Where do you think surround format is heading ?

[umbucker]

Now with surround sound amplifiers having up to 11 channels of amplification, I just wondered what you opinion was on where Surround formats are heading. Most Digital movie formats ar still stuck to 5:1, but with many old amps having at least 7:1 capability I just wondered if Blu ray / Movies were going to push up to 7:1 surround with Sides, or whether you think L + R Height might eventually have sperate channels of audio ?

Also how far away is this? 5:1 has been around for over a decade on the consumer market, when will studios begin to release 7:1 sountracks as a standard ? and even 9:1 ?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Well, the official sound format for the Super Hi Vision system currently being trialled in Japan, and which the BBC will use on ginormous screens to show the Olympics at public venues next year, is 22.2-channel...

 

[RickyDeg]

Good question. Even though I've splashed out on a 7.2 system to use front heights, I'm more interested in seeing Blu-rays adopt a higher sound quality with 96khz 24bit in favor of the standard 48khz 16/24-bit, as oppose to more channels. But the industry is being neglective. Naturally it takes up more disc space, so I suppose it's a question of priority. The few discs I have heard with 96khz 24bit are spectacular. To stay on topic, I'd say it would be nice to have codecs with dedicated height-channel information, since both Audyssey and Dolby emply such modes.

 

[professorhat]

It's rare to find homes where having 6 speakers dotted around the living room is acceptable, let alone 11 or more. Much like there's not a great deal of point going to much higher resolution than Blu-ray in the home (since the screen size to distance ratio doesn't warrant it), I personally think we'll not see much more than this in its current format because it won't be mainstream enough to warrant the cost of developing it.

The next big thing will do home cinema / surround sound in a completely different way I'd guess. No good asking me what - if I knew that I'd be making it and marketing it

 

[nads]

I just wondered if Blu ray / Movies were going to push up to 7:1 surround with Sides

##7.1 adds two rears not sides. and there are many discs out there with it on already.

have a "7.1" set up with high fronts and you will not get the 7.1 play back but a mixed 5.1 version.

 

[Big Aura]

It's rare to find homes where having 6 speakers dotted around the living room is acceptable, let alone 11 or more. Much like there's not a great deal of point going to much higher resolution than Blu-ray in the home (since the screen size to distance ratio doesn't warrant it), I personally think we'll not see much more than this in its current format because it won't be mainstream enough to warrant the cost of developing it.

The next big thing will do home cinema / surround sound in a completely different way I'd guess. No good asking me what - if I knew that I'd be making it and marketing it

I think 3D might be the next big thi..... oh.

 

[KiwiMoto]

With the "new' front height/width formats I'm really surprised the majority of receivers are currently still 7.1! I can see 11.2 being the new 5.1 within the next two years.And BD's I swore by until I started streaming movies.Used Pioneer BDP LX91 anyone?

 

[markyd]

I really dont see the point.

You can get a perfectly acceptable soundfield from a 5.1 setup. Most of it is down to a good mix. I agree with the poster who said so few people have space to accomodate any more speakers, and suggest sound quality (Sample rate / bit depth) is more far important than channel count.

Dolby digital has a very low bit rate equivalent to a small mp3 encode per channel. Many more people benefit from the sonic enhancement afforded by 'HD' audio on a 'mere 6' descrete audio channels.

I appreciate that the AC3 specs are a leagacy based on bit-budgets that favoured inefficient MPEG-2 DVD encoding leaving all but a minute amount of data for the audio, but times have changed and we need to adopt a new standard using modern encoding algorithms.

 

[duaplex]

I imagine 7.1 and 6.1 would become more common on Blu Ray releases and possibly a new way of encoding sound which will take us beyond True HD.

I love the idea of the Japan speaker trial for the olympics, thats mouthwatering!

 

[Anonymous]

I don't believe much will change even if manufacturers continue to push more channels, there are practical limitations in most homes meaning 5.1 will likely be the most widely used surround format with some 7.1 setups. While I would like to se an improved quality such as 96/24 the studios were spastic enough as is with the current sound formats.

Sadly, the most common will probably be the basic TV with built-in speakers with a NAS for storage of MP3 files.

 

[moonfly]

Manufacturers will likely keep adding speakers so they can release next years model with a good advertising campaign. For me personally, 5 or 7.2 is as much as anyone needs in the home, and I think upgrading .1 to .2 is more important than increasing the speaker count beyond 7. I have been runnign dual subs for a few years now and wont ever go back.

As for the future, maybe the stearable line array will be where its heading. Its certainly more practical than trying to cramp 22 speakers and a pair of subs into your room.