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An article in the September 2008 edition of Pro Sound News, the trade journal for the professional audio industry, entitled “7.1 Is Becoming The New 5.1” was authored by Steve Harvey, the journal’s West Coast Editor. The author presents no standard, or even the recommendations on the table for 7.1 loudspeaker placement. Both Dolby® Laboratories, Inc. and DTS®, Inc. have published on their respective Web sites six possible loudspeaker placement layouts for 7.1-channel mixing and playback, with no particular layout recommendation for optimum performance. Both Mi Casa Multimedia and Chace Audio, who have done the most work on 7.1-channel soundtrack production, have adopted the format that I have been advocating for years now and which has been the subject of articles in Widescreen Review and a topic on three Home Theater Cruises. The discussion on two of the cruises involved three-hour panel discussions with famous recording engineers practicing their respective multichannel artistry with demonstrations by each, and on the most recent cruise to Alaska this year Brent Biles, Chief Engineer at Mi Casa Multimedia, demonstrated how 7.1 mixes at his studio are engineered. Both Chace and Mi Casa have adopted a 7.1 format that adds left and right side loudspeakers with front left and right, and rear left right at 60-degree included angles relative to the listening “sweet spot,” and at equal distance to the “sweet spot.” This format is optimized for seamless holosonic® surround sound on a horizontal plane. This format allows for breakthrough precise imaging localization and creative immersion in a 360-degree surround soundfield. Chris Reynolds, Chace Audio’s Conform/Mix Engineer stated, “We were both working with New Line, doing the first 7.1 mixes at the same time. We both, on our own, recommended this configuration.” What brought out my frustration was the statement by Rob Bridgett, Senior Sound Engineer at game developer Radical Entertainment, “What you’re going to see with 7.1 in a year or two is figuring out that gray area and absolutely mandating where those loudspeakers need to go, in the same sense that Dolby Digital did with 5.1.” Wow, another year or two, huh? I have been advocating the Mi Casa and Chace format, which is one of the acceptable layouts approved by both Dolby and DTS, for the past 10 years. This is documented in numerous articles in Widescreen Review and in my record as a participant in industry seminars and of course, on the Home Theater Cruise. THX® is not in agreement, instead it is still stuck in the fuzzy-wuzzy “ambiance” scenario they promoted with 5.1, now with two more loudspeakers to push the surround wider and farther forward. This is old-school movie surround ambiance. You would think that a concerted effort to establish an optimum layout standard would have taken place two years ago, before the first true 7.1-channel receivers and processors incorporating lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel were brought to market. I believe we need a lot more education on this topic before a standard is established aimed at optimizing the potential. Otherwise, we will end up with a recommended dumbed-down layout that skirts the true potential of the format and reduces the surround experience to a “fuzzy-wuzzy” blur. I believe that with high-performance 3D on the horizon for home theatre and the resurgence of surround music via the Blu-ray Disc® format, it would be an unfortunate missed opportunity to establish a much more compelling sensory sound experience. Now that picture performance has so significantly improved with 1080p resolution, color accuracy and display calibration, sound performance is there to take us to the next experience level as long as we get the loudspeaker placement layout right. And don’t forget that all seven channels are equal in full-range fidelity. So, if you want the best that it can be, you won’t only want the optimized layout but you’ll want full-range loudspeakers all around to deliver the ultimate sonic experience. Gary Reber Editor-In-Chief & Publisher Widescreen Review
Tags:
- editor's couch -
- 7.1 -
- Dolby -
- DTS -
- Mi Casa -
- Chace Audio -
- Home Theater Cruise -
- THX -
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