DTS officially unveiled details of its new immersive surround sound platform DTS:X today. DTS:X is an object-based surround sound format that captures and reproduces sound coming from all directions in order to create a more immersive listening experience. In its announcement the company said that several major consumer electronics manufacturers would have DTS:X-capable products on the market this year. Also, three high-end home theater products already on the market - one receiver and two preamp/processors - will get DTS:X decoding via a firmware upgrade later this year.
According to DTS, the Denon AVR-X7200W will be the only receiver currently on the market to get DTS:X via a firmware upgrade (expected this Summer). The Marantz AV8802 preamp/processor and Trinnov Audio Altitude 32 preamp/processor will also be upgradeable to DTS:X this summer. Exact availability dates of the upgrades are not yet known. In addition, companies including Onkyo, Integra, Steinway Lyngdorf, Theta Digital and Yamaha are all expected to have DTS:X-capable AVRs (Audio/Video Receivers) or processors on the market some time in 2015. The company also mentions Pioneer and Outlaw Audio being on-board with DTS:X but gives no details as to when products will be available from those companies.
As far as speaker configurations go, DTS says that DTS:X will render the immersive surround mix to be optimized for virtually any speaker environment, with up to 32 independent speaker outputs. 2015 DTS:X AVRs are expected to support up to 11 speaker outputs (plus one or two subwoofers). DTS says that DTS:X will use an advanced speaker remapping engine to support "any speaker configuration within a hemispherical layout." We expect that this means it will work for those who have already installed ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos or AURO-3D immersive surround. But we're not sure yet whether this means you can get a virtual height effect from an existing 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system. The company is hosting a press event later today and we'll be sure to ask about that. Update: we asked and, according to Dave Casey, Senior Director, Technology Strategy & Marketing, virtual height speakers will not be an option for the upcoming DTS:X implementation though they may be possible in future incarnations.
As to where the DTS:X content is going to come from that is still a little unclear. DTS is currently in talks with studios and broadcasters to have them use the MDA (Multi-Dimensional Audio) format to begin encoding movies and other content in immersive surround. DTS is also partnering with theater integration companies in Asia and the United States to create DTS:X-certified movie theaters. These theaters will render the DTS MDA digital cinema soundtracks (once the studios start creating them) in all their immersive surround sound glory. DTS partner GDC Technology plans to offer their customers (theater owners) an MDA firmware upgrade to the more than 40,000 theatrical movie servers worldwide beginning in May, 2015. GDC also plans to help theater owners install DTS:X-certified theaters in approximately 350 screening rooms in Asia also beginning in May.
Here in the U.S., theater chain CarMike Cinemas also announced that it will support DTS MDA and DTS Neo:X with eight theaters scheduled to get upgraded for DTS immersive sound as early as this Spring. "We believe in the open platform philosophy of DTS:X and are excited to be among the first theater partners to be onboard," said Fred Van Noy, senior vice president and chief operating officer, Carmike Cinemas.
For home use of DTS:X, DTS says that the DTS:X technology can enhance virtually any existing content (Blu-rays, DVDs, streaming media, etc.) with height-augmented surround sound. This evolution of what used to be called DTS Neo:X is now called DTS Neural:X and we heard it used to good effect on a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio clip from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." But this "virtual immersive sound" is quite different from having actual discrete DTS:X content where the real sound objects are mapped into specific points in space.
DTS says that they are "working with several major studios and mixing stages in Los Angeles, Northern California and Canada that are evaluating DTS:X" and that "DTS:X content announcements will be made by the studios when ready." Once studios are on-board, DTS:X will be delivered on Blu-ray using the existing DTS:HD Master Audio codec. This means DTS:X titles should be compatible with existing Blu-ray Players and existing receivers, however an existing (non-DTS:X-capable) receiver will just see the mix as standard 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound (without height information). You'll need new DTS:X-capable gear to get the full immersive sound.
The company is hosting a press event to unveil further details at their headquarters in Calabasas, California today so we'll be sure to follow up with more details as they become available.
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