The development of Dolby Atmos® for home theater is a momentous change for home entertainment, a panel of experts from the worlds of Hollywood content production and home theater manufacturing agreed at the opening of CEDIA Expo in Denver, Colorado, this week.
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Greg P. Russell[/caption]
“This is an exciting time for sound and cinema,” said Greg P. Russell, the rerecording mixer for Transformers: Age of Extinction, the first movie that will be released for home playback in Dolby Atmos.
Dolby Atmos first debuted in the cinema in 2012 with the feature Brave. Since then, it’s been used in more than 150 cinema releases. Directors and sound mixers love the format because it lets them precisely place and move sounds anywhere around the audience, even overhead. Manufacturers announced the first Dolby Atmos home theater equipment in June, and the Transformers: Age of Extinction Blu-ray Disc™ will go on sale September 30.
When Andrew Jones, Director of Speaker Engineering for Pioneer Electronics and TAD Labs, first heard Dolby Atmos for home theater, he said, “I thought it was a Transformer-ing experience.”
“Once I heard it,” said the renowned designer of speakers, “I knew I had to design for it.”
Russell and Jones were part of a panel of sound experts who discussed Dolby Atmos during the opening of CEDIA Expo, the leading gathering for professionals in the home entertainment and home technology industry.
Switching on the magic
Jones noted that some people have had questions about Dolby Atmos enabled speakers, the new technology that produces overhead sound from speakers that sit at ear level and reflect sound off the ceiling. “The physics does work, and the listening experience proves it does work,” Jones said. With a Dolby Atmos system, “it’s like you’ve switched on the magic switch, and the sound envelops you.”
While the Dolby Atmos sound is revolutionary, it doesn’t require entertainment enthusiasts to tear apart their current system, panelists said.
Dolby Atmos uses the current Blu-ray™ and HDMI® specifications, so there’s no need to replace your current Blu-ray player or change your cables. And, in most cases, you can continue to use your current speakers, said Brett Crockett, Senior Director of Sound Technology Research for Dolby.
For instance, someone with a traditional 5.1 system could upgrade to Dolby Atmos by getting an A/V receiver that supports the format and adding two Dolby Atmos enabled add-on speaker modules. These modules sit on top of or near your traditional front speakers and project sound up toward the ceiling, where it reflects down toward the listener. “With a very modest investment, you can get your foot in the water,” Crockett said.
A resilient system
“You can start off small, and you can grow,” said Paul Wasek, Marketing and Product Planning Manager for Onkyo, owner of the Integra brand. As you add more speakers (Dolby recommends four overhead speakers), you don’t need to buy new versions of your movies, Wasek pointed out. A Blu-ray Disc with Dolby Atmos format can support anything from a system with five speakers on the floor and two overhead to a system with 24 speakers on the floor and 10 overhead.
While Dolby has published guidelines for Dolby Atmos speaker installation and placement, the system itself is flexible if your home theater room doesn’t accommodate the perfect arrangement.
Some people worry that “the home theater gods will come to your home and take away your system if you don’t follow all the rules,” said Jeff Cowan, Vice President for Training at D+M Group (Denon and Marantz). In reality, “the technology is pretty forgiving.”
“This format is begging you to try and make it not work,” Crockett agreed. “It’s pretty resilient.”
Astonishing detail
Russell said he was initially worried about how the Transformers soundtrack would transition from the cinema to the home theater. But when he created the home theater mix, “I was really, really surprised,” he said. “The clarity and definition of that detail is really superior. It really is astonishing.”
He described one scene that took great advantage of the overhead sound in Dolby Atmos. One particular piece of music had a very choral sound, and Russell had that music play from the overhead speakers. “It was very angelic. It was like it was coming from the heavens.”
“How great is it for people at home to be able to experience the vision of a filmmaker?” Russell said. But he added a playful warning: for a big action movie like Transformers: Age of Extinction, “beware of lighting fixtures,” he said with a laugh. “We’re moving a lot of air with all these sounds. Anything loose is going to rattle.”
But even content that isn’t mixed in Dolby Atmos will sound better on a Dolby Atmos system. Dolby has developed a new upmixer for the system, Crockett said. The upmixer takes advantage of all your Dolby Atmos speakers, including the overhead speakers, even when you’re playing traditional, channel-based content.
“A shower of sound”
The transformation is very natural, Crockett said. With Dolby Atmos, “I’m in the sound. It’s a shower of sound,” he said. “It’s going to make all of your content—I mean all of your content—take advantage of your speakers.”
Some people ask, “‘What’s there to play on this new stuff?’” Cowan said. Thanks to the upmixer, “it turns out, just about everything. … It’s a way to make everybody’s home theater experience more immersive.”
Joel Sietsema, Director of Brand Management for Definitive Technology, urged entertainment enthusiasts to hear a demonstration of Dolby Atmos. “This is something you definitely need to experience, and in short order.”
Magnolia Home Theater and Design Centers, Best Buy Canada, h.h. gregg, and many other retailers plan to offer Dolby Atmos demonstrations in select locations.
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