We really don't want to pooh-pooh your 7.1 home theater setup. It's impressive. That said, Dolby just introduced something that could completely blow away any home audio system -- literally, in fact.
Dolby just announced Atmos, a new audio platform promising a more natural, realistic soundfield. Of course, everyone does that. Dolby, however, is doing it with up to 64 speakers, including more screen speakers, pan-through arrays, and speakers positioned on the ceiling. As Bloomberg reports, the new technology means that moviegoers could actually be able to hear a bird chirping from overhead.
"Dolby Atmos is our most significant innovation in years and represents the future for entertainment sound in cinema," said Kevin Yeaman, president and CEO for Dolby Laboratories. "We have leveraged our deep insights into how people hear and experience sound to empower filmmakers, studios, and exhibitors with new technology that transforms storytelling."
Atmos will be a big deal for content creators, since it will create a hybrid of today's channel-based mixing methods with "dynamic audio object-based mixing." Besides being able to create killer content, Atmos will also save sound engineers some time during the postproduction process. Distributors and exhibitors should also be pleased, since Atmos promises to simplify distribution and optimize playback for any theater. For the rest of us, it should just be a killer sound experience. Think you can live with that?
If you frequent the theater, the answer is obvious. For the rest, don't give up on the Cineplex just yet. It doesn't look like we're going to see Atmos for home use anytime soon. Besides the space factor, Bloomberg says that this type of setup will cost $10,000 per screen at launch. While we have seen some willing to spend that kind of cash on a home setup, Dolby is going to start by targeting larger theater chains in the U.S., Europe, China, and Japan. If all goes well, Atmos could be coming to a theater near you by the end of 2013.
Dolby plans to introduce the first Atmos-mixed film this summer. Stay tuned to see what title will be a part of audio history and help to launch the format.
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