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Author Topic: Digital Drive-in sound Arthur Allen Film Handler Posts: 99 From: Renton, WA, USA Registered: Aug 2001 posted 12-06-2002 05:55 PM                        I saw Vanilla Sky at the Blue Fox Drive-in at Oak Harbor. I just have an ordinary stereo radio with four speakers, but the short dream/flashback sequences seemed to have a noticeable surround effect.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 12-06-2002 06:19 PM                        quote: ...from Arthur Allen: ... I just have an ordinary stereo radio with four speakers, but the short dream/flashback sequences seemed to have a noticeable surround effect. Probably just caused by frequency response variations in your speakers, or maybe speaker placement itself. If they're feeding their transmitter with an audio compressor that doesn't have its left/right control voltages bridged, differing volume levels can cause the center position of the audio field to move around in the car.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 12-06-2002 06:31 PM                        Could they be using something like SRS Labs TruSurround to simulate a surround effect from a 2-channel mix?  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 12-07-2002 08:28 PM                        I suppose they could, but I havent seen one. From the look of the SRS site, you have to get it as part of a playback product. Is the process available in a standalone - component form? I found the effects processor, but nothing about surround.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-09-2002 08:13 AM                        For quite a number of years, Dolby has licensed their "Virtual Surround" technology mainly to makers of PC audio cards and I've seen it in TVs, VCRs, even in boomboxs. PC game software authors can take advantage of this feature by creating soundtracks in their games that use VS technology to seemingly make sounds come from behind the user. Sony incorporated the Virtual Surround chip in their high end headphone system. There is no reason why that same VS technology couldn't be used in Drive-In sound. Even if some existing manufacturer like Smart or even Dolby itself didn't make an add-on unit that could take the film soundtrack and matrix it to 2 channel Virtual Surround, any enterprising Drive-In owner could simply buy one of these Sony headphone units, input the two L/R SR channels to the Sony unit. The unit would take the existing matrixed info and convert it to its Dolby Virtual Surround, 2 channel output. Then that just feeds the DI's L/R FM transmitter input and the patrons in the cars would hear something similar to a surround channel. I purchased the Sony Headset system a few months back and was not impressed with the surround effect. It sounded to me more like a widening of the stereo field, which in and of itself might not be a bad thing for the in-car experience, but the main thing is that any DI using this Dolby technology could claim something even better than digital --"Dolby Virtual Surround Sound in your Car!" I think the marketing potential for a statement like that would be a lot more than just being able to say you've got digital. True, the surround effect was weak at best and for it to work, it depends on the precise positioning of the listener between the two speakers, but hey, no one will quibble if the surround sound doesn't sound like it's coming DIRECTLY from center rear -- if you are sitting off to the side a bit and the surround sounds like it's off to the left or right, who cares. Point is, the DI can advertise something that has a perceived added value to the customer. And of course the FIRST Drive-in to offer it can also say they are the first DI in the country to have Virtual Surround (just like you hear at the indoor multiplex). If I were running a DI, I would get one of these Sony units installed for my very next season! Here: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=7SvoBYpYgWvoU7esT0niDsVW-4DWYDnCdk8=?ProductID=cNIKC0%2eNYhUAAADxU0SG5PNr Frank  |  IP: Logged

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