefully they announce a good list of titles coming out by the end of this year, maybe will get the original Star Wars trilogy 4k remaster that Disney mastered with a Atmos mixed soundtrack? One can only wish....

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by kenoh

Well I guess I shouldn't be too concerned since I'm waiting for Emotiva or other companies to release Atmos compatible processers which probably won't happen till the end of this year?

Hopefully they announce a good list of titles coming out by the end of this year, maybe will get the original Star Wars trilogy 4k remaster that Disney mastered with a Atmos mixed soundtrack? One can only wish....

If you wait for an Emotiva product with Atmos... you might be waiting for quite some time. There has been a fairly controversial stance taken by the Emotiva folks about Atmos and many have speculated that they're downplaying the importance of the format only because their new processor, that has been in the works practically forever, is already going to be outdated as soon as it's released.

Outlaw Audio had similar problems with past pre-amp models that were promised with great fanfare about wonderful, game changing features in their price categories, but were either scrapped altogether or minimized in scope before launch. They took to retailing Marantz pre-amps and released a very basic house-branded pre-amp instead.

[kenoh]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

If you wait for an Emotiva product with Atmos... you might be waiting for quite some time. There has been a fairly controversial stance taken by the Emotiva folks about Atmos and many have speculated that they're downplaying the importance of the format only because their new processor, that has been in the works practically forever, is already going to be outdated as soon as it's released.

Outlaw Audio had similar problems with past pre-amp models that were promised with great fanfare about wonderful, game changing features in their price categories, but were either scrapped altogether or minimized in scope before launch. They took to retailing Marantz pre-amps and released a very basic house-branded pre-amp instead.

Now that I think about, Marantz has an 11.2 channel Pre-Amp "AV7702" with support for Dolby Atmos and there up coming A/V receivers will have Dolby Atmos so there's a good chance other brands may release Atmos compatible processors in time for the holidays, so who knows?

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by kenoh

Surround sound subwoofers?

Doesn't a subwoofer control all sub frequency sounds regardless of which speaker it comes from? It's not like it's going to fix mid bass/high frequency's? That's the most important!

I think as long as you have matching speakers "say all your speakers have 6.5" drivers with the same tweeters" you should be fine? Other then that you'll need new speakers...

If I wrote "subwoofer", I wrote that in error. It's "woofers" for the surrounds. In a theatre situation, those speakers they hang on the walls are far smaller than the screen speakers. As a result, they don't reproduce bass well. In theatrical Atmos, it's recommended that the theatre add woofers for the surrounds, usually mounted in the rear corners.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by kenoh

Well I guess I shouldn't be too concerned since I'm waiting for Emotiva or other companies to release Atmos compatible processers which probably won't happen till the end of this year?

Hopefully they announce a good list of titles coming out by the end of this year, maybe will get the original Star Wars trilogy 4k remaster that Disney mastered with a Atmos mixed soundtrack? One can only wish....

I don't think you'll begin to see Atmos products from the smaller makers until 2015 at least and for some, not until 2016. Look at their track record when DTS-MA or Dolby True-HD came out and how long it took to upgrade their models. And DTS-MA and Dolby True-HD was something everyone could use. Very few consumers are going to install Atmos.

Star Wars in Atmos? I don't think so. That would be a lot of work to do it right. To do it wrong (but easier to produce), they could take some of the surround audio and occasionally send it to the heights instead, but IMO, that wouldn't provide that much of an enhanced experience over the 7.1.

I still think Atmos for the home is going to be a niche product. Not that many people even have 5.1. If they have anything aside from the TV itself, they have a sound bar.

[rubystone356]

Originally Posted by samlop10

It looks like Godzilla won't be our first blu ray with Atmos :/ (going by its official announcement on this site saying it will have DTS-HD MA).

Should we hope for X-Men: Days of Future Past now?

most studios use DTS MA including fox. warner had some titles in trueHD early on but then switched over to DTS MA. Sony went back to trueHD with total recall. same with disney on some animated features. I think both star trek and into darkness are trueHD and transformers 1 and 3.

Jacob

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by rubystone356

most studios use DTS MA including fox. warner had some titles in trueHD early on but then switched over to DTS MA. Sony went back to trueHD with total recall. same with disney on some animated features. I think both star trek and into darkness are trueHD and transformers 1 and 3.

Warner has the new Dolby tools, they recently encoded The Right Stuff in TrueHD (@96kHz). So does LionsGate with the new version of Chicago.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

I still think Atmos for the home is going to be a niche product. Not that many people even have 5.1. If they have anything aside from the TV itself, they have a sound bar.

Well, that’s kind of the *elephant in the room* in any Blu-ray Dolby Atmos thread getting technical discussion among the audiophilic elite. Is this thing only going to be adopted by a tiny, tiny percentage of home theater enthusiasts or will it resonate with a respectable percentage of home theater enthusiasts?

