Dolby's new Atmos surround sound system

Here's a short video about the new Dolby Atmos surround sound approach: http://vimeo.com/40699179

 

Thanks, Metoo. As a big fan of surround I'm curious to hear this in a theatre.

 

Yeah, I'm curious to hear it as well. Read about it on the HTF and it sounded intriguing.

Doesn't seem to be something that would translate well to home theater, though!

 

Overhead surround
Wonder how much all those Martin Monitors cost?
Cinema owners are notoriously tight wad
Full Dolby 5.1 only cost about £10k,they didn't like that much
Full 63 ch might be a little more.......
Dolby have done something similar in pro audio distribution,Dolby E
1 metadata stream with every option encoded for different useage, 8 compressed channels into 2.

 

My guess is that this is mostly a way to implement patents and it will have very little penetration at either end of the movie business.

 

I bet in LA, they're worried that any ceiling-mounted speakers will fall on the audience's heads during an earthquake!

 

66.2 surround sound. The promo videos make it sound rather intriguing.

One of the theaters ~5 miles away from my house is on the list to get it. But I'm not sure I'm interested in paying $9 to see "Brave" just to experience it.

 

The system is already in place at the Dolby Theater(formerly the Kodak) at Hollywood and Highlands. Here is the list of present Dolby Atmos installations:

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/technology/cinema/dolby-atmos.html

 

Ta
Will pop into Wotton Basset and beg a listen.

 

None in NY or LI yet.

 

Are those all already set up for Atmos? I clicked on the page for the AMC Garden State - the closest Atmos theater to me - and saw no mention of it.

The Dolby page simply states that the listed theaters will be the first to have Atmos - it doesn't state they all have it NOW...

 

Paramus NJ, buddy - at least you're closer than I am!

 

what a scary thought!

 

Scott Wilkinson's review of the Dolby Atmos system for the screening of "Brave".
http://www.hometheater.com/content/brave-world-premier

 

I don't think this is exactly accurate. In the case of Atmos, the height speakers are dedicated channels, not just more surround speakers. Heck, I've been in mixing rooms that had about two dozen surround speakers... but they all carried the exact same signal (as in 5.1). The 24 speakers merely spread the surround track around more evenly, adding "spaciousness."

I know that (as one example) one of the sound quality issues for the Ceramic Dome on Sunset Blvd. is that the city zoning people won't allow them to add ceiling-mounted diffusers or absorption panels on top, specifically due to earthquake concerns. Even if they didn't fall during a quake, they might get loose and then fall a few days or weeks later. I can only imagine what a 50-pound speaker would do.

Note than Tom Holman (creator of THX) demonstrated a 10.2-channel surround system with height above the speaker more than a decade ago. So this idea has been floating around for some time. Me personally, I don't think the idea works unless it's a special-venue theater, like Imax or a theme park ride. To me, 5.1 works fine as-is. I'm not even that jazzed about 7.1 though I did enjoy the mix of Toy Story 3, which was the first 7.1 release I know of.

 

I agree, Atmos is a whole different animal. But I don't see it becoming a huge commercial success, simply because theater owners are cheap, the economy is bad, and audiences are indifferent most of the time to technological changes. Mono and surround was a big change; Dolby 5.1 to Atmos is not going to be as striking.

But I will seek out a screening when I get a chance. I'm surprised that Brave is getting good reviews -- it looked like a screwy idea when I first read it, plus (like several Pixar films) they fired the director a year or two into it. I know Pixar is anxious for a hit, since they were a little rattled about the so-so response to Cars 2 and also the disastrous John Carter (directed by longtime Pixar team member Andrew Stanton).

 

Does anyone have more information to let us know if the theaters listed on the Dolby site are hooked up and ready right now? Like I mentioned earlier, the Garden State theater's website offers no info about Atmos.

Whenever I'm in NJ again, I'd like to try it out, but I wanna know if it's active first!

 

Yeah, I guess. Since apparently "Brave" is an Atmos film, I'll check the Garden State website tomorrow and see if it mentions the format...

 

I'm not going out of my way to hit the AMC Garden State unless I'm guaranteed Atmos, man! It's too far from home - and I prefer Regal, anyway!

 

Darn, there's not one anywhere near me. It's going to be hard to find both a theater with the equipment setup combined with a Atmos mixed film. Not many theaters will see any reason to make the massive upgrade and will there actually be a 64 channel mix anytime soon? I seriously doubt it.
Plus, when was the last time you heard anything sound good theatrically? I absolutely had it when recently Raiders of the Lost Ark had little to no surround usage whatsoever for the new restoration.