This is topic Auro 11.1 - Its Rollout & Marketing in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-26-2014, 07:41 PM:
 
The Auro 11.1 sound format has been around for a couple years, but now it looks like some actual installation progress is starting to take shape in the US. Cinemark intends to install Auro 11.1 on all of its "XD" labeled premium big screen rooms, starting with "top tier" markets but eventually going into all XD houses. There is around 100 of them with more to open.

The Auro 3D web site now has a map showing Auro installations around the world. There's not very many at this point. Here's a list of Auro 11.1 houses in North America:

California
Calabasas - Edwards Theaters Stadium 6
Glendale - Pacific Theaters Glendale 18
Folsom - CinemaWest Palladio 16
Los Angeles - Pacific Theatres at the Grove
Redwood City - Cinemark Redwood Downtown 20 and XD

Florida
Boca Raton - Cinemark Palace 20 and XD
Lakeland - Cobb Theaters Lakeside 18
Miami - AMC Sunset Place 24

Georgia
Canton - Carmike Riverstone 15

Illinois
Gurnee - Marcus Theatres Gurnee Mills Cinema

Nebraska
Omaha - Strong Ballantyne

Nevada
Las Vegas - Century 16 South point and XD

New Jersey
Ridgefield Park - Starplex Luxury Cinemas 12

New York
New York - Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 & RPX

Texas
El Paso - Cinemark Cielo Vista Mall 14 and XD
El Paso - Cinemark East Montana and XD
Fort Worth - Cinemark Alliance Town Center
Frisco - Cinemark Frisco Square and XD
Galveston - Moody Gardens
Grapevine - Cinemark Tinseltown Grapevine and XD
Plano - Cinemark Legacy and XD
Plano - Cinemark West Plano and XD
San Antonio - Santikos Paladium

Virginia
Leesburg - Cobb Theatres Village 12

Canada
Kelowna, BC - Landmark Grand 10 Cinemas

Mexico
Morelia, Michoacán - Cinepolis
Santa Fe, Cuajimalpa - CineMex

The marketing and branding for Auro 11.1 is a little odd for its inconsistency. Here's the Auro3D company logo:



Here's two logos Barco put together for Auro 11.1:



Which logo is supposed to be used by movie theaters and movie studios? I've seen some theater chains use the Auro3D logo. Cobb Theaters is using one of the Barco Auro logos.

The advertising situation for Auro seems even worse than that of Dolby Atmos. I can't recall seeing Auro logos on any movie poster artwork or end titles. However, I haven't seen every movie with an Auro 11.1 mix (there's not very many; Dreamworks Animation seems to be the biggest source for future Auro 11.1 titles).

What seems even worse is how specific movie theaters are treating Auro. What the hell is Cinemark doing? The movie I: Frankenstein has Atmos and Auro 11.1 mixes, but I checked a few of the XD theaters in the Dallas area. They don't mention anything at all about Auro 11.1. This makes me wonder if Cinemark is trying to give "XD" all the pomp and circumstance for the more elaborate sound system and deliberately not give Auro 11.1 any credit at all.

I: Frankenstein hasn't been exactly well received by critics at all. It has a dismal 5% tomato meter score at Rotten Tomatoes. A lot of Dolby Atmos equipped theaters aren't playing the movie; shows like Ride Along and Lone Survivor are playing on those screens instead. IMAX branded theaters would be stuck playing that movie for weeks, if not for the re-release of Gravity going back on a lot of those screens 1/31.

Anyway, if Cinemark is going to spend a bunch of money on more than 100 Auro 11.1 installations, they probably ought to be making a far better effort at promoting the sound format. If Auro is supposed to be an unspoken ingredient in the XD theater recipe then that would be a pretty stupid move.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-26-2014, 09:45 PM:
 
I'm surprised AMC didn't put it into their Pleasure Island 24 at Disney World....that's a pretty deluxe, "dine-in" location. (Or maybe they put Atmos there? We're going to be there next weekend, if we get over to that area I'll find out.)
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-26-2014, 10:30 PM:
 
AMC has installed Dolby Atmos in its ETX theaters and Prime screening rooms. The AMC Downtown Disney 24 has an ETX screen, but I'm not sure if that's the same theater you're talking about. I: Frankenstein is currently playing on that screen. I don't know if it will still be on that ETX screen Friday.

It would be kind of cool if they had Gravity in Dolby Atmos on that screen then.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-26-2014, 10:42 PM:
 
That is the location.....I forgot they changed the name of it when Disney basically shut down most of the Pleasure Island area. (And they'll probably change it again, because the whole Downtown Disney area is being re-imagined as "Disney Springs."
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 01-27-2014, 12:00 AM:
 
Why even bother with Auro when Atmos is available? Cost?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-27-2014, 12:27 AM:
 
I think cost is the main thing. I don't know the price of the Barco AP-243D (a re-badged Datasat cinema processor), but I'm guessing it costs quite a bit less than a Dolby CP850 Atmos processor. The Auro 11.1 format probably doesn't require nearly as many amplifiers for a full 11.1 or 13.1 configuration.

But, a well configured Auro 11.1 capable sound system is going to cost quite a bit more than a regular 5.1 or 7.1 based sound system. That investment is going to be useless without a steady stream of Auro 11.1 movie mixes.

We're kind of in the dregs of the movie release schedule right now. I: Frankenstein is the only new movie in theaters with both an Auro 11.1 and Atmos mix. The way it looks, it might be March before we see more movies with Auro or Atmos.

