Surround Sound
The applications of surround sound have grown tremendously. It no longer encompasses just movies. Digital TV broadcasts and high-fidelity music, too, has evolved to take advantage of the dramatically intensified experience that multi-channel audio can provide. Both literally and figuratively, surround sound adds a vibrant, new dimension to home entertainment. There are so many noteworthy advantages you don’t want to overlook . . . so let GTS get you up to speed: Surround for movies For most surround systems, the primary objective is to replicate, as closely as possible, the traditional brick & mortar cinema experience within the comfort of your own home (minus the crying babies and rude patrons with cell phones, of course). The most common surround formats for movies are:
- 5.1-channel movie formats
- 6.1-channel “extended surround” formats
- 7.1-channel surround
HDTV surround sound – That’s right – HD isn’t just for your eyes – it’s also for your ears! The visual advantages of HDTV are so “easy to see,” that it’s easy to forget that HDTV offers even more improvement over our current TV viewing experience. HDTV can broadcast riveting 5.1-channel Dolby Digital surround sound. So now the news, your favorite prime-time shows, concerts and sporting events can benefit from the enhanced realism of Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Surround for music – Enough about movies – let us not forget that multichannel audio offers the promise of a greatly enhanced listening experience for music, as well. While there are music discs producing both the Dolby Digital and DTS technologies detailed in the section above, the most thrilling advances in multichannel music come courtesy of two high-resolution surround formats dedicated solely to musical applications:
1) Super Audio CD (SACD) or 2) DVD-Audio
Hybrid surround solutions – As enthusiasm for home theater has spread, more and more people are replacing their old 2-channel stereo systems with full multichannel systems. Hybrid surround solutions expand the usage options of multichannel systems to enhance the experience of stereo music, analog TV broadcasts and other 2-channel media.