DolbyÆ Digital Surround EX Successfully Launched
DolbyÆ Digital Surround EX, the latest enhancement in theatrical sound, has become, according to Dolby Laboratories the most quickly adopted product in cinema sound history The announcement was made on March 4, just prior to the 1999 ShoWest convention in Las Vegas, March 9-11. Dolby Digital Surround EX, co-owned and jointly developed by Dolby Laboratories and Lucasfilm THXÆ, adds a third surround channel to digital film sound (for a 6.1-channel system), a concept that is claimed to be ""first envisioned"" by sound designers at Lucasfilmís Skywalker Sound post-production facility. The technology debuts May 21 with the release of George Lucasí Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. [Actually, the ""first envisioned"" and applied use of a third surround channel was in 1939 with Walt Disneyís Fantasia. The concept has been practiced in other cinema technologies as well, including CineramaÆ using PerspectaÆ steering technology, and in home theatre system setups since 1981 using Jim Fosgate-designed matrix decoding to derive an in-phase signal from split surround matrixed decoded de-correlated signals.] Dolby is reporting that orders for the Dolby Model SA10 Surround Adapter used to extract the third channel Surround EX, which was first announced in October 1998, have now surpassed 2,500 units in North America. International orders are expected to reach an additional 2,500 units. In addition to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Dreamworksí The Haunting Of Hill House and Minority Report, and Buena Vistaís Toy Story 2 are among the other titles which will be released in Dolby Digital-Surround EX. At ShoWest two other compatible Surround EX (6.1) technologies were introduced: the DTS-ES Extended Surround Adapter, based on Digital Theater Systemsí proprietary DSP technology and the SMART CS-EX Circle Surround-EX Digital Mid-Surround Adapter, based on the Circle SurroundÆ decoding process. Pricing on the DTS-ES unit is $1,875, while the SMART CS-EX is priced at $895. The Dolby SA-10 is prices at $2,500. Dolby President Bill Jasper, in a related announcement, now claims that ""Dolby has solidified its position as the global leader in cinema sound quality for the last 25 years. Our grand total of over 20,000 Dolby Digital screens includes more screens than any other sound system in the United States and Canada, as well as almost every other country around the world."" The ""grand total"" includes orders in addition to actual installations. DTS, Dolbyís competitor for the global lead position, claims over 16,000 DTS Digital Sound screens, but all are actual installations. Widescreen Review will present an in-depth and comprehensive look into Surround EX and its implications for home theatre in Issue 32, May/June 1999.