Dolby Atmos Theatre System - Page 8

Markus.. I agree with your side note.. as I may or may not have mentioned here, there are several working groups right now focused on reevaluating room tuning standards, practices, etc...

I would love to help dissuade theater operators from playing below reference... I think there was a golden opportunity missed with the adoption of D-Cinema and network connectivity in the booth. We could've instigated a modern THX TAP type program, whereas the content creators could monitor light output of the projectors and at the least what SPL the film was being played back at.

I still don't think I agree that an object only mix is any different than what we have here... again, since we are tied to a fixed screen, I don't think you can re-invent the way you present dialog, for example... you can call it an object if you want, but the dialog track isn't in need of being heard outside of the center channel a great deal of the time.

Obviously, being the first "test" project done, "Brave" isn't how we anyone would like to do ii in the future... I think most agree that starting in "Atmos" is the way to go, and the down mixing should come after...

I know how they are going about "Brave" and while labor intensive, it really shouldn't compromise the end product....

On another note, my understanding of the hardware "partnership" deal should be fairly separate from what AMC is doing in this acquisition... I don't think AMC is footing the bill.

Don't people complain "it's too loud" when it compresses and distorts ... because the gear can't handle reference?

...and it's desperately needed. There are several issues that need to be addressed. But that's probably a topic for another thread.


I believe a solely object based approach can deliver a sense of realism that hasn't been possible before. Think about reverberation that is not only correct in time but also in space. If Atmos is only used as a bass managed 7.1 system with additional left/right ceiling speaker arrays (that's actually how Dolby presented the system) this would be a chance missed.

That might be true for older theaters but it seems to be a well known fact within the industry that most cinemas don't play at reference level. The director's intention does not necessarily need to be the the same thing as the consumers' expectation.

Agree.. It most certainly, in my mind, a 7.1 + 2 system......

And the three people which have visited Dolby SF for presentations that I've spoken, and my peers who have been involed with the platform, most certainly did not come away with that kind of understanding about what is being proposed.

I'm still not quite sure how being object only based will get you any closer to what you imagine....

Reverbs and effects processors that are able to scale to more than 8 outputs are a first step...

However, that still isn't hampered by the use of a bed + object work flow IMO..

In my experience reflections coming from the sides and from elevated locations is crucial for a realistic sounding aural space.

That's also my understanding of how it works. There's also the option to decorrelate a signal and send it to multiple speakers.


Probably the latter. The question is how this would translate to an automated 7.1, 5.1 or even stereo mixdown.

Brought this from the Audyssey thread ...


Is there a means of having each "space's" acoustics entered into the soup? If mixers are going to control diffuseness and pinpoint precision, then the room could alter the balance of those ... couldn't it? Unless this technology measures and uses the sonic signature in reproducing the soundtrack.

Or am I over-thinking this?

Jeff

Wonder when a official trailer will be ready for download

The room/speaker system always has the biggest influence on how a recording is perceived. Unfortunately it's a little bit more complicated than measuring how the room alters the sound. There simply is not enough psychoacoustic research available that would allow us to reliably correlate perception to measurements.

Somebody must be working on this, eh? A whole lot of work goes into establishing and maintaining reference, only to have it marred at the last link in the chain seems .. incomplete?

Jeff

It has never been shown that setting reference level and a target curve with a steady-state noise signal will yield a perceptually correct calibration. It's just common practice. There's a paper by Dolby's Ioan Allen which touches those issues.
There are also other papers that are real eye openers in terms of what we know about sound reproduction and perception like Toole's "Loudspeakers and Rooms for Sound Reproduction" or Jan Voetmann's "50 Years of Sound Control Room Design" or...

Any word on the 15 test run locations?

I am really hoping for something in the DC. MD/Va Region.

Thanks.

http://dcinematoday.com/dc/pr.aspx?newsID=2834

Here is a list that have it.

Today, Dolby revealed the first locations in the world selected to offer Dolby® Atmos™. Dolby Atmos brings audiences the most lifelike and immersive movie-going experience ever. This breakthrough audio platform represents significant innovation from Dolby and offers audiences a sensory experience that surpasses that of any other sound experience in movie theatres today. It also offers content creators unprecedented control of the placement and movement of sound within the movie theatre leading to powerful storytelling.

Theatres selected to be the first to show Disney/Pixar’s “Brave” in Dolby Atmos will be officially announced in mid-June.

