3 Minute read by Luke
For home cinema there have been many developments in the last 15 years. Prior to 2005 we didn’t have High Definition (HD) at home and were in a fuzzy world of Standard Definition (SD). You couldn’t make out the newscasters skin blemishes. See the individual grass blades flick up during football slow mo replay.
Now, we have 4k. Even more definition. Even more blemishes. Now you can see the dew on the the blade of grass. However, I would argue this step forward is minor compared to sound. Stick with me here and let me see if I can convince you.
The TV and cinema is and always will be portraying movement via a flat image. It may be Virtual Reality (VR) changes this which works well for gaming but TV and film makers are not yet seriously considering this area. How do you film a VR experience? How do install the infrastructure to have a whole cinema full? Is it worth the investment? If VR won’t be installed, how do you provide the audience that immersive experience with a flat screen?
James Cameron’s 3D Avatar got people excited for a while. The experience was amazing but sadly, the movie world didn’t take to it. 3D TVs are on the decline and no longer in favour.
If 3D is dead – How do you provide an audience an immersive experience with a flat screen? Simple. Sound. Trick the viewer into getting a sense of movement from the sound travelling with the image. A car rushing into shot from the right can be enhanced through sound. The engine revving up in the right speaker transitioning across the screen with the image. Finally leaving the left with only that speaker having an engine noise fade giving the impression of the car disappearing.
Next step. Speakers behind and around the viewer. Now you can manipulate the sound around the viewer. The limit. Height. That is where Dolby Atmos comes in. Speakers on the same horizontal plain as the viewer will not give height to the sound. A helicopter hovering overhead. The patter of rain on the metal roof. The swishing trees. None of these can be portrayed above the viewer with only surround sound. What if you could put a sound source above the viewer? This is the basic premise of Dolby Atmos.
Many cinemas now have speakers fitted into the ceiling. It allows film and sound producers to develop a sound track which provides height. Any new high budget action film will definitely use this technology. Now…a helicopter hovering overhead coming into shot at the top of the screen can actual produce sound from above. Hurrah, what a world we live in!
What equipment do you need for Dolby Atmos at home? Do you need a Dolby Atmos AV receiver?
Let us assume you have a TV (well who hasn’t these days?). Your TV will come as standard with a left and right speaker. This just wont do. You need more speakers. That is the first challenge. In order to provide height in your sound for Dolby Atmos, you need the sound to come from above you.
FIRST – Speakers that can produce sound with height. This can be achieved in four main ways. Install speakers into the ceiling facing down. Not the easiest of feats as each speaker will mean drilling a big hole into the ceiling to install the speaker. In addition, you will need to hide speaker cables somewhere in the ceiling cavity but if done well hidden in a nice lounge.
If this isn’t an option (which for many it isn’t) then you can SECOND option – have standard speakers fixed above the viewer. Just think of a standard speaker with a bracket to hold it above the viewer. You still may have issues with trailing wires but at least you don’t have to open up big holes in your ceiling. You may however want something a little more discrete.
THIRD option – A dedicated Atmos speaker that reflects the sound from your ceiling. Okay. Bear with me. Sound waves bounce off solid objects which can portray the sound is coming from elsewhere. Think of a time when you can hear a low flying helicopter in a built up area. You would have difficulty pin pointing its location. The sound is bouncing off local buildings and disorientating you. Now imagine you focus sound from a speaker onto a solid surface to bounce off. It would trick your brain that the sound came from that point in bounced off, not the origin (the speaker). This is how a dedicated Atmos speaker works.
It sits at floor level and concentrates the sound onto the ceiling. The sound reflects on the ceiling and acts as though it comes from above. The advantage is these can be discrete and fairly cost effective. See the Onkyo options below.
FOURTH option – Single soundbar with ability to send sound vertically and horizontal. It is the simplest option, and unlike the other options doesn’t need a dedicated amplifier to drive the seperate speakers. One HDMI in and out. What’s the catch? The biggest catch is that it will never be able to replicate sound coming from a dedicated speaker source. Think, why don’t cinema’s use this technology rather than a large vast array of single speakers? In addition, if you’re lounge area is like mine…..soft furnishings. This will kill the bluetooth speaker’s ability to bounce the sound fully around the room and replicate that surround sound experience. BUT….it is the most cost effective.
Now you have an amp (AV Receiver) and speakers, or a dedicated bluetooth atmos soundbar…you are ready to open your ears to Dolby Atmos. Next you need some means to play content. Go to our other sites to see
Dolby Atmos Movies 