Surround EX Confused
Dear Gary: I’m a little confused as to the 6.1 Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ scheme for home theatre. I’ve heard some product descriptions for new receivers such as the Yamaha RX-V1 that are labeled as Matrix 6.1. What I’m wondering is if the program material (DVD) is a 5.1 mix, then will the “matrix” 6.1 extract a rear center channel and create a Dolby ProLogic® type rear center? If the program material is an actual 6.1 mix, does that mean it will find and recognize a discrete rear channel? Are there actual discrete rear channels in the mix yet? All the theatrical Surround EX presentations I’ve heard have been very underwhelming, in the sense that I didn’t feel any more depth of sound than I do in the best 5.1 theatrical setups.
Eric
Movie Sound Editor Perry Sun Comments:
Currently, there are no discrete 6.1-channel soundtracks in release. The original soundtrack masters are still 5.1 (six-track), with the back surround channel matrix-encoded onto the left-surround and right-surround channels. You are correct in that Dolby Digital Surround EX matrix-decodes the back surround channel in the same manner as the extraction of the center channel for Dolby ProLogic. You are not alone in finding Dolby Digital Surround EX presentations to be underwhelming. The effectiveness of the back surround in a cinema depends on several factors, including the number of speakers along the back wall for the proper acoustical output, and the geometry of the auditorium, which determines the extent of room coverage. Many theatres have been equipped for Dolby Digital Surround EX without carefully considering measures to optimize its performance. [As this is being written, a new DTS® Digital Surround ES™ discrete 6.1 remix of the soundtrack to DreamWorks’ The Haunting is being performed at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Ranch, and new receivers incorporating DTS discrete 6.1 circuitry (that is backward compatible with matrix-encoded 6.1 soundtracks) will be introduced later this year and at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. We are preparing a review of this new, exciting discrete 6.1 playback system to be published in an upcoming issue.—Editor
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