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Author
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Topic: Auro 11.1 - Its Rollout & Marketing
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 03-15-2014 10:23 AM
Jonathan, do you know for sure you saw the movie in that theater's Auro-equipped auditorium?
I haven't visited an Auro-equipped theater (yet), but the images and illustrations I've seen of Auro 11.1 sound systems show two levels of speakers on the side & back walls. One layer of speakers is in the normal position while another "height" layer runs parallel to those speakers, but much closer to the ceiling. And then the sound system is supposed to have some speakers in the ceiling. I don't know if theater operators can play around with the speaker layout in an Auro 11.1 setup, such as cutting corners on how many extra speakers (if any) are installed.
It should be obvious to anyone if a theater's sound system has been wired for Auro or Atmos based on the number of surround speakers and where they are positioned. That is as long as the theaters are installing these sound systems as Auro and Dolby intended. In the case of Atmos, Dolby may still be doing all the installations.
Of course, it's only one thing to have the hardware installed either for Auro 11.1 or Dolby Atmos. Those sound systems cannot show off their full potential without a movie mix that actually takes advantage of those specific formats.
I thought Thor: The Dark World was mostly a Dolby Atmos mix in name only, while Gravity used Dolby Atmos much more to its full potential.
Perhaps Mr. Peabody & Sherman didn't do very much at all with the Dolby Atmos and Auro 11.1 formats. If that's the case it would be kind of surprising since animated movies arguably have to do more work with sound since many of the sound effects have to be created from scratch and/or manipulated to varying degrees to fit the scene. Animated movies have to start the sound design process much earlier in a production than live action movies. The dialog gets recorded before the characters are animated. That would seem to give an animated movie production more time to experiment with surround effects.
Either way, the Auro 11.1 format is in pretty deep trouble as far as I can tell. So far this year only two movies have been released with Auro 11.1 tracks: I: Frankenstein and Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Very few theaters have played those two movies in the Auro 11.1 sound format. Of the few Auro 11.1 theaters that could have played those two movies in Auro 11.1, most of them booted those two movies into non-premium houses in order to play Ride Along and 300: Rise of an Empire instead.
I don't know how often Auro updates its Auro 11.1 theater installations map. I haven't seen any changes to it over the last couple or so months. I don't see more Auro 11.1 installations popping up at Cinemark sites. I don't see any of the 20 installations Regal intended to deploy.
Dolby is making more progress with Atmos. Installations are slow but steady. Atmos certainly has far more in the way of movie titles than Auro. Only 3 movies with Atmos mixes have been released in North American theaters so far this year, but more movies than that have been released internationally. Noah and Captain America: The Winter Soldier will both be released soon. The Amazing Spiderman 2 will be the next release to support Auro, but that isn't until May.
With the way things are going for Auro, particularly with the lack of Auro 11.1 movies, I'm wondering if Regal and Cinemark are re-thinking their intentions with Auro. Carmike seemed to be leaning toward supporting Auro, but I don't think they've done anything with Auro or Atmos after putting 1 of each system in 2 of their BigD houses.
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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012
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posted 03-15-2014 12:43 PM
quote: Bobby Henderson
Dolby is making more progress with Atmos. Installations are slow but steady. Atmos certainly has far more in the way of movie titles than Auro. Only 3 movies with Atmos mixes have been released in North American theaters so far this year, but more movies than that have been released internationally.
Dolby is making very little progress at making a difference in the top tier premium large format (PLF) segment. I would say that Dolby is almost making no difference at the box office for theatres owners. Cineplex ditched 300 in Atmos at most Atmos equipped locations in my area, 300 opened in all Amtos equipped locations for opening day and in week two, it is now showing in Atmos in just three locations. That is not good for the Dolby fan boys as they have a very limited chance at seeing a movie in Atmos and it tells me that Cineplex is losing confidence in the audience drawing power of Atmos.
Cineplex charges a premium for Atmos, they have rolled the extra charge into the AVX price, either customers are not seeing the value of paying extra for Atmos or they just don't care. I think it is a bit of both as Cineplex is ditching Atmos movies after just one week.
I wonder if using Atmos for the non-AVX auditoriums which are smaller might be the solution, these smaller auditoriums usually are move-over auditoriums so perhaps opening an Atmos movie in the move-over auditorium might keep the option of seeing a movie in Atmos open a little longer.
I know Dolby asked the question "Would you pay extra for Atmos?" on their iwantdolbyatmos.com website survey, I think the answer is a no, just like Auro 11.1 that would put Atmos in pretty deep trouble.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 03-15-2014 02:23 PM
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Dolby is making very little progress at making a difference in the top tier premium large format (PLF) segment. I would say that Dolby is almost making no difference at the box office for theatres owners.
Let's underscore that you would say part of it. Everybody is fully aware of your IMAX fanboy stance, which pretty much makes all the pissy things you keep saying about Dolby Atmos very easy to reject.
IMAX has nothing in terms of next generation sound. All they have is plain 5.1 audio. Or is it really only 5.0 audio? IMAX' sound system cabinets are designed more like the sound cabinets you see in basketball stadiums. They have high output, but put out muddy, harsh sound quality. IMAX puts only two of those things in the rear corners of the room. That's their idea of surround sound. Kind of like a two speaker surround installation in a home living room.
