Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: SDDS Question

This is topic SDDS Question in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003536

Posted by Nick Catalano (Member # 1296) on 06-05-2002, 12:38 AM:

How many movies are coming out now with 8 channel SDDS information? Is this popular in modern theatres? Are many theatres presenting it in thsi format?

Also, with SDDS, can you use the DTS or Dolby Digital tracks for the surrounds? Even get the DTS-ES or the Dolby Digital EX channel working (so it would be 9 channel sound)?

Is anyone doing this?

Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 06-05-2002, 01:26 AM:

Very few movies are released with SDDS-8. Less than a hand full every year.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 06-05-2002, 06:53 AM:

According to Scoreboard April 5, 2002

Releases with SDDS-8 Channel Audio (2002)

Rollerball (MGM)
The Time Machine (DreamWorks)
The Sweetest Thing (Sony)
Spiderman (Sony)
Scooby-Doo (Warner Bros.)
Windtalkers (MGM)
Men In Black II (Sony)*
Stuart Little 2 (Sony)

*Note: MIIB is the only SDDS-8 release also featuring a Dolby Digital-EX track. (That ought to make it SDDS-9, right?)

------------------
~Manny.

"The brown acid that is circulating around is not specifically too good."

-- An announcement in the film, "Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music."

Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 06-05-2002, 07:40 AM:

SDDS has surround information.

8 channel SDDS is
left, left-center,center,right-center,right,bass,L-surround,R-surround

As far as i am you run the whole system just with one sound system. SDDS for the front and say DTS for the surrounds would not be possible and why would you want to do that anyway???

Its debatale weather there is SDDDS EX.

Although SRD/dts/sdds are all made from the same digital master so the surround tracks on the SDDS should still conmtain the EX matrix (If its an EX film)

An example film:

SR/SRDEX/DTSES/SDDS8

An cinema that has an SDDS8 decoder and an EX decoder should be able to run the film in 8 channel SDDS EX (ie 9 channel SDDS, or 8.1 SDDS to use the .l as bass naming system)

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-05-2002, 06:19 PM:

A digital sound mix tailored for Surround EX will play properly regardless of digital sound format. You can feed the analog surround outputs from any digital sound processor into a DTS-ES unit or Dolby SA-10. So basically, yes, you can have a "SDDS-EX" release.

However, SDDS-EX is NOT "8.1" or "9-channel".

An SDDS-8 mix is still 7.1 channel regardless if Surround EX is used or not. You can only call it 9-channel or 8.1 if the Center Surround channel is discrete. And none of the theatrical extended surround processors offer that. Only home DTS-ES 6.1 has a truly discrete center surround channel.

Many people are very wrongly describing the matrix-derived center surround channel of Dolby Digital Surround EX as "6.1". Dolby Labs' own marketing rules state DD-EX should be listed as EX-5.1. The same rule applies to DTS-ES and their matrix system (DTS-ES 5.1 Matrix). The 6.1 term can only be used with their discrete ES system.