Giles

Transformers: Age of Extinction

http://www.cnet.com/news/transformer...atmos-blu-ray/

"Paramount will launch the "Transformers: Age of Extinction" Blu-ray on September 30, 2014, in the US and says it plans further Atmos titles via online streaming and Blu-ray Disc later this year.

According to Dolby there are hundreds of cinema titles that have been encoded in Atmos since it debuted in 2011, including "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Brave," and "The Life of Pi."

In the coming months a host of new receivers will come online supporting the Dolby standard, as well as some existing models that can be upgraded via firmware. Manufacturers that have announced Atmos-enabled equipment include Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha.

Dolby Atmos offers a different way to render surround-sound information that is "object-based" rather than channel-based, which enables Atmos systems to adapt surround soundtracks on the fly to a user's own speaker configuration. Dolby Atmos is backward-compatible with existing True HD decoding equipment.

One of the biggest challenges Dolby faces in popularizing the format in the home is convincing customers to invest in height speakers, or buy new speakers with ceiling-facing drivers, such as the Pioneer Elite speakers.

According to Dolby, some as-yet-unnamed manufacturers will bundle add-on modules for existing speakers with the purchase of new Atmos receivers."

majorjoe23

I hope they release Spinal Tap in Doubly Atmos.

Giles

+11 of course.

RocShemp

Onkyo is one of said manufacturers.

Giles

Paramount and Warner's are on board according to Dolby

Drexl

So, how does the "object-based" mixing work? Is it like a video game, with sounds recorded separately and mixed on the fly?

If that's the case, it seems that isolated scores could be offered easily, as they could tell it to just play the music object.

E Unit

I thought it would make more sense to utilize Atmos on 4k releases. I have zero desire to upgrade just to hear these mixes. Of course that's the same for me regarding 4k at this time.

RocShemp

I think it makes sense making Atmos at home available now. If either Atmos or 4K doesn't take off, it's best not to put all their eggs in one basket.

Josh Z

Rather than the traditional method of laying sounds into tracks that are mixed to 5.1 or 7.1 specific speaker channels, Atmos encodes each sound as an object that exists in a three-dimensional space. The decoder knows where all of the speakers in your room are located, and will map the sounds to whichever speaker is closest to the position of where the object should be. The more speakers you add, the more refined the localization gets.

It's similar to the way video games work. If you're playing a first person shooter and you turn to the left, the game knows where the sounds are supposed to be located relative to the "camera" and will shift them to the appropriate speakers to match your new p.o.v. Atmos is a similar concept but a lot more refined.

The lack of isolated scores on Blu-ray releases has more to do with music licensing rights issues than with any technological barrier. I doubt you will see any more or less isolated scores on Atmos discs than you do on regular discs.

Dan

^ Interesting. So, even with a standard 5.1 setup, one should get better sound with an Atmos-equipped Receiver/disc than one without?

Josh Z

Honestly, I don't think it will sound too much different from a dedicated 5.1 mix.

RocShemp

That's what I always assumed but Dolby tends to say they use a 7.1 mix as a base. That makes it sound like a channel based system with an object based extension.

Giles

which oddly wasn't the case for the Atmos mixes of


Dolphin Tale 2
Jersey Boys
Insidious 2
Mama
The Heat
Into the Storm
Lucy
The Amazing Spider Man 2

Josh Z

Atmos is a hybrid system that uses some traditional channels and some 3D objects. I asked a Hollywood sound mixer about that, and he said that some sound elements, such as the musical score, don't make sense to encode as objects. You don't want the score to move around the room when the camera p.o.v. changes. It should remain locked to the normal channels that you expect music to come from.

Theoretically, an Atmos track can be all 3D objects. But in practical application, most sound mixers start with a 7.1 base of sounds that they want to root in specific channels and then build up with 3D objects from there.

Giles

two new forthcoming titles with Dolby Atmos:

Hercules
Step Up All In

Matthew Chmiel

And it looks like they'll be no Blu-ray 3D release of Step Up All In (in America, at least).

RocShemp

Thanks, Josh. That clears it up for me.

RocShemp

What. The. Fuck?!

RocShemp

So is the PS3 gonna get an update to bitstream Atmos (or even True HD while playing back a 3D disc)? Or will I need a new BD player as well as a new receiver or Pre/Pro?

Matthew Chmiel

Yup. As it stands now, the release is just "Blu-ray + Digital HD" combo pack.

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releas...up-all-in.html

With the film bombing at the box office and users at Blu-ray.com thinking the film is beneath them, I don't even think there's a demand for a Blu-ray 3D release.

Thankfully, Universal owns the rights to the film internationally and doesn't region lock their discs. The 3D release in the UK comes out a month later on December 1st.

Alan Smithee

That's total bullshit, since Lionsgate has been doing 3D better than the other studios up til now- putting 3D on ALL copies of movies that have it, not putting out separate 2D-only editions and not even charging extra for the 3D discs! And how many people are equipped for Dolby Atmos vs those who are equipped for 3D???

I'm buying the UK disc, my player is region-free so not even that will stop me. Getting disgusted with what's been going on with 3D lately, first with Di$ney and now this.

That couldn't have POSSIBLY been because of the 3D upcharges, could it??? If anything does kill 3D, it's gonna be that- in fact I'm surprised people have mostly gone along with it this long. (No, I did not see Step Up All In at the theater, for precisely that reason- I was expecting to be able to buy the blu-ray for just a little more than what one ticket would've cost.)

Matthew Chmiel

Here's my beef with the situation: Step Up All In wasn't even in Dolby Atmos in theaters, but was shot natively in 3D! Seriously, what the fuck Lionsgate!?!

Lionsgate have released separate 2D-only Blu-rays simultaneously of 3D films (Saw: The Final Chapter, the Conan reboot, etc), but for "lesser" titles have made the 3D set be the "only one" available (Dredd, Step Up Revolution, etc). I don't get how Universal is giving the UK both versions on the same disc, but Lionsgate can't do the same thing here... especially for a film that took full fucking advantage of the format!

RocShemp

I missed it in theaters, was hoping to enjoy it in 3D at home. Will be importing the UK BD.

Matthew Chmiel

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been confirmed to have a Dolby Atmos mix ...

... on both the 2D and 3D discs.

RocShemp

Was TMNT native or a conversion?