Dolby Atmos for Home Theatre?

[Santy]

Looks like it might take another decade of technology and marketing to convince consumers to upgrade from 7.1.

The Dolby Atmos Home Theater Paradox | Audioholics

And here's a digest on the rivaling technology from DTS that is mentioned in the above article:

DTS MDA

 

[sdurani]

Looks like it might take another decade of technology and marketing to convince consumers to upgrade from 7.1.

Consumers don't have to upgrade from 7.1 (you can do a simple Atmos layout of 5.1 speakers with 2 heights). Besides, Atmos is compatible with everything from the most elaborate speaker layouts to a simple soundbar. It goes beyond channels by including object-based audio. So it can adapt to any speaker layout, small or big.

 

[Santy]

Consumers don't have to upgrade from 7.1 (you can do a simple Atmos layout of 5.1 speakers with 2 heights). Besides, Atmos is compatible with everything from the most elaborate speaker layouts to a simple soundbar. It goes beyond channels by including object-based audio. So it can adapt to any speaker layout, small or big.

Front heights were existing before Atmos came I suppose (Dolby Prologic IIz).

So, I am keen to know if this setup of 7.1 speakers give same experience as that in Atmos theatre?

 

[sdurani]

I am keen to know if this setup of 7.1 speakers give same experience as that in Atmos theatre?

It won't. Consumers can't have it both ways.

If they're going to lament using more than 7 speakers, then don't expect the same experience as a commercial Atmos theatre.

If they want to approach the experience of a commercial Atmos theatre, then no complaining about using more than 7 speakers.

Pick one or the other.

 

[Santy]

It won't. Consumers can't have it both ways.

If they're going to lament using more than 7 speakers, then don't expect the same experience as a commercial Atmos theatre.

If they want to approach the experience of a commercial Atmos theatre, then no complaining about using more than 7 speakers.

Pick one or the other.

I guess that is what the article is trying to convey. Achieving similar effect in a typical home may not be feasible.

Imagine if Dolby has to give the same statement.
" You'd need lot of speakers, a high end AVR and all those stuff. It will cost you lot of money and effort. Buy it or forget it."

A business cannot state so if they are serious about selling their technology. They have to convince the users and create a market for it.

While one can enjoy DTS / Dolby experience at home equally if not better than that in theatre; the same does not seem to be applicable for Atmos. The question arises, what will be the recommended no. of speakers to enjoy the same effect? And then comes other practical difficulties as mentioned in the article.

Ofcourse, its too early to predict. It may become mainstream one day. Or the concept might die as quickly as it was conceived. But looking at the challenges, the future seems to be bleak for Atmos at home.

 

[elangoas]

Front heights were existing before Atmos came I suppose (Dolby Prologic IIz).

Dolby Prologic IIz is not discrete...They simulate from the existing 5/6.1 to create height effects...

But Atmos offers more than 64 discrete channel... But for home might be an overkill...

7.1 has not yet become mainstream in Blu Ray Disks.... Anything more for Video & Audio will take more space...

Probably 9/11 discrete channels is the best for home....

 

[sdurani]

The question arises, what will be the recommended no. of speakers to enjoy the same effect?

You're starting from the premise that the new 3D audio formats are going to promise the consumer will "enjoy the same effect" as a commercial theatre using a fraction of the speakers. But that's not how it will be marketed.

Instead, they'll promote the improvements compared what you currently have at home. The comparison will be to current 2D home systems, not to a 48-speaker commercial theatre.

As for number of speakers: all 3 immersive formats (Atmos, Auro, UHD) seem to be standardizing on 4 height speakers. The base layer can be 5.1 or 7.1 speakers (whatever you currently have). Of course, these formats will work with fewer or more speakers.

But looking at the challenges, the future seems to be bleak for Atmos at home.

Object-based audio is coming. It's been on video games for a decade, now it is on movie soundtracks. That's the important difference with Atmos, not the number of speakers.

 

[sdurani]

Dolby Prologic IIz is not discrete...They simulate from the existing 5/6.1 to create height effects...

Dolby will have to bundle some sort of surround processing with the consumer version of Atmos. People putting in height speakers will want to play back legacy sources using all the speakers, so some sort of processing will need to scale non-Atmos 5.1 and 7.1 soundtracks to the new speaker layout.

Probably 9/11 discrete channels is the best for home....

That's what we'll see initially: 4 heights above a 5.1 or 7.1 layout.