Or, as they say in the real estate business, lots of talking points and “lookie-loos” but are there any serious offers. I agree with you, these days home theater is already challenged by other/more forms and choices for home entertainment than it was in the past and I think this audio upgrade is going to be a tough sell even for marketers.

[ZoetMB]

For those of you in L.A., MIX Magazine is having a seminar dedicated to immersive sound at Sony Pictures Studios on September 6th.

This special one-day event includes:
• Keynote Address in the world-renowned Cary Grant Theatre
• Full Day of Panels: The Editing, Mixing, Technology and Business of Immersive Sound
• Film Studio Showcase: 10-minute reels, played back in the Atmos/Auro-3D equipped William Holden Theatre, with introductions by the creative teams
• Sponsor Workshops—hosted onsite in Sony’s world-class film sound facilities
• Exhibition Space—the world’s leading technology suppliers
• Networking opportunities
• The day will be capped by an exclusive screening of a new Sony Pictures feature film in the Holden Theatre

The cost to attend is $79. Registration is here: https://nbmedia.wufoo.com/forms/imme...n-to-playback/

Not sure whether anyone can attend or whether you have to show some industry affiliation. Note that this appears to be solely about theatrical immersive sound, not home audio.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Warner has the new Dolby tools, they recently encoded The Right Stuff in TrueHD (@96kHz). So does LionsGate with the new version of Chicago.

I was very excited to get "The Right Stuff" at the 96kHz sampling rate. So first Warner had only a 48kHz disc in the package, but via customer service, they sent me the corrected disc. Received it, put it on my system, was all ready for great sound, but couldn't perceive any difference whatsoever. Could you? Anyone else?

When this was originally released, I saw the film in 70mm Dolby 6-track magnetic "baby boom" and while I'm not going to claim that I specifically remember what it sounded like, I don't remember being annoyed, which means it must have had the quality and refinement that I came to associate with high quality 70mm reproduction. The Blu-ray soundtrack didn't sound like that.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

I was very excited to get "The Right Stuff" at the 96kHz sampling rate. So first Warner had only a 48kHz disc in the package, but via customer service, they sent me the corrected disc. Received it, put it on my system, was all ready for great sound, but couldn't perceive any difference whatsoever. Could you? Anyone else?

When this was originally released, I saw the film in 70mm Dolby 6-track magnetic "baby boom" and while I'm not going to claim that I specifically remember what it sounded like, I don't remember being annoyed, which means it must have had the quality and refinement that I came to associate with high quality 70mm reproduction. The Blu-ray soundtrack didn't sound like that.

Dolby 96 kHz upmixing, unlike Dolby Atmos, is a bunch of hot air. What they need to do is take the original analog multi-tracks and re-transfer them at 24 bit/96 kHz rather than taking an old 48 kHz track (probably only 16 bit) and washing it through a 24/96 filter.

Warner Brothers was just taking the cheap way out.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Dolby 96 kHz upmixing, unlike Dolby Atmos, is a bunch of hot air. What they need to do is take the original analog multi-tracks and re-transfer them at 24 bit/96 kHz rather than taking an old 48 kHz track (probably only 16 bit) and washing it through a 24/96 filter.

Warner Brothers was just taking the cheap way out.

The apodizing filter is very real, and is why they upsample the track to 96kHz.


I'm thinking people are listening to the limitations of a 4.2 soundtrack mixed in 1984...state of the art at the time and excellent but mellowed by 30 years of better and better sound. I've had the LD, DVD, and now the BD and it sounds pretty good to me, but I would never mistake it for something done recently.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

The apodizing filter is very real, and is why they upsample the track to 96kHz.


I'm thinking people are listening to the limitations of a 4.2 soundtrack mixed in 1984...state of the art at the time and excellent but mellowed by 30 years of better and better sound. I've had the LD, DVD, and now the BD and it sounds pretty good to me, but I would never mistake it for something done recently.

Yes, but upsampling trickery never can replace actually transferring the original multi-tracks at 24/96 kHz in the first place and doing a proper high resolution restoration.

That is something WB did not do... hence my comment of them going the cheap route.

[samlop10]

X-Men: Days of Future Past won't have Atmos either (per foxconnect website)

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by samlop10

X-Men: Days of Future Past won't have Atmos either (per foxconnect website)

Not that they always keep it up to date, but it's still listed as Atmos on Dolby's site.

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Not that they always keep it up to date, but it's still listed as Atmos on Dolby's site.

I mean for the upcoming blu ray releases of it.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

As long as the quiz doesn't have acronyms in it...I'm ready.

A Guide to Dynamic Range Acronyms

EIDR – stands for Extended Image Dynamic range as used by ITU Rappporteur Group Sess.1
IDR – stands for Extended Image Dynamic range as used by ITU Rapporteur Group Sess.2
EDR – stands for Extended Dynamic Range as currently used by Dolby
HDR – stands for High Dynamic Range as used by SMPTE, EBU, BBC and the original ‘do-ers’ such as noted in the Introduction here - http://www.cs.ubc.ca/nest/imager/tr/...ef_Ambient.pdf