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
Cineplex ditched 300 in Atmos at most Atmos equipped locations in my area, 300 opened in all Amtos equipped locations for opening day and in week two, it is now showing in Atmos in just three locations. That is not good for the Dolby fan boys as they have a very limited chance at seeing a movie in Atmos and it tells me that Cineplex is losing confidence in the audience drawing power of Atmos.
That's not a fault of Dolby Atmos. It all comes down to the theater's choice on what they're going to run in their house-brand premium priced auditoriums. They tend to cycle titles out on a weekly basis. Need For Speed opened Friday and took over a lot of the house-brand premium priced screens that were playing 300. This issue is no different than the early days of digital sound in the 1990s where only a select few theaters had only one 5.1 equipped house. This problem will be reduced as more theaters are equipped with Atmos.
Certain movies run in IMAX-branded auditoriums longer, but that's only due to deals made between movie studios, IMAX and theater operators. When a certain IMAX-promoted release turns out to be a turd, such as I: Frankenstein, it may get pulled out of IMAX-branded houses after only a week and then replaced with something older -like Gravity. Those hold-over deals, keeping certain movies on the high priced big screen longer can sour exhibitors on the whole IMAX-branding program. When I saw the first Hobbit movie on the Warren Moore's IMAX-branded screen it had already been playing for a couple weeks. A lot more of that theater's seats were empty than full. At the same time, just about all other house-branded premium screens had moved the same Hobbit movie to other houses.
quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens
I know Dolby asked the question "Would you pay extra for Atmos?" on their iwantdolbyatmos.com website survey, I think the answer is a no, just like Auro 11.1 that would put Atmos in pretty deep trouble.
Atmos isn't in any trouble. Dolby has very little competition in terms of next generation sound formats. Auro can't match Atmos in terms of screen installation numbers and movie titles. IMAX is a no-show in terms of next generation sound. IMAX can't even do 7.1 surround, which is available in thousands of standard priced auditoriums.
quote: Harold Hallikainen
USL will be demonstrating this at Cinemacon. I know Dolby and QSC will also be demonstrating, but do not have the details.
It will be interesting to see what happens with DTS' object based MDA format and how various manufacturers implement it. They are late to the game though. With Dolby Atmos nearly 2 years old I have a feeling Dolby could release a 2nd generation Atmos processor with a significantly lower price sometime soon. The same process took place with Dolby Digital between the release of the DA-10 and DA-20 processors. If anything, the threat posed by DTS' MDA format could light a fire under Dolby to make further innovations with Atmos.
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Terry Lynn-Stevens
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1081
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Dec 2012
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posted 03-15-2014 03:10 PM
quote: Bobby Henderson
which pretty much makes all the pissy things you keep saying about Dolby Atmos very easy to reject.
Bobby, I think I hit a nerve with you, maybe BOBBY: Is Believing
quote: Gordon McLeod
Terry often booking requirements will force a film out of a larger specific screen just to accomodate the next new release
Gord, not always, but that is part of the problem. Atmos if successful, "in theory" should draw out of the close area enough patrons for at least a 1-2 week run in Atmos. Movies such as Peabody and Walter Mitty received no exposure in the Canadian market for Dolby Atmos and 300/I Frankenstein received two weeks total. We are already about to hit the second quarter of 2014 and Cineplex has played Atmos movies for a total of two weeks in Atmos. The drawing power of Atmos just does not seem to be there. An Atmos theater should draw more box office revenue than a non-Atmos theater.
If I were a theater owner, after installing such an expensive sound system, I would be very concerned right about now.
I think rolling Atmos into a PLF auditorium is the wrong move for theater chains, they would be probably benefit more if Atmos was in the move-over house as this way an Atmos movie would have a better chance at stay more relevant in the marketplace. The fact that Dolby is asking customers if they would "pay a premium" is pretty telling that Dolby Atmos is struggling to gain traction.
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Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 03-15-2014 08:50 PM
Studios don't care about whether their movies are exhibited in the "best" house of a complex. They do, however, want their movie to play in the BIGGEST house, therefore having the best potential gross.
When we first installed DTS sound all those years ago, I was hoping that we might score some bookings due to the fact we had digital sound and no other theaters within 250 miles of us had it yet. WRONG, it made absolutely zero difference in our bookings because we didn't raise our prices. When we installed 3-D, however, different story: We have been able to get a number of big films sooner than we otherwise could have due to our gross potential. (Not a huge number, but a few.)
The only reason why Dolby might have been surveying people asking if they'd pay extra for an Atmos experience, is they were looking to build a selling point. If 75% of the respondents said yes, they'd pay more, then Dolby's salespeople could say "According to our survey, 75% of people said they would pay MORE for the Atmos experience....so think of all the extra money you could make, blah blah blah."
I personally don't think a nicer sound system by itself should be a reason for higher prices. If a cinema was already charging more for their "best" auditorium, I would be against raising the price EVEN MORE if a premium sound system was installed later.
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