The following theatres, post houses and Dolby offices will be the first in the world to provide the future of entertainment sound through Dolby Atmos:

Movie Theatres:

United States & Canada

· AMC Barrywoods 24 (Kansas City, MO)

· AMC Burbank 16 (Burbank, CA)

· AMC Century City 15 (Century City, CA)

· AMC Downtown Disney 24 (Lake Buena Vista, FL)

· AMC Garden State 16 (Paramus, NJ)

· AMC Van Ness 14 (San Francisco, CA)

· Arclight Sherman Oaks (Sherman Oaks, CA)

· Brenden Theatres at the Palms (Las Vegas, NV)

· Century at Pacific Commons and XD (Fremont, CA)

· Cinemark West Plano and XD (West Plano, TX)

· SilverCity-Yonge Eglinton Cinemas (Cineplex) (Toronto, ON)

· Cinetopia Vancouver Mall 23 (Vancouver, WA)

· Kerasotes Showplace ICON at Roosevelt Collection (Chicago, IL)

· The Dolby Theatre (Hollywood, CA)

Europe

· Cinesa Diagonal Mar (Barcelona, Spain)

· Empire Leicester Square (London, United Kingdom)

Asia

· China Film Stella Theater Chain Hefei 1912 (He Fei, China)

· Shanghai Film Art Center (Shanghai, China)

· UME Shuangjing (Beijing, China)

· Wanda Cinemas Wuhan Lingjiao Lake (Wuhan, China)

Global Post Facilities:

· China Film Post (Beijing, China)

· Skywalker Sound - Skywalker Ranch (Marin County, CA)


Dolby Offices: United States & Europe

· Dolby 88 (New York City, NY)

· Dolby Screening Room (San Francisco, CA)

· Larry Umlang Theatre (Burbank, CA)

· Dolby Soho Screening Room (London, United Kingdom)

· Dolby Royal Wootton Bassett, Screen 1 (Royal Wootton Bassett, United Kingdom)

Movie-goers should check their theatres’ individual websites and local listings for information on Dolby Atmos. Please check back for new locations coming on line here: http://www.dolby.com/us/en/professional/technology/cinema/dolby-atmos.html#id=1

To learn more about Dolby Atmos, visit dolby.com/Atmos. For an educational video on Dolby Atmos, visit: https://vimeo.com/40699179. For press materials, visit dolby.com/press.

Figured Skywalker was the first to upgrade, since they're doing Brave (they do *all* Pixar) and they were the first with both Dolby EX and Dolby Surround 7.1

How long before the other post houses upgrade is the question. Certain high-end studios still have yet to release a film with a native 7.1 soundtrack theatrically!

Guess if this gets buzz I might have to daytrip to Paramus. Next closest to me would be Dolby 88 and then Toronto.

Jeff

Not exactly related but dolby theater is going to use Christie projectors. They are the brightest now?? Thought that was Barco

Gotta say the ATMOS set up at Dolby theaters looks a bit funny . Wonder if it will sound good in that auditorium

Edited by pokekevin - 6/18/12 at 2:53pm

... lots of rigging ...

That picture is of the rigging being put up... not at all what it looked liked for the presentation and premiere.

The Dolby Theater is a temp install for films. it isn't a permanent theater for films... they flew line arrays for the fronts on a temp screen..

Some more pictures can be found here:

Dolby Atmos Presentation

We use all Christie projectors on our larger dub stages... fairly common for D-Cinema.. and they usually stack 2 of them for large venues like this..

Okay, so I am lucky enough to live near one of the theaters showing Brave in Dolby Atmos (Cinemark West Plano). But how do I know which showings/auditorium/etc has the Atmos?? It doesn't exactly say cinemark.com for their showtimes or fandango's showtime listings. I don't want to see it only for it to NOT be the Dolby Atmos screening. At our location, the movie is playing in XD 3D, 3D, and 2D. I'm even assuming that one of those types probably has 2 auditoriums. So how do we know which one will have Atmos?

Thanks!!

It will likely be the XD auditorium. Theatres that have their own branded (XD or ETX) premium auditoriums seem to be the ones being converted to Atmos.

Luckily, AMC theatres are listing it almost like a separate feature: http://www.amctheatres.com/movies/brave-dolby-atmos

Dolby did an install in the El Capitain over the weekend... will be there also for those in Hollywood..

However, I'd go to Century City, Sherman Oaks or Burbank if you can.

Heard the mix on "Brave" is great.... can't wait to hear it finally..

Dolby Theater Documentary
Edited by FilmMixer - 6/20/12 at 9:05pm

So you're saying the El Capitan is now Atmos, but those other theaters are better?

For the first time, I noted a "Dolby Atmos" logo in the screen credits for a movie last night (Men In Black III). Is there any information about which movies have this encoding?

"Brave" is the first, and only, film to be mixed in Atmos... MIB 3 was not.

There will probably be two more films this year mixed in the format.. IIRC, Dolby expects the real rollout to be springtime 2013.

Yes and maybe (better is really a subjective descriptor...)

The Burbank and Century City installs are almost identical, and Burbank has been one of the "test" rooms for a while...

The El Cap was a last minute addition, with flying trusses like the Dolby Theater...

Read into it what you will.

Won't all retrofits be with trusses/rigging? I doubt that anyone looks at the ceiling when the movie is on the screen ... it's dark anyway.

Jeff