There could be some last minute title entries, such as the upcoming Robocop remake. But if the mix in a movie like that was fully optimized for those next-generation sound formats I think we would have seen an announcement from Dolby, Barco or Auro by now. A movie whose 5.1 or 7.1 mix is basically ported over into Atmos or Auro with little change is pretty disappointing.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-27-2014, 01:58 AM:
 
Barco sound? Sorry I'm waiting until Panavision comes out with their sound system.
 

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Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 01-27-2014, 05:33 AM:
 
I've heard rumors that will be released right after their 3D system .
 

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Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 01-27-2014, 12:09 PM:
 
Wayyy off topic...

quote: Mike Blakesley

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the whole Downtown Disney area is being re-imagined as "Disney Springs."

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Um. Huh?
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-27-2014, 12:23 PM:
 
Yes, they are re-making the whole area, adding a parking garage (because parking there is ridiculous), adding more shops and restaurants and a foot-bridge to a resort across the lake, and so on. They abandoned the whole "Hyperion Springs" concept that was originally planned for the Pleasure Island area and incorporated it all in to Disney Springs. But the AMC Theatre (with whatever sound system it has) will still be there!

Sorry for the topic drift...of the two Auro logos above I like the second one better, it is more interesting. The top one looks like an 80s refuge.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-27-2014, 02:10 PM:
 
Barco's two Auro logos are more interesting. They have a better sense of style to them than Auro's own company logo.

However, Barco's two Auro 11.1 logos won't reproduce well at small sizes. The dots in that criss-cross "A" icon are fairly complicated. They get muddy looking when shrank to small sizes. And then the "experience sound in 3D" lettering is so thin in weight that it's only legible at large sizes. That lettering is barely 1 pixel in width in the examples above. Maybe that lettering would be dropped in versions of the logo made for smaller sizes. The Dax Pro typeface has many weights to it, from very light to very heavy. Barco should work on some other alternatives that can reproduce well as small icons on a web-based theater show times page.
 

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Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 01-27-2014, 02:23 PM:
 
While Barco does make good quality projectors, there really is not much of a chance that Auro 11.1 will ever succeed.

quote:

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I've heard rumors that will be released right after their 3D system [Wink]

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-27-2014, 02:52 PM:
 
As much as I want Dolby Atmos installations to proliferate into thousands of theaters, Auro 11.1 is going to stick around if enough theaters have Auro 11.1 sound systems.

Right now around 120 theater locations in North America have screens equipped with Atmos and some of those locations have multiple Atmos capable screens.

Auro 11.1 won't have any trouble growing to the 120 theater locations level. There are around 100 Cinemark XD screens with several more set to open this year. Regal has a deal to install Auro 11.1 in 20 of its RPX theaters. Carmike appears to be leaning toward putting Auro 11.1 in its Big-D theaters after testing both Atmos and Auro 11.1 in two of their Big-D theaters.

One thing I don't think has good odds is DTS' object-based MDA format taking over. I'm skeptical it can be a one size fits all format for immersive sound in D-cinema. Atmos and Auro 11.1 are very different in how they are encoded. Both are proprietary. The authoring environments for both are very different. Adding another layer via a DTS MDA authoring environment may create even more work. The results would have to be checked within the Auro and Atmos.

Having a "single delivery" for immersive sound on DCP hard discs is asking a bit much. Just look at all the different projection format "deliveries" on some DCPs. There's already separate 5.1 and 7.1 audio mixes on many DCPs. The situation is just going to get more complex rather than going the other direction to greater simplicity. If all the audio/video deliveries won't fit on a DCP disc the studios will just have to use some bigger capacity hard discs.
 

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Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 01-27-2014, 03:26 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

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Having a "single delivery" for immersive sound on DCP hard discs is asking a bit much.

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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And I figured everyone was installing Christie Vive by now because their sales people told me it was the best thing going out there today.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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Dolby Atmos will play in any cinema, 5.1, 7.1 or up to 64 channels. Atmos is a single inventory format.

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quote: Connor Wilson

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It seems like Dreamworks Animation really likes Auro even if their movies are simultaneously released in Atmos as well.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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It competes with the speaker systems from QSC, JBL, Meyer Sound, etc.

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quote: Connor Wilson

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The Cinemark Egyptian is showing it on their XD screen, but Auro doesn't seem to be advertised. The RPX Atmos screen in Alexandria (my favorite Atmos theater) is booked for Lone Survivor.

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quote:

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I hardly think it's going to "compete" with any of those three, especially QSC and Meyer!

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From what I can tell Meyer Sound makes some of the most coveted cinema speakers around. QSC ain't bad though. Those huge 4-way towers they make are kind of scary looking.

quote: Scott Jentsch

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So, with "11.1" being in a different color, does that mean that they will have different numbers? Maybe "Auro 5.1" for those theaters that don't want to upgrade their speaker system, and then "Auro 11.4" for those that add extra subwoofers?

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quote: Scott Jentsch

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What I have yet to hear about either format is some way to measure the effectiveness of the sound system. I would think that some sort of multi-channel microphone could be used with some kind of test track to essentially map the output of a particular system. Such a test bed could also be used to calibrate the system and detect defective equipment. Does anything like that exist?

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quote: Scott Jentsch

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If theaters aren't going to advertise the sound system, it really minimizes the return they will get on their investment. I guess there's some truth to just declaring your xD screen the "best available" and not let people in on what you are doing behind the scenes, but I think you have to let people know some of this stuff so they can be informed and you can use things like Auro to back up your claims of being the best.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Both Cineplex in Canada and Santikos in Texas use the AVX and AVX MAX label. It's only coincidental (I think).

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Nevermind it's just 5.1 (or even 5.0) audio.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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I guess I care more about these fundamentals:
1. The native resolution of the movie, typically 2K or 4K.
2. The make of projector(s) and native resolution, 2K or 4K.
3. The sound format (5.1, 7.1, Auro 11.1, Atmos).

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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3. The sound format (5.1, 7.1, Auro 11.1, Atmos

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quote: Lyle Romer

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You forgot MDX - Marcus Digital Xperience (which I guess is a new word). Apparently this translates to "auditorium has a digital projector."

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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Bobby, for Cineplex in Canada it is actually called "UltraAVX" not just AVX.

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quote:

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You forgot to add that it is proprietary to IMAX only and IMAX does change/modify or enhance the soundtrack. The sound is also uncompressed. IMAX also uses completely different speaker design than "just" 5.1 theatres.

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quote:

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Still stuck on the 4K thing huh? You should be watching movies with anamorphic lenses a proper masking before you start worrying about 2K or 4K.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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The suggestion IMAX steps in and alters a movie's mix speaks more to the limitations of its speaker system. In terms of sound quality and surround coverage IMAX' sound system is pretty lacking. It would get blown away by a good 4-way system from QSC or Meyer Sound, which incidentally are going into some of these like-LieMAX theaters

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Native resolution matters a hell of a lot more

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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That is where I don't agree with you. I would much rather watch a D-IMAX film for the audio alone over a standard cinema or even Atmos.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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You focus way too much on native resolution, there are many variables that factor into a good picture than just resolution.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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High native resolution is a fundamental requirement for big screen viewing.

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quote:

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hat's one of the reasons why 70mm was popular for a time with film projection.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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I would much rather watch a D-IMAX film for the audio alone over a standard cinema or even Atmos.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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A 2K presentation with a proper anamorphic lense which utilizes the full efficiency of the lamp and sensor can potentially look better than a 4K presentation using a single lense setup. Pick your screen size common width or height does not matter in this comparison.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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You have to stop comparing film vs digital set ups, they are not the same. The larger film gauge always wins with film.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Look at Apple making money off Retina Displays in its iPad

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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You must not have many good theater audio systems in your neck of the woods.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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Having heard a movie (Gravity) in D-Imax and then later on our own system, I thought it sounded just as good, or possibly slightly better, on our standard 5.1 system.

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quote: Brad Miller

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For the record, Atmos vs. Auro? Well, just forget Auro. Atmos is THE system of the future.

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I agree with you but Dolby needs to bring down the cost so it will get installed in more than just the acronym auditorium at most complexes.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-30-2014, 09:52 AM:
 
Unfortunately there is currently no way to install Dolby Atmos into a movie theater without it costing quite a lot of money.

The only ways anyone could install Atmos at a lower cost is by putting Atmos into a smaller house that doesn't need nearly as many speakers and amplifiers. Or they could install Atmos wrong, basically buying a CP850 and wiring together what amounts to a 9.1 channel configuration. Or use fewer surround speakers, even in a big room (kind of like what IMAX does; they only use two).


Here's a reduced size image of the back of a Dolby Atmos booth rack. All that hardware can't be cheap. The installation cost probably isn't very cheap either.



It looks like there's close to 3 dozen QSC amplifiers in those racks, which at first would seem like a near-maximum configuration, but each stage channel might require multiple amplifiers, and there would be five stage channels behind a really big screen. I found this image in a Google Image search using Dolby Atmos as key words. It's from someone's Flickr account and sparking some discussion at Reddit. I didn't look hard enough to find which theater has this booth rack.
 

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Posted by Daniel Schulz (Member # 1881) on 01-30-2014, 11:04 AM:
 

quote: Scott Jentsch

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More and more, I like the object-oriented approach of Atmos and the rumored DTS (ahem, Datasat) MDA approach.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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I guess I care more about these fundamentals:
1. The native resolution of the movie, typically 2K or 4K.
2. The make of projector(s) and native resolution, 2K or 4K.
3. The sound format (5.1, 7.1, Auro 11.1, Atmos).

Those are the things I want to see in theater show time directories, if they bother listing any technical information about the movie at all.

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quote: Daniel Schulz

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DTS is pitching MDA as a format for creating object-based mixes, and would then license the software to do the rendering to any interested hardware manufacturers (Datasat, QSC, UltraStereo, etc.)

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quote:

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As long as the theater provides the info, we show it. Getting them to provide that info? For whatever reason, harder than you would think!

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The theater operators know the native resolution of the movies they are ingesting into their servers. The DCP spells out those details very clearly. I wish a lot more DCP info was shared here at Film-Tech in the forum made just for that purpose. The theater operators know the make and model of their projectors, not to mention their resolution. It's actually not very complicated information. Same goes for the sound format.

Movie studios and theater chains don't provide any of that info unless they are forced in some manner to do so. Instead, they'll voluntarily plop "QRX" or whatever on an exterior wall of the building and expect the paying customer to be impressed with that. The letter they use make me think they were playing Scrabble and used their last three remaining letters for the big screen label. JZX ought to be a winner.

 

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Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 01-30-2014, 03:26 PM:
 
In a discussion at ICTA, exhibitors seemed to want to brand and sell the overall premium experience instead of the bits and pieces of that experience (superior sound, superior image, superior seats, legroom, food, etc.). So, as part of branding, they take a spoonful of alphabet soup and see what they get.

Harold
 

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Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 01-30-2014, 06:37 PM:
 
I think this a continuation of the design effort of the DCI specification to ensure these was no IP for the audio bitstream for Dolby Labs or anyone else.

Now that we've moved on to multi-dimmensional audio and Atmos looks like the most elegant idea, competitors don't wish to see Dolby run off with the prize again. NATO and its members want this open "standard" to spare them the painful choice of having to decide which system to buy. (Socialism for Theatre owners?). The last time around some ended up buying CDS, DTS, and SDDS, all for the same screens and we all know how that worked out.

Dolby won because it was practical, robust and agnostic. CDS was an engineering disaster, DTS had inherent limitations, SDDS was a mess, expensive when was not part of some film deal co-op deal, proprietary, and tied to Sony Studios.

Ought to be great fun.
 

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Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 01-30-2014, 08:20 PM:
 
And, of course, people are invited to join the SMPTE working group on interopable immersive sound.

Harold
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-30-2014, 09:31 PM:
 
All I can do is wish DTS the best of luck in getting SMPTE, NATO, and several other interested parties in North America and Europe to agree on the specs of an open standard quickly. The problem with committees, particularly multiple committees, is too many cooks in the kitchen. Disagreements and ego slow progress down to a crawl.

As of now, nearly 300 theater locations worldwide have Atmos. Some of these multiplex sites have 2 or more screens equipped (something I wish Dolby would track on its installations map). Atmos is way ahead of Auro both in terms of movie titles and theater installations.

The "open standard" approach, if it can work, won't be available in hardware for nearly two years. There's no telling how many screens might be equipped with Dolby's own Atmos-specific hardware by then. And Dolby might even have a 2nd generation Atmos cinema processor already shipping by then.

IMHO, the powers that be need to just stay out of it and let the market sort out whether Auro or Atmos will "win" (or if they end up having to co-exist with each other). I don't expect a format like Dolby Atmos to take over all screens in a regular multiplex theater. I expect regular 5.1 and 7.1 LPCM to remain the most common formats, with Atmos and perhaps Auro reserved for the biggest rooms.
 

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Posted by Harold Hallikainen (Member # 5405) on 01-31-2014, 06:38 AM:
 
Committes do take time. Note that QSC, Doremi, and USL can
play MDA today. Firmware changes required to play a SMPTE bitstreams should not be major.

Harold
 

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Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 01-31-2014, 07:08 AM:
 
The idea of an open standard is that Auro installations can be upgraded to MDA (or whatever the future standard may be). This is no longer a 'who wins' issue. It is clear to me that the existing Auro 3D will disappear at some time, being replaced by something like Auro MDA, and Atmos will stay. But there will be more choices for MDA systems and Atmos being only one of them (maybe the best).

The standard Auro decoder now is a modified Datasat AP20. No big deal to upgrade it to accomodate MDA, by hardware and software.

BTW - Germany has a single Auro 3D installation, and about 10 Atmos installations.

- Carsten
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-31-2014, 08:52 AM:
 
I think it's going to take more than a firmware update for Auro-equipped theaters to play object-based audio that's in any way like that of Dolby Atmos. Surround speakers will have to be wired to a lot more amplifiers. Auro in its present form supports no more than 3 screen channels. Adding a level of height enhancement does nothing to change that. Atmos can support five stage channels.

My greater concern is the results of this multiple committee effort will reduce the quality of Dolby Atmos. The DTS MDA format aims to strike a balance between Auro and Atmos, but that also could mean compromise and watered down effectiveness between the two systems. It means Dolby Atmos not working nearly as well as it would playing its own native sound format. I know achieving "Best of Both Worlds" results is the goal. Unfortunately committees rarely ever deliver that.
 

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Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 01-31-2014, 09:57 AM:
 
I'm predicting Atmos will slowly pull away as Dolby seems to have the ability to sign and service more titles.

The most elaborate sound track gets mixed first in post and the other, perhaps lesser sound formats get mixed from the stems or elements of the track mixed first.

MDA will always be the alternate soundtrack if the format survives.
 

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Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 01-31-2014, 10:23 AM:
 

quote: Sam D. Chavez

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I'm predicting Atmos will slowly pull away as Dolby seems to have the ability to sign and service more titles.

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quote: Lyle Romer

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It will probably be similar to Dolby Digital during the 35mm format war. If Sony didn't practically give AMC the systems, Dolby would have "won" sooner since it appeared AMC was going to go with SR-D in the months before the SDDS deal.

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Prior to the AMC deal with SDDS, DTS was installing thousands of DTS-6 machines. They had a very commanding lead in terms of screen count. SDDS made deals with other chains too, like UA and Cinemark, just to get the hardware into more theaters. I remember in late 1995 through 1996 the Dallas-Fort Worth market had DTS and SDDS installations all over the place. There was only a handful of places in DFW that had Dolby Digital. The one area where Dolby Digital did lead was in movie titles.

When Dolby released the CP500 the situation changed entirely. They started catching up fast in screen numbers. It didn't take long for them to pass SDDS. It took a little longer for them to pass DTS (end of the 1990s or early 2000s, I forget which).

With immersive sound Dolby is in the lead in both areas, screen numbers and movie titles. Technologically it's clearly the better system too.
 

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Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 01-31-2014, 01:15 PM:
 
I was with Dolby during those days. I visited UA/Crest Sales in Englewood, CO and was surprised to find out they had hundreds of SDDS units sitting in the warehouse and here I'm trying to sell a few DA20's.
Despite a major price advantage DTS (lowere cost) and SDDS (essentially free to the big guys) lost out. Lots of reasons but it could all happen again and Atmos get the prize. IMHO, if it were not for the hassle of ceiling speakers, Dolby would have run away with the prize already.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-31-2014, 02:22 PM:
 
In the digital sound on film segment I wouldn't characterize the final results as anyone winning or losing. I think the contest wound up in a stalemate due to most major studios shifting away from using only one or two digital formats to supporting quad format prints.

Even after Dolby Digital overtook DTS in screen numbers DTS was still selling new systems and getting movie studios to include its sound format in their releases -even after the spin-off/name change to Datasat. SDDS was the only real loser out of the three and that was due to Sony abandoning production and further development of SDDS. Amazingly, some movies are still being released with SDDS tracks roughly a decade after that format "died." I guess SDDS is a zombie of sorts now.

quote: Sam D. Chavez

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Lots of reasons but it could all happen again and Atmos get the prize. IMHO, if it were not for the hassle of ceiling speakers, Dolby would have run away with the prize already.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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When Dolby released the CP500 the situation changed entirely. They started catching up fast in screen numbers. It didn't take long for them to pass SDDS. It took a little longer for them to pass DTS (end of the 1990s or early 2000s, I forget which)

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The CP500 is not what allowed Dolby to win with the 35mm discrete digital wars. For a significant period of time, if you wanted to show such movies from SONY or Universal Pictures and present them with discrete 5.1 sound you were forced to use SDDS or DTS.

It was when the studios went to quad format releases that Dolby simply made the most sense for anyone building new theatres or upgrading their sound systems and at this point the CP500 was the smartest move Once quad releases happened it was either Dolby or DTS for most with Dolby clearly being the better option.
 

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Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 01-31-2014, 03:15 PM:
 
I am not against ceiling speakers as used by Atmos nor do I think it's a gimmick, just saying it is very expensive to do properly in a retrofit, and given an out, cinema owners might take the easier, cheaper path provided by Auro, or MDA.

The subwoofers in the tunnels thing is very tacky and I've done this with extra subs behind the screen in difficult circumstances. Dolby will pass it if need be.
 

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Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-31-2014, 03:24 PM:
 
Actually the CP500 was the key to dolby success in the digital war if the DTS 6AD had come out sooner (and was sonically and reliably better) then they might have kept their market share the all in one box was an important consideration to most circuits
 

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Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 01-31-2014, 03:34 PM:
 
Gord, you are right the CP500 was a factor in the success however quad format release prints eliminated the need for a DTS/SDDS or Dolby Digital unit in the same complex or same theatre. If you were building a new complex it made almost no sense to not go with the CP500. If wasn't for quad format releases, you would still need a DTS unit regardless if you had the CP500 or not.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-31-2014, 03:40 PM:
 

quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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The CP500 is not what allowed Dolby to win with the 35mm discrete digital wars.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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If wasn't for quad format releases, you would still need a DTS unit regardless if you had the CP500 or not.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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Bobby, Dolby Digital was the clearly won the format 35mm digital format war.

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quote: Chris Slycord

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I'm still seeing DTS/Datasat and Dolby Digital logos on movies, but I am noticing less of them having SDDS.

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quote: Chris Slycord

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And I'm certain that's because of AMC being almost exclusively digital and having gotten rid of all the SDDS stuff.

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quote: Carsten Kurz

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Germany has a single Auro 3D installation, and about 10 Atmos installations.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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That is possible, but AMC still does have 35mm locations.

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quote: Idiotic article

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The movie will be released in theaters internationally beginning April 16 and domestically on May 2. The move will no doubt increase the number of movie theatres available to show the movie.

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quote:

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Or, in case they are referring to being in both Barco 11.1 and Atmos 63.1:

Sorry, we don't have either Atmos or that Barco thing. WE REFUSE TO PLAY THE MOVIE AT ALL!

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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D-cinema gear lasting 20 years? Not very likely with so much computer-based stuff inside.

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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And why not?

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quote: Mark Gulbrandsen

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Next step would be a direct link to distribution via satellite.

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I think internet downloading at the theatre will be the next step.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-13-2014, 05:30 PM:
 
Satellite is already happening. Just not in the majority of places, yet.

Internet isn't reliable enough or fast enough yet for the size files required. And even when it is, it'll probably scare the studios to death ... considering they don't even like to ship out a hard drive without a silly code name and a plastic zip tie to "secure" it.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-11-2014, 03:00 PM:
 
Bump.

Are any Auro 11.1 equipped theaters in the United States actually playing Mr. Sherman & Peabody in Auro 11.1?

According to the Auro 3D web site not very many theaters in North America are equipped with Auro 11.1 capable sound systems. Most of those installations are at Cinemark sites, presumably in their "XD" premium priced houses.

Mr. Sherman & Peabody had the unfortunate timing of opening the same weekend as 300: Rise of an Empire. The 300 sequel, which has an Atmos mix but no Auro mix, grabbed most of the premium priced screens in the country. Just about every one of Cinemark's "XD" screens are playing the 300 sequel.

Mr. Sherman & Peabody has both Atmos and Auro mixes. In order to hear that animated movie in Atmos one typically must visit a theater with more than one Atmos equipped screen. There are some, but not very many, sites with 2 or more Atmos screens. I'm not aware of any theater in North America with two or more Auro equipped screens.

It looks like anyone wanting to check out Auro 11.1 will have to wait until May when the next Spiderman sequel is released.

Need For Speed doesn't appear to have any next generation sound mix, but it will likely move the 300 sequel off most non-IMAX branded premium screens this Friday.
 

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Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 03-11-2014, 07:11 PM:
 
This just goes to show that the chains really do not give a shit about Auro 11.1 Auro has absolutely no chance at ever becoming successful.

Dolby Atmos on the hand is a different story, it does have the potential at becoming somewhat relevant, but I think the chains have realized that comfy reclining faux chairs and giant wall to wall movie screens with no masking and RealD 3D apparatuses still attached to 2D showings is more important than a sound format that can place sound at one or more individual speakers in the auditorium. (in average customer language "Who gives a shit about Atmos, my seats are more comfy)

Anyways, for those who want to see the weekly new release in Atmos, they should just visit the theatre near me as they advertise and play everything every week in Ass-mos. Or do they?
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 03-13-2014, 02:31 PM:
 
Three theaters in the entire country are advertising Mr. Peabody & Sherman in Auro:

http://www.bigscreen.com/advsearch/auro.php

And those showtimes are only for today. Even though they are playing the movie again starting tomorrow, they aren't indicating Auro presentations. If they don't advertise it, it doesn't exist.

Now compare that to the list for Atmos:

http://www.bigscreen.com/advsearch/atmos.php
 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 03-14-2014, 04:14 PM:
 
maybe it was how it was mixed, but "Mr. Peabody & Sherman's" 11.1 mix didn't wow me in the slightest. There was supposed to be height channels? - really? ... huh...

and for the record I saw this over at Cobb Village 12 (Leesburg Virginia) (screen 11) last Wednesday.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 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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Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 03-15-2014, 12:43 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

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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.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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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.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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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.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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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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quote: Harold Hallikainen

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USL will be demonstrating this at Cinemacon. I know Dolby and QSC will also be demonstrating, but do not have the details.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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which pretty much makes all the pissy things you keep saying about Dolby Atmos very easy to reject.

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quote: Gordon McLeod

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Terry often booking requirements will force a film out of a larger specific screen just to accomodate the next new release

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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Bobby, I think I hit a nerve with you

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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You're getting on everyone's nerves. Troll

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quote: Gordon McLeod

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in fact we had product denied when we had film locked in to the largest house being the only 3d house in a complex

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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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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With the ridiculous prices I'm seeing charged to enter IMAX-branded rooms or rooms labeled with some kind of acronym they ought to be offering a hell of a lot more than HDTV resolution imagery and plain 5.1 audio. Viewers can get that in any d-cinema theater. If they need the screen to fill up more of their view they just need to move a few rows closer.

 

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 03-15-2014, 11:13 PM:
 

quote: Bobby Henderson

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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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quote: Mike Blakesley

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I'm sure surprised that another "sound format war" is starting. You'd think some of the powers that be would remember the DTS/SDDS/SR-D fiasco.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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Mike, what makes you think there is going to be some new sound format war?

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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If Dolby and Barco had worked together they could have come up with one system that could be sold for less money. Instead they each dumped millions of dollars into their own respective systems which are not compatible with each other.

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quote: Lyle Romer

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Did they really get rid of the rear surround channels and go back to just left and right surround and add the height to that?

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quote: Monte L Fullmer

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With tonnage of ATMOS systems being installed, I suspect that Auro will give in, fade away, and join the growing list of obscure A/V formats.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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I'm rooting for Dolby Atmos, but I've grown pretty concerned about it over the past several months.

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quote:

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I guess some kind of argument could be made for the front channel height channels for on screen action but for the surrounds it makes very little sense to me. The front height channels also provide a use for AMC if they left the speakers in place from when they used to have the torus screens!

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Frankly, if I was a theater operator who didn't have the budget for Atmos, I'd simply go with 7.1 surround and improve my theater's sound system(s) as best as I could. I'd forget about Auro. I think Auro's lack of discrete back wall surround channels is a huge drawback. I'd take the money I would have spent on Auro and put it into things like 4-way front stage speakers and more powerful sub-bass cabinets.

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quote: Lyle Romer

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What I would hope to see is a day where the largest 4-8 auditoriums (depending on complex size) are Atmos equipped and the rest are done with a 9.1 or 11.1 setup like you described. In a pipe dream scenario, IMAX would partner with Dolby to include Atmos as part of "The IMAX Experience."

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quote: Frank Angel

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The thing I still find worrisome about Dolby's Altos is that although the object based approach has great potential, the very fact that exhibitors can opt to use any configuration of the system that they chose -- the full compliment of all 64 amps and speakers or the bare minimum of, what? 11? To me, that is too much left up to the exhibitors' pocket books, and we KNOW how badly that can play out for the consumer.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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However, theater operators are not required to separately amplify each surround speaker. They can install Atmos in anything from a basic 9.1 setup where all the objects are folded down into the beds layer to a maximum setup where every surround speaker is individually programmable. And it can go anywhere in between.

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quote: Lyle Romer

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there are 2 Atmos auditoriums within reasonable driving distance of my house.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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Do you actually drive out of your way to see a movie in Atmos?

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quote: Connor Wilson

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Oh, and the "voice of god" is mono because the creator of Auro said anywhere in the room should give you the same feeling of hearing from above, rather than split the two. I guess he wants to prevent in a split overhead setup one guy sitting on the left not hearing the overhead right as clear as the overhead left to him, vice versa for a guy on the right

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quote: Lyle Romer

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In Atmos, I've heard several airplane/spaceship/helicopter fly overs and you can hear it go front to back.

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quote:

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Same here in our classic 7.1 theater ;-)

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I should have added "over the top of my head" to complete the statement properly!

Although, what you say adds to my opinion that Auro isn't much (if any) step above a 7.1 theater.
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 08-07-2014, 02:54 PM:
 

quote:

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I know that they can do this but why would an exhibitor spend let's even say $20,000 on a CP-850 (assuming a big discount from list) and then skimp to save $5,000 or whatever on not doing individual amps for the surrounds?

It's kind of like back when digital sound first took off. The theaters that installed Dolby Digital with the DA-10 (and $20k price tag) tended to do the required upgrades. The theaters that wanted to do digital on the cheap would install DTS and leave everything else.

The equivalent now would be just doing 7.1 if you want to do something on the cheap, or even Auro if you want to throw speakers on the ceiling for people to see.

If they wanted to skimp, why bother installing Atmos at all? It's not like back when digital sound first came out and there was a huge advantage to just have "Digital" on the marquee. Other than the trailers, most of the exhibitors that actually have it installed are making very little effort to market the fact that they have it.

In Florida, there are 2 Atmos auditoriums within reasonable driving distance of my house. One is an AMC ETX and one is a Frank "FDX" auditorium. If I didn't know they had Atmos, I'd never know by looking at show times. They do market the fact that it is playing in the acronym auditorium but not the Atmos installation.

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quote: Lyle Romer

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I finally decided to read Barco's whitepaper on Auro so I could decipher the channel layout once and for all. The more I read about it, the dumber it seems.

The overhead channel that I assumed was at least left and right is just a mono overhead channel.

The layout is just 5.1 with a height channel on top of each of the normal 5 channels and then the mono overhead channel added.

Who came up with this layout as "3D sound" is questionable. The whitepaper talks about having a regular and height channel at the 4 corners of a cube. The only thing is that the normal surround channel is relatively high off the floor to start with. Then, with stadium seating, some of the speakers are only a couple of feet lower than the new height channel.

If you isolated one speaker from the normal and one from the height channel that are on top of each other in the rear third of a stadium auditorium and alternated a sound from one to the other I doubt that anybody could tell which speaker was playing.

One funny thing in their whitepaper comparing Auro to object based systems is the apparent justification for eliminating rear surrounds. They say that because of human "Tiger Gene" instinct to be sensitive to sounds from the rear, it is too distracting for rear channels to be used very much.

I still say that a 9.1 (7.1 plus stereo ceiling) or 11.1 (my 9.1 plus Lc and Rc) mix down of an Atmos mix would be far superior to Auro 3D and not require any expensive processor, just channel assignments).

Hell, make it 15.1 (utilizing all DCI audio channels) by splitting the side and ceiling surrounds into front and back. That would be even more superior to Auro.

In reality, all Auro seems to be is a way to play processing tricks on the existing channels. They add the mono "Voice of God" channel from the enhanced Surround EX (whatever Dolby called using the 4th matrix decoded channel for ceiling).

Only they removed the biggest enhancement to 5.1 in the last 20 years which was the addition of the rear (mono or split) surround to allow for better flyover effects.

I would like somebody in the industry to set up an auditorium that can play back Atmos and Auro using the same speaker and amplifier models. Then put an audience in there and run A/B clips from movies with both mixes and let people choose which sounds better. After Atmos wins, run the same test between Auro and 7.1.

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quote: Barco Press Release

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Kortrijk, Belgium—Sep 24, 2014
Barco Gains the Team and Expertise from IOSONO Gmbh to Further Enhance the Immersive Sound Experience in Cinemas Worldwide

With 500 screens committed or installed, Barco is now ready to take immersive sound to the next level. The digital cinema leader is adding the team of 3D audio expert IOSONO and its assets to the Barco family to further enhance and customize its object based immersive sound technology. In this way, it wants to help cinema exhibitors bring even more magic to the movie-going experience.

In close collaboration with its partners at Auro Technologies, Barco is committed to providing the best immersive sound system in the cinema market. These efforts are clearly bearing fruit. This year, Barco passed the landmark of 500 planned Auro 11.1 installations and a growing number of directors and producers around the world are embracing the sound format. 2014 box office successes like ‘Lucy’, ‘Into the Storm’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, ‘The Amazing Spiderman 2’, ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’, ‘Expendables 3’ and ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ have all been mixed in Auro 11.1 by Barco. Joining forces with IOSONO will provide Barco with access to an even deeper pool of experience and expertise with object based immersive sound.

Open standard
As a pioneer in the push for an open standard for immersive sound together with Auro Technologies, Barco is proud to further customize the immersive sound playback experience for exhibitors. “Creating a standardized format for immersive sound is critical as it helps to control costs for content to be produced and distributed and will ultimately speed the adoption of immersive sound worldwide,” states Brian Claypool, senior director of strategic business development at Barco. “As this standardization effort continues, Barco remains committed to providing immersive sound solutions with its partners Auro Technologies and IOSONO that are designed to fulfill the needs of the exhibition industry and give content creators the flexibility and tools to produce the best work imaginable.”

Innovators joining forces
Wilfried Van Baelen, CEO of Auro Technologies, adds: “Being a pioneer in cinema sound is a privilege and an honor. We are so excited to be able to work together with more innovators like IOSONO to further develop, the tools and processes that make the object based part of the Auro-3D format a truly magical experience. IOSONO and Barco are the perfect complementary partners to further develop the Auro 3D listening experience and we look forward to showing the world what this new element of collaboration will yield for the industry.”

Ultimate cinematic experience
Founded in Erfurt, Germany, in 2004, IOSONO quickly became the technology leader in 3D audio. The company specializes in object-based sound rendering in various professional applications, including cinema, by incorporating distance data which takes the simple panning of sound around a three-dimensional space to the next level. “We are honored to now be part of a company like Barco which has a vision and passion for creating the ultimate cinematic experience,” states Olaf Stepputat, former CEO of IOSONO and now Director of Barco Audio Technologies. ”We have been involved with making immersive sound for motion pictures before any other company in the market. Adding our capabilities to Barco’s will create a compelling system which will create a listening experience unparalleled in the industry. We look forward to a bright future with Barco bringing Iosono’s experience in the accurate processing and display of acoustical information to Barco’s portfolio of market leading visualization products.

CinemaBarco approach
With an installed base of over 50,000 screens, Barco is the world’s digital cinema market leader and the company increasingly delivers innovative solutions to help exhibitors create a true value-added moviegoing experience. Barco’s audio solutions are an important component of its recently introduced ‘CinemaBarco’ approach, which combines a rich array of entertainment concepts to dramatically enhance the showmanship and immersive qualities of the movie for audiences. This recent transaction perfectly fits this vision for the – immersive – cinema of the future.

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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I think you take things way too seriously.

If you don't like Auro, then do seek it out. Keep watching your movies in Atmos. I am amazed that you would drive out of your way to watch a movie in Atmos, but to each his own.

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quote: Barco AuroMax Press Release

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Barco Continues Drive Toward “Open” Approach to Cinema Sound, Debuting AuroMax Immersive Sound at Cinemacon

Barco, the worldwide market share leader in digital cinema, further expands its footprint of the Auro 11.1 immersive cinema sound solution, with more than 550 screens committed or installed and over 100 films released in Auro 11.1.

This year, Barco anticipates the beginning of the adoption of a standardized format for immersive sound. As such, Barco will be publically showing, for the first time, AuroMax®: a system that incorporates support for the placement of “objects” in any immersive mix and the most revolutionary rendering technology available from Iosono.

The momentum continues with more “Auro” movie titles
With an open standard format now imminent thanks to Barco, Auro Technologies and other partners advocating for this new “open” approach to sound, production companies worldwide are embracing the Auro-3D® format due to its flexibility and excellent audio quality. Over 100 films have been released globally in Auro 11.1 – including this summer’s blockbusters “Minions,” “Pixels,” and “Everest” – with even more announcements expected in the coming weeks.

Spearheading the evolution of an “Open Format” approach to immersive sound
“Barco and Auro Technologies are proud to celebrate this achievement with our industry partners as we worked diligently to secure the creation of a standardized distribution format for immersive cinema sound. Our desire is to protect exhibitors and studios from potential ‘gatekeeper’ entities that could impose proprietary technology, thus ensuring the ability to play any movie regardless of the system used to create it,” comments Brian Claypool, Senior Director Strategic Business Development for Barco. “Thanks to SMPTE, DCI and NATO representatives, which are also dedicated to developing these standards, our customers can expect more content, with an increased focus on quality, so that audiences understand the full potential of what immersive sound can be. The arrival of these standards will allow content creators to focus on one workflow rather than making sacrifices to create multiple versions of one mix. The arrival of a true standard in the marketplace will help achieve this.”

Premium immersive sound with AuroMax®
Barco has always approached the market with technologies and solutions defined by the requirements of the exhibition industry. AuroMax® continues this tradition by offering the most natural representation of standardized immersive sound at up-to half the cost of a typical object based sound system. Auro-3D sound systems are the only immersive system with 3 distinct layers and a vertical stereo field on screen divided over 6 screen channels to provide a realistic reproduction of sound in movie theaters. All current Auro 11.1 auditoriums are built from the existing 5.1 design philosophy. AuroMax® allows for the discreet placement of “objects”. This makes AuroMax compatible and upgradable with existing Auro 11.1 systems. This new approach maintains the same large sweet spot and guarantees the most natural representation of channel- and object-based immersive sound as intended by the creators, regardless of the size of the room.

Platform flexibility for studios
More than 35 leading post-production studios have installed the Auro-3D® Studio System, with more on the horizon because of its ability to offer total freedom to content creators regarding immersive sound development. “An open standard ensures that no manufacturer can hold exhibitors hostage by levying license fees for immersive audio. Instead, studios can effortlessly create both channel- and object-based sound masters for movies without fear of incurring exorbitant costs or being locked-in to one authoring or playback system. Best of all, by using the Auro-3D® Creative Tool Suite, a single distribution master can be created within the existing workflow that can be used on any legacy or new immersive audio system to ensure the widest distribution of their movies,” comments Wilfried Van Baelen, inventor of the Auro-3D® concept and CEO of Auro Technologies.

The most natural acoustical experience
Auro 11.1 by Barco is designed in accordance with a sound reproduction layout consisting of three layers (traditional surround sound with height and overhead layers), which enables studio sound mixers to move objects around in space to create the most realistic and acoustically perfect experience. Auro 11.1 is fully compatible with existing audio equipment and current workflows. Auro 11.1 is an integral part of the CinemaBarco experience.

CinemaBarco is a complete cinema experience featuring unmatched sight and sound technology designed to re-ignite the magic of the movies. Barco offers unprecedented solutions and economics to the cinema industry, focused on delivering compelling experiences for cinema audiences that also generate additional revenue for our exhibition partners

About Auro Technologies
Auro Technologies (www.auro-3d.com; www.auro-technologies.com) is a spin-off of the Galaxy Studios Group and owner of the Auro-3D® Technology Suite. The Auro-3D® Concept and Listening Formats have been designed by Wilfried Van Baelen, founder of Galaxy Studios, which is renowned worldwide for its state-of-the-art leadership in audio innovation for music and film sound. The Auro-3D® suite offers ground-breaking, easy-to-use and unprecedented levels of sound reproduction capabilities to the professional, automotive, broadcast and consumer electronics (such as gaming, smart phones, multimedia PC, notebooks, tablets, audio players, digital TV, media libraries and packaged media) markets.

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