DTS:X - Raising The Bar In Immersive Sound

[Ilya]

My point was that outside of the summer blockbusters, sound editors are unlikely to get the budget to do any sort of fancy spacial processing. Mono will be the same no matter how many channels you have available. Heck, more movies had surround info encoded 25 years ago than do now.

Hmm... What kind of movies are still being mastered in mono for Blu-ray? Just curious. The only mono Blu-ray titles I seem to have in my collection are some Criterion Collection reissues of old classics from half a century ago. Pretty much everything else seems to be mastered or re-mastered in 5.1 or 7.1. My expectation is that majority of the titles that will be released in Ultra HD Blu-ray format in the next couple of years will have DTS:X or Dolby Atmos tracks. Granted, many of them will be blockbusters.

 

[jayn_j]

Hmm... What kind of movies are still being mastered in mono for Blu-ray? Just curious. The only mono Blu-ray titles I seem to have in my collection are some Criterion Collection reissues of old classics from half a century ago. Pretty much everything else seems to be mastered or re-mastered in 5.1 or 7.1. My expectation is that majority of the titles that will be released in Ultra HD Blu-ray format in the next couple of years will have DTS:X or Dolby Atmos tracks. Granted, many of them will be blockbusters.

We may have to define some terms here. I wasn't referring to the encoding technique. I agree that the bulk of new movies are encoded in 5.1 these days. However, a separate issue is whether the engineer actually USES the channels available to him. I see so many light comedies or dramas where the only time the sound stage opens up is when the music comes on. It is actually jarring to me when it happens. One of the video magazines (Home Theater?) used to have reviews that included a small icon that showed usage of all the speakers. So many only had the center lit green with even the LR pair yellow at best. Perhaps it is the movies I choose to watch, but I am often disappointed that the system is mostly sitting idle.

 

[Ilya]

Well, that's true. Just because they have the tools doesn't mean that film makers and sound engineers will use them properly. Just like with the first stereo recordings when they would put one instrument in one ear and another instrument in the other!

But at least the tools are now available and hopefully there will be some interest and market pressure to use them properly (for the bragging rights, if nothing else).

DTS seems to be committed to a quick and easy transition to object-based audio. And the use of a license fee-free, open platform will go a long way!

 

[dfergie]

First Blu ray release announced, Ex Machina
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=16835

 

[Ilya]

Coming out on July 14. It didn't take too long!

 

[dfergie]

Now to get the receivers out...

 

[dfergie]

Denon Bringing Dolby Atmos, DTS:X To $479 A/V Receiver

Mahwah, N.J. – The $479-suggested price point will be Denon’s starting price for A/V receivers with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround decoding, the company announced. In revealing two new 7.2-channel AVRs in its opening-price S series, Denon said the $479 AVR-S710W and $579 AVR-S910W will be available in July.
The two new models in the series, positioned as offering high value and high performance, will ship out of the box with Dolby Atmos but will get a DTS:X firmware upgrade sometime in the fall. Both 7.2-channel models will support Atmos and DTS:X playback with 5.1.2 speaker configurations. They won’t accept an add-on two-channel amp to support 5.1.4 speaker systems.

twice.com

 

[dfergie]

More AVRs Arriving With Dolby Atmos, DTS:X
Denon, Pioneer, Yamaha unveil latest models

Denon: Two AVRs in its IN-Command step-up series are expected to be available in July at a suggested $599 and $799 for the AVR-X1200W and AVR-X2200.

Yamaha: Six new AVRs in the company’s step-up Aventage series of AVRs range from a suggested $549 to $2,199, with the $699 RX-A750 marking the starting price of Dolby Atmos. The $1,299, $1,699 and $2,199 models offer both Atmos and DTS:X. Five of the new models will be available in July, with the $2,199 RX-A3050 arriving in August..

Pioneer: The new $1,100 Elite series AVR is available with Dolby Atmos, but company literature does not state whether it is upgradable to DTS:X or whether it features HDMI 2.0a. It does support HDCP 2.2 copy protection.
None of Pioneer’s previously announced Atmos AVRs is upgradable to DTS:X . It’s not clear whether they can be upgraded to HDMI 2.0a

.twice.com

 

[dfergie]

Lionsgate Films plans to exhibit several films this year with the DTS:X surround format in select theaters, DTS announced. Some of the titles planned for a 2015 release include American Ultra and Sicario on Sept. 18 and Mockingjay: Part 2 on Nov. 13. The films will be exhibited in select DTS:X-equipped theaters in the U.S. The Muvico 14 in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is the first theater equipped with DTS:X sound.
The films have been and will be mixed using DTS’s MDA Creator Tool, the company’s license fee-free, platform for creation of object-based immersive audio.

twice.com