About Surround Sound

The experience of feeling like you are right in the middle of a rock concert or an action movie can be adventurous. Especially if the presentation is coming at you in a digital format. Surround sound systems are mainly used to add life and character to a movie or concert DVD/CD, and to provide a lifetime's worth experience for the viewer.

Facts

Surround sound systems enable the listener or viewer to hear sounds coming from all directions. The systems are available for you to listen to and use in movie theaters and your homes.

Significance

The importance of experiencing a surround sound system is for pure pleasure and entertainment. Watching a movie or listening to a live concert CD can make your experience life-like, even though you are being digitally entertained.

Function

The earliest and simplest method of presenting a sound recording is called monaural (or mono). This means that whenever a sound was initially recorded, it was recorded onto a single tape track, also known as one audio track or channel. That usually comes from one speaker. Two-channel recording is referred to as stereophonic (or stereo), and is supposed to represent the two ears of a listener. The two-channel sound format is a standard representation for surround sound, as surround sound is usually recorded on a multitude of channels (sometimes up to six channels). When you sit in a room with a surround sound system, you will hear sound coming at you from the front, from the sides, from behind you and from the low frequency speakers known as the subwoofers.

History

One of the earliest and most popular movies to use surround sound was Walt Disney's "Fantansia" in 1941. William Garity, Disney's audio engineer, recorded the orchestra for the movie's sound track on multiple channels. He separated each orchestra section and mixed them into four different audio tracks. They were recorded as optical tracks (recorded along side of the film) on a separate reel of film.

Types

Types of surround sound systems that are used today are: Dolby Digital, DTS Digital Surround, Dolby Surround Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital EX, THX Surround and EX & DTS Extended Surround (DTS-ES). Dolby Digital was one of the first versions of surround-sound that was available to the public. Since the mid-1990s, most DVDs and VHS tapes use Dolby Digital as its surround sound provider. DTS Digital Surround has basically become Dolby's competing format of surround sound. DTS is not the standard of use of surround sound like Dolby, but it has been claimed by theater enthusiasts that its quality of sound is better than Dolby.