Cinema sound becomes a competitive environment again
Cinema sound is back on the agenda, as five manufacturers launch systems intended to align sound with the improvements in image quality brought about by digital cinema. Three of the systems are moving away from channel-based sound systems (5.1, 7.1 and so on) and into so-called immersive sound, effectively object-based sound tracks that can be mixed more flexibly. The front-runner because of its brand recognition and long experience is Dolby Laboratories, which is developing the Dolby Atmos system for a product launch in Q1 2013. The other four actors are Immsound, Iosono, Auro 11.1 (backed by Barco) and Illusonic 3D, all of which have systems in the market. Costs are currently unclear, although figures of $25-30,000 have been mooted for Dolby's system (in a medium-sized theatre) and upwards for others which may use more speakers.
Hollywood and Highland, home of the Academy Awards, is being rebranded Dolby Theatre and will be equipped with Dolby Atmos, underlining the company's film industry credentials. System is designed to carry up to 128 simultaneous and lossless audio channels together with the data capturing creative intent on a backwards-compatible DCP and renders on playback up to 64 discrete speaker feeds, including vertical sound, to match the original creative intent in a range of room shapes and sizes. In addition, Atmos can be built onto an existing Dolby sound system, and the company expects to have up to 1,000 units sold by summer 2013 although it is currently choosing 10-15 sites for a test phase over this summer.
Immsound is a Spanish company, which has 30 installed units of its 3D sound systems in the market in four continents. ...
Iosono is a German company, its technology based on Wave Field Synthesis in which it has several patents. Iosono has a test cinema at Grauman's Chinese in Los Angeles (one auditorium with the full 380 speakers and a second with a stripped back 64 speakers), one of around 30 installed units in place including US, Korea, China and Romania. The system can also support other formats, regardless of how many speakers are in place in the end auditorium.
Auro 11.1 is a channel-based 11.1 system, developed by Barco and Auro and installed in Doremi integrated media block (IMB). The system is compatible with both stereo and 5.1 surround. The speaker layout is defined for up to 13.1, ...
Illusonic 3D is a very new entrant, only showing at Cinemacon for first time, and being distributed by Digital Media Solutions. The French company's proposal can adapt to loudspeaker set-ups from 7.1 to 3D 65.2.
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