|
|
This topic comprises 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
|
|
Author
|
Topic: ATMOS comes home...
|
Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
|
posted 09-18-2014 10:10 AM
quote: Jonathan Goeldner
Terry - I'm not sure why you think EX sound was a failure - quite a few of those mixes have been ported over bluray either denoted as such or not - some of the mixes have been remixed to 7.1 as well.
Terry likes making up his own facts, about DD•EX in this case, and trying to get others to believe them. His has his anti-Atmos/IMAX-D fanboy axe to grind and shitting on an older surround sound standard serves his agenda.
Dolby Digital EX wasn't well advertised on the theatrical end. If a movie used it the brand would sometimes, but not always, show up on the end credits or appear on the movie poster one sheet. Dolby didn't create any really good Dolby Digital EX specific sound format trailers for theaters to play, but this was also at a time when most theaters had already stopped using any of those sound format trailers anyway. More could have been done to let customers know about DD•EX in theaters, but that didn't happen.
The same is definitely not true for home theater. I don't buy Terry's bullshit that 99.9% of people weren't aware of it. Anyone who was into home theater at all during the early 2000's time frame knew full well about Dolby Surround EX as well as DTS-ES. The branding was all over the front panels of surround receivers. Some DVD packaging, like the DVD of Gladiator, had it big across the top of the box. It was one of the things that added to the raging Dolby Digital versus DTS debates that would go on and on online. DTS one upped Dolby with a 6.1 discrete format on DVD when Dolby Surround EX was limited to a matrixed 5.1 arrangement.
Surround EX was one of those things that started making people feel like the theatrical releases of movies were getting unfinished mixes in the theater and then getting further refined for home theater release. Plenty of movies were released in straight 5.1 theatrically only to get enhanced EX/ES releases on DVD.
Dolby EX and DTS-ES really only started to slide off in use on new releases as new formats like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio appeared on HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Catalog titles that had those mixes have had them ported in one way or another onto Blu-ray, either as EX/ES mixes or lossless versions made from the masters used to create those EX/ES mixes.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012
|
posted 09-20-2014 03:23 PM
Amazon Launches New Fire HDX Tablet with Dolby Atmos
The upcoming 8.9-inch tablet offers new features, faster performance, and the latest audio technology from Dolby.
Amazon has announced the release of the new Fire HDX 8.9 tablet. The upgraded device offers several improvements over its predecessor, including a faster processor and a new OS.
"The team has packed an incredible amount of technology and innovation into the new Fire HDX—an exclusive HDX display, a powerful quad-core processor, a 70% faster graphics engine, exceptional audio with Dolby Atmos, and the fastest Wi-Fi—and it’s still startlingly light," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. "Fire HDX combines best-in-class hardware with exclusive features and services from Fire OS 4 including Firefly, the Mayday button, Family Library, ASAP, and more."
The Fire HDX 8.9 features an 8.9-inch HDX display with a resolution of 2560x1600 and 339ppi. In addition, the screen now includes a Dynamic Light Control option which is geared toward making digital book pages look more like real paper under different lighting conditions. Under the hood, the tablet is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and an Adreno 420 GPU running the company's latest Fire OS 4 "Sangria." The updated OS also includes support for several new features like Firefly for printed text and QR code identification, and ASAP for automatic buffering of your favorite media. An 8MP rear camera and a 720p front camera are included as well. Finally, the HDX 8.9 is the first tablet to integrate Dolby Atmos mobile tech, which promises multidimensional sound from above and around with any headphones, clear dialogue, volume maximizing without distortion, and a volume consistency option. For more details on Dolby's Atmos tech for tablets, click here.
Amazon's Fire HDX 8.9 is now available for pre-order at $379. The tab
web page
I think I said a while ago that Atmos would eventually make it to tablets and headphones. Forget going to a movie theater, now people can have Atmos on the go, on the bus, at the park, on the subway etc.
Dolby Atmos: The Tablet Experience ![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
|
posted 09-24-2014 12:38 PM
quote: Scott Jentsch
I think the bigger problem is that theaters don't want to shell out the money it costs to equip an auditorium with a decent Atmos setup.
quote: Mike Blakesley
You frequently accuse movie theaters of "not wanting to shell out the money." It's not a question of wanting -- it's a question of the shelling out making business sense.
Even though my frustration with the recurring theme that I hear from theaters that they will not invest in things that improve the presentation of their movies causes me to rail against said theaters, my comment above was actually not directed at theaters, but at the issue being a challenge that Dolby has in front of them to make Atmos successful, not just in theaters, but overall.
