Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Sound question regarding Digital presentations

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 03-07-2010, 04:06 PM:

I know there are three established Digital sound formats for films-Doiby Digital (SRD), DTS & SDDS but what is the sound format for digital movie presentations, Does it use any one of the established digital sound format for film or does it have a entirely different sound system of it's own? I know 15/70 IMAX uses a double system but what about Digital IMAX. Does it use a similar system as the film format?

-Claude

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-07-2010, 05:35 PM:

Claude... D-Cinema is primarily uncompressed 5.1 derived from the final mix. Generally at 96khz / 24 bit sampling rate.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 04-19-2010, 09:02 PM:

so why haven't we seen or heard the 8-channel soundmixes created for SDDS 35mm prints ported over to digital projction. Under DCI specifications five channels L-LC-C-LR-R behind the screen is applicable but largely unused as such. We see that Dolby and Pixar are extracting and presenting four channel discrete in the rear channels, it would in turn seem logical that 8 (7.1)channel or even the the merging of the two (9.1) sound is and could be implemented for the ultimate in theatre sound

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-19-2010, 09:08 PM:

There are 16 potential channels. In fact, Surround 7.1 uses channels 11 and 12. 7 and 8 are for LC/RC. I don't know what 9/10 are going to be but I hear ADA related is the likely candidates.

Steve

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 04-20-2010, 12:51 PM:

but have the LC and RC channels ever been used? I'd love to hear the exclusive 8-channel SDDS mixes implemented onto digital projection presentations.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-20-2010, 02:59 PM:

The problem is very few movies have been made with RC and LC channels put into a 7.1 channel mix since SDDS has been available. The vast majority of all movies shown in SDDS were mixed 5.1. The vast majority of all SDDS installations are wired only for 5.1.

I think there is a bigger push for the 7.1 format with four surround channels since that is what has already been adopted for home theater. Theatrical 7.1 in that arrangement is much easier to port over to Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and LPCM 7.1 on Blu-ray.

I would certainly welcome a grander digital audio format for commercial movie theaters, be it 10.2, 11.1 or even a 16 channel format with a couple or more alternative channels for descriptive English (for the blind) and perhaps foreign language audio. The listeners of the alternative tracks obviously would be wearing ear phones with some sort of radio receiver. Anyway, the commercial movie theater needs to stay a step above what home theater can achieve. A mammoth 12-track audio format is very do-able in a commercial movie theater environment and pretty impractical for most residential living rooms.

Posted by Jack Theakston (Member # 4484) on 04-20-2010, 03:20 PM:

With the growing number of non-English speaking customers in my area, I wouldn't be surprised if you see more Spanish-language audio using up those extra tracks from second language auditoriums.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 04-30-2010, 02:41 AM:

Usually you will have a separate playlist for playing other language versions.

Of course one could think of using an unused track for a simultaneous dialog track to be played out via earphones to customers demanding it, but I doubt any production will actually use that opportunity due to lack of standards. They will either use a separate language playlist or subtitling. I heard that in europe, DCPs routinely are distributed with local AND original audio tracks and corresponding playlists to choose.

But this discussion should go Straight To Video I think.

- Carsten