Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 18, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At ShoWest 2010, Dolby Laboratories announces its collaboration with Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios to develop the new Dolby Surround 7.1 audio format. Disney and Pixar said that Dolby Surround 7.1 would be introduced in June with Toy Story 3 in 3D at selected cinemas.
“For 40 years, Dolby has not only provided content creators with the tools to produce a more realistic audio experience, but has also given cinema operators the opportunity to offer their audiences exactly the experience intended by the content creator,” explains Page Haun, Senior Director, Marketing, Cinema Market Segment at Dolby Laboratories. “With Toy Story 3 in a discrete 7.1 mix, the bar is being raised for cinema operators and their customers.”
Dolby Surround 7.1 provides cinemagoers with an enhanced sensory experience for 2D films and gives content creators control over audio placement in the cinema when mixing a 3D film. Since audio elements can now be created together with visual 3D elements, content creators can immerse audiences even more deeply in the dramatic action.
Dolby Surround 7.1 gives content creators four surround zones with which to orchestrate audio channels more effectively in a cinema environment. The four surround zones comprise the familiar left surround and right surround zones, together with the new left back surround and right back surround zones. The two new back surround zones increase directionality in the cinema’s 360-degree surround environment.
The Dolby Surround 7.1 format contains eight audio channels arranged as follows: left, centre, right, low-frequency effects (LFE), left surround, right surround, left back surround (new), and right back surround (new). To allow cinema operators to use the new format, Dolby provides playback capabilities through the Dolby CP650 and Dolby CP750 digital-cinema audio-processor product lines.
At ShoWest, Dolby is showing cinema operators a demonstration of familiar Pixar films in discrete 7.1 mixes to present the enhanced audio solution. After the show, cinema operators can test and demonstrate the content in their cinemas.
