Dolby Introduces 7.1-Channel Format To Theatres With "Toy Story 3"

June 5, 2010

Dolby Laboratories will introduce a new surround sound theatrical audio format, Dolby Surround 7.1, with the release of “Toy Story 3” on June 18. In a presentation at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' Linwood Dunn Theater on Thursday afternoon, June 3, representatives from Dolby, Pixar and Disney demonstrated the new format, which is patterned after one of the Dolby 7.1-channel formats introduced for Blu-ray Disc. “Digital cinema had raised the bar when it comes to images,” said Dolby’s Technical Marketing Manager, Stuart Bowling. “We wanted to look again at audio to see what we can do differently, and how we can immerse the viewer more in the experience.” “Toy Story 3,” said Paul Cichocki, the Pixar Post-Production Supervisor on the film, was designed from the start to take advantage of the new format. Introducing the 7.1-channel format to theatres will allow audiences to experience the soundtrack as presented on Blu-ray Disc. For theatres that are currently wired for Dolby Digital Surround EX, as are many theatres equipped to exhibit 3D, the transition to one of the 7.1-channel Blu-ray Disc formats recommended by Dolby for home theatre is a simple one that can be accomplished with a simple, low cost upgrade audio cable, said Bowling. Theatres not wired for Surround EX will need an additional amplifier and cables. Theatres that are not equipped with the latest cinema processors will also need to purchase appropriate Dolby cinema processors. Dolby said that currently, about 250 theaters in the United States are equipped for 7.1, with around the same number outside the country. “When we started Dolby Digital with ‘Batman Returns’ in 1992, we were in 10 theatres,” said David Gray, Dolby’s Vice President of Worldwide Production Services. “Dolby Digital Cinema started with 84 theatres. This rollout is going way better, way faster and way bigger than any previous rollout we’ve done.” Dolby 3D was launched with "Beowulf" on 75 screens in 2007. As with Blu-ray Disc 7.1-channel mixing, on the production side the new format can be more expensive. Gary Weaver, Senior Vice President of Administration at Disney, said it takes an additional half-day on the mixing stage to prepare a 7.1 mix – but that’s a half-day for each language in which a film will be released. In the case of “Toy Story 3,” which is initially being released in 12 different languages, the 7.1 mix adds six days to the production schedule. "Toy Story 3" will be the first film to be originally created using the 7.1-channel format. The Dolby 7.1-channel format has been used in Blu-Ray content in the past, but those soundtracks were not originally created as theatrical first-run using the format. Dolby Surround 7.1 will certainly deliver a premium listening experience, enveloping audience members with improved depth and realism that immerses them in the action. The format establishes four distinct surround zones within the theatre, extends the creative palette for sound designers, makes movies more engaging by adding a new dimension of audio, and is easy to implement in theatres equipped with a Dolby CP650 or CP750 cinema processors. Dolby Surround 7.1 uses eight discrete audio channels to improve panning and sound localization, enhance definition, and widen the listening sweet spot (which in the threatrical setting really doesn't exist for the majority of seats). The format also incorporates two additional channels for hearing-impaired and visually-impaired narrative audio content. Easy to implement with standard Dolby equipment, Dolby Surround 7.1 expands the creative palette of sound design, providing filmmakers with more control over the exact placement of sounds within the theatre environment. The result: new opportunities for mixers and sound designers to create audio that takes the cinema experience to a new level. The Dolby 7.1 format uses eight separate audio channels: left, center and right channels whose loudspeakers are situated behind the screen, a “low-frequency effects” (.1 LFE) channel typically located behind the screen and low, “left surround” and “right surround” channels that can be heard on the sides of the theatre (sidewall loudspeaker arrays), and rear “back surround left” and “back surround right” channels. Unfortunately, in home theatres, the "left surround" and "right surround" channels are ideally positioned to the rear sides of the primary listening area with "back surround" or EX positioned to the center back. The optimum 7.1-channel surround format for home theatres is to position the "two added" channel loudspeakers to the sides, not to the back of the listening area. This has been an on-going conflict with the theatrical requirement for sidewall loudspeaker arrays and in-home surround loudspeakers positioned toward the rear sides of the primary listening area, except for the THX dipole recommendation that scatters "fuzzy-wuzzy" surround signals out of phase along the upper sidewalls. The THX recommendation is not an optimum format for a true holosonic enveloping surround experience with the capability for pin-point sonic localization and/or diffusion. While with Dolby Surround 7.1, audiences will enjoy a distinctive new cinema experience, we'll have to see how this actually translates to the home theatre experience delivered by Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Blu-ray Disc formats. Right now, it appears that the theatrical channel allocation will compromise the home theatre potential without electronic provision for channel/loudspeaker assignments.

Read More: