Red tails in 11.1 Audio

Any nearby theaters in NorthWest Oregon that will have this?

Which theater in Miami? Is this going to be displayed at Shoeast?

Am I understanding the speaker layout correctly? This is a standard LCR + surround arrays of conventional cinema + height channels on all four walls?

How many speakers are required for this "voice of God" in a full sized commercial cinema? Given the width and depth of the seating, you'd need arrays?

I am now even more satisfied with my HT decision to keep the surrounds low. I can now add height speakers should an affordable HT equivalent ever come available.

When I first learned about Tom Holman's 10.2 system, my thoughts were about the cinema and how it might be implemented there. It seems you have done just that and created an excellent way to change what has essentially been the 'norm' for over 50 years. Awesome work. I hope I get the chance to hear one of these some day soon.

This video of the Auro-3D 11.1 cinema speaker configuration shows side|overhead speaker arrays.

Yes, but to be more specific, each surround speaker or channel has an upper and a lower version.

Most of my existing surround speakers were|are placed a little too high (the legacy of my starting out with a Yamaha DSP based surround system around 1990!) So when I started a Middle Layer surround speaker upgrade recently, I kept the older speakers in place to become (equivalent) Top Layer surrounds, and I'm installing the new surround speakers 'near ear level' -- which should position me 'ready' for an Auro-3D decoder equipped AVR if the speaker format and associated channel compression algorithm are successful in home theater. However, instead of a single Top Center (TpC) speaker directly overhead, I'm planning to try a 'dual mono' Top Side Left|Right (TpSiL|TpSiR) surround speaker pair 'cross firing 50%+50% from both side walls at ceiling level' (something like the height channel delivery mechanism employed in the "Alternate Telarc SACD 6.0 Height Playback Layout".)

[As the Auro-3D speaker layouts are 'compatible' with some likely downmix layouts for Hamasaki 22.2, odds are that most of the current planned 'overcapacity' in my system will get used sometime in the next decade! ]

You can see the nominal room geometry in these [home] Auro-3D 9.1 layouts. [The Auro-3D 11.1 theater configuration for 'Red Tails' would add a center Height in front plus a Top Center directly overhead.]

I did run 2 extra sets of speaker cables behind my screen wall, so I'm covered in the front. Looks like I'm out of luck with the rears, though if the Auro 9.1 catches on for HT.

Holman's height speaker implementation was a pair of speakers high above the L/R mains. Whether in a home theatre or a commercial cinema, a pair of speakers in front of the listeners (even high up) are not going to localize sound above the listeners. Taller soundstage? Yes. Overhead imaging? No.

So Auro is on the right track as far as speaker placement goes. Having height speakers spread out in front and back means that their phantom images will end up being in between: i.e., above the listeners. Can't do that with a pair of speakers high up on the front wall.

BTW, the upcoming Lexicon consumer surround processor (MP-20) is designed for a 12.4 speaker layout: 7 mains, 4 subs, 5 heights. Folks who heard this configuration in the Harman trailer at CEDIA last month said that the height effect worked as claimed, creating stable localization overhead.

I'm sure there will always be 'serious' HT fans who want to replicate the 'full theater' experience of [future] Auro-3D 13.1(6) movies...?!

. . . plus (perhaps next decade) future optical disk|IP|OTA|cable tv in SHV format with 22.2 channel audio...?!

[But you still have a few years left in which to install the additional wiring! ]

IIRC, the studio mix for the Auro-3D 11.1|12.1|13.1 configurations includes a discrete Top Center (overhead) channel. I thought one reason to limit the max theater channel config to 13.1 (i.e., 14 discrete channels) was that DCI compliant movie distribution servers can handle 16 audio channels, two of which are reserved for the hearing-, and sight-impaired headset tracks.

[I'm assuming that a 13.1(7) encode with separate LR|RR surround tracks instead of just (one) CS track -- and thus a total of 15 discrete tracks -- would be intended for a 7.1 PCM compatible BD (i.e., HT) mix only...?]

That's fine for theatrical releases, where that Top Centre channel can be reproduced by grid of multiple speakers overhead. Not so much for home use, where it would likely be reproduced by a single speaker overhead (worst location ever). That mono channel would be better off routed to height speakers that are away from the centre line, just as the mono surround-back channel on EX soundtracks is better routed to 2 rear speakers spread out on the back wall, or the mono LFE channel is better when reproduce by multiple subwoofers.

Interesting. When I upgraded from passive speakers for LCR to 2 way active speakers last year, I left the passive speaker wires and their terminal plates intact. The idea being that at some point, a 9.1 upgrade would be a change of AVR + 2 new "height" speakers. The fact that have a centre "height" already in place might be of use even for "voice of God".

And I can do just that as I have a curved AT Scope screen (with LCRs slightly lower than normally recommended - another story for another time) and a shelf above the screen with at least 8" to the ceiling - perfect for "height" speakers or an upper LCR array if required.

LOL. The room was done on a budget, but it was thought out so it would accommodate my present system (THX processed 7.1) as well as allow future upgrades - ie lots of access to run new cables. I'll admit, the height channel thing is more coincidence than planing though, but looks as if it has worked in my favor so I'll run with that for now.

Because I based my room on a scaled down "real" cinema, the screen does go wall to wall and the problem of where to place "wide" speakers was always a concern - especially after hearing them in a friends HT (he now has an 11.2 system) I came to the conclusion that they added more to the experience than they subtracted.

The question that always played over in my head was - where do these new speakers get mounted for a real cinema that uses arrays for the surrounds. It appears that this new system does not have specific "wide" speakers, so hopefully I'm covered there too

Keep in mind that [even] the DCI allows for a channel|speaker lineup with entries different from those present in the Auro-3D 11.1|12.1|13.1 configurations, most obviously the Left Center (Lc) and Right Center (Rc) pair (used in the SDDS configuration). The Auro-3D speaker configurations would seen to offer 'excellent' general movie performance, and perhaps be unbeatable for playing an air combat movie like 'Red Tails'. Nonetheless a hypothetical video of the stage musical The Hunting of the Snark (which I saw with David McCallum playing Lewis Caroll!) -- and which featured the on-stage orchestra mounted on an elevator frequently lifted from the stage almost to the proscenium arch -- would likely benefit from more numerous front channels (and fewer surrounds). So perhaps best not to limit your speaker placement choices just yet!

Good point. Whilst I've entertained the idea of 5 screen channels, I only have an 8 foot wide screen, so 3 LCRs is about as far as I can go there. Having heard SONY's 8CH SDDS system, there is reason why one would go there, but in the end of the day, I just find four discrete surrounds like in 7.1 (Transformers Dark Of The Moon) to be more engaging than those extra screen channels. I would not sweat that one too much.

While this is intriguing, I just can't see this format gaining any kind of acceptance in the home market. We are all junkies on this forum but who has the time, money and room to support 11.1? I know it just wouldn't be feasible in my HT room, too complicated to wire everything up for beginners.