On top of the obvious costs of equipping a theater with more speakers (speakers, amps, wiring), it sounds as though the CP-850 is ridiculously expensive compared to its non-Atmos predecessor. This isn't rare in any industry, as a new product is introduced at a high price because it's new (and early adopters are often willing to pay more) and because the company is trying to recoup some of its development costs.
That said, I understand that movie theaters are crunched financially and they have to be careful about where they make their investments for the greatest returns. However, the rollout of Atmos in the home is not a surprising one, and theaters that don't have it are at risk of looking like they are behind the times in keeping current with things that enhance the moviegoing experience.
If a person can enjoy Atmos at home, but not at the theater, why would they go to the theater? It's not that simple, but it is a salient point, and one that can be applied to many other aspects of what entertains a person and the choice they make when they want to be entertained. Add up all of those factors, and the theater better hope they come out on the right side of the decision.
If not, the decision not to invest the money wisely has just lost them business. Is it cheaper to have saved the money and lost the business, or invest the money and earn the business? Every theater must choose what's best for their situation.
quote: Frank B. McLaughlin
Unless you are running a first-class facility, providing the absolute best presentation, treating your customers as guests, and at at a reasonable cost to value for that guest you will not be at the top of the list when it comes to the how and when of movie viewing choice.
As you figure out how to charge more for the popcorn, use smaller bulbs to save money, let kids run your theaters you will continue to drive your potential customers to other means to enjoy a movie.
Well stated! You did a much better job of getting to the point that I try to make often, but fail to do in such a succint manner.
quote:
How many [Atmos-equipped] theaters within a multiplex do you really want?
How many are charging full-price admission?
quote: Bobby Henderson
Unfortunately, I believe customers are going through a bit of price fatigue.
I would agree, but with the conditional that they are fatigued by high prices without a high enough return, thereby creating a diminished value for their money. People are willing to pay large amounts of money to be entertained, but the value has to be there. I think theaters are seeing that moviegoers are not getting enough value, both in the quality of movies, and in the moviegoing experience.
quote: Lyle Romer
I still say that due to the expense of the system, Dolby's best bet would be for a Real-D style plan. Dolby would finance the installation and then charge a premium per ticket for every Atmos movie. The auditoriums that are part of the plan would need to have a minimum average attendance to qualify but they could probably make it work for $1 per ticket if they secure financing over 5 years. Thereafter, the $1 will be profit to Dolby less maintenance expenses.
I really like this idea, and if the numbers were to work out, it would be a great way to get more Atmos installations done in a cooperative partnership with theaters. Getting more awareness and positive impressions of Atmos would benefit Dolby in both markets.
Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank would want $1 until his money is returned, and then 75 cents in perpetuity...
If the above approach were taken independent of Dolby being involved, would it work out? Can a theater justify the investment required by adding a $1 surcharge for 5 years?
Anyway, back to Atmos Home:
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Atmos is going to be available in a home theater in a box super cheapo edition.
Yes, I am aware that there will be HTIB systems that will feature Dolby Atmos. Cheap alternatives to better products have always been available to non-discriminating people. My point was that any hint of a format war is going to keep the non-early adopters from buying equipment. I consider myself much more of an early adopter of such things than anyone else I know, and I won't be buying into Atmos/Auro/DTS-UHD until more receivers are available, more first-hand experiences are reported, more titles are released (sorry, Transformers 4 isn't a movie I would watch for free, much less pay for the title on disc, and certainly not make a huge investment in a receiver and speakers for), and until the Auro3D/DTS-UHD situation is clearer.
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
I have very little hope for Atmos lite at home, the bounce speakers are lame
So, you've heard them, then? If not, how can you make an accurate assessment that is not just an assumption? I admit to thinking that there is no way that the "Atmos Enabled" speakers would be acceptable, but some first-hand reports have been very positive when they were installed per Dolby's guidelines for placement.
This is all very new stuff. That's evident by the fact that very few receivers are capable of decoding Atmos, and the first title on Blu-ray hasn't even been released in the marketplace yet. In the next month or so, more receivers will be available, and hopefully, more titles will be released/announced.
While the initial experiences of people that are using Dolby Surround (which is Dolby's replacement for ProLogic IIx/IIz) with existing content are coming in, it's difficult to know if those impressions are influenced by the novelty of having those height channels lit up, so actual Atmos titles are going to be needed and soon for Atmos in the home to make a real splash.
There is a gigantic thread on AVS Forums about Atmos for the home. It's up to nearly 9,000 posts, including first-hand reports from the Dolby-held presentations in NY, LA, and London, as well as CEDIA room demos. In particular, check out the post by kbarnes701 about his impressions of the London presentation. Post #1128 a little down the page contains references to the movies that were demoed that kbarnes701 was later asked to redact in his post.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic