(April Fools!) Industry dropping multi-channel sound, new focus will be on soundbars
04-01-17, 01:53 AM
#1
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
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(April Fools!) Industry dropping multi-channel sound, new focus will be on soundbars
I just found this article online and felt it should be shared here:
It was announced today, following the recent news that no upcoming TVs will be including 3D, that due to trends in consumer behavior multi-channel surround sound systems including the recently-launched Dolby Atmos format will no longer be manufactured. A contact at Sony stated the following:
"Sound has never been a big priority for the vast majority of consumers. Most of them are perfectly happy with the speakers built into their TVs. It's simply too much trouble for the average consumer to connect all those speakers around the room and with today's lifestyles people especially find speakers and additional amplifiers bulky and cumbersome. Soundbars have proven to be the preferred option for those wishing to take their audio experience a step above what their TV can provide, and we intend to focus all further research on those."
In wake of this news, representatives from the home video divisions of the major film studios have announced that upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray releases will no longer include the Dolby or DTS surround audio mixes that have been standard since the format's debut. Because so few consumers have been equipped to play them, future releases will instead have two-channel mixes optimized for TV speakers.
"We have routinely received complaints from consumers that dialogue has been hard to hear and explosion sound effects and the like are simply too loud, causing distortion in small TV speakers. We are now rectifying this by foregoing these multi-channel tracks, which hardly anyone we know can even decode, in favor of quality stereo mixes that should be pleasing to the vast majority of our audience," an insider at Disney Home Entertainment told us. "After all, none of our consumers even had stereo audio when we were putting out movies on VHS cassette. I don't know why we even bothered including surround mixes on that format, looking back now."
Representatives at Dolby have hinted that research is being conducted on reproducing the effects of the multi-speaker Atmos format using a simple two-speaker setup that is more friendly with the lifestyles of today's consumers, but stated that no further information on that could be provided at this time. Aside from a few enthusiasts however, it's likely that the market at large will not be bothered with the lack of around-the-room effects and look forward to hearing movies optimized for their existing TV speakers. Plans are also being made to further optimize movie sound mixes for listening on tablets and smartphones, which the public has been migrating towards in recent years.
It was announced today, following the recent news that no upcoming TVs will be including 3D, that due to trends in consumer behavior multi-channel surround sound systems including the recently-launched Dolby Atmos format will no longer be manufactured. A contact at Sony stated the following:
"Sound has never been a big priority for the vast majority of consumers. Most of them are perfectly happy with the speakers built into their TVs. It's simply too much trouble for the average consumer to connect all those speakers around the room and with today's lifestyles people especially find speakers and additional amplifiers bulky and cumbersome. Soundbars have proven to be the preferred option for those wishing to take their audio experience a step above what their TV can provide, and we intend to focus all further research on those."
In wake of this news, representatives from the home video divisions of the major film studios have announced that upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray releases will no longer include the Dolby or DTS surround audio mixes that have been standard since the format's debut. Because so few consumers have been equipped to play them, future releases will instead have two-channel mixes optimized for TV speakers.
"We have routinely received complaints from consumers that dialogue has been hard to hear and explosion sound effects and the like are simply too loud, causing distortion in small TV speakers. We are now rectifying this by foregoing these multi-channel tracks, which hardly anyone we know can even decode, in favor of quality stereo mixes that should be pleasing to the vast majority of our audience," an insider at Disney Home Entertainment told us. "After all, none of our consumers even had stereo audio when we were putting out movies on VHS cassette. I don't know why we even bothered including surround mixes on that format, looking back now."
Representatives at Dolby have hinted that research is being conducted on reproducing the effects of the multi-speaker Atmos format using a simple two-speaker setup that is more friendly with the lifestyles of today's consumers, but stated that no further information on that could be provided at this time. Aside from a few enthusiasts however, it's likely that the market at large will not be bothered with the lack of around-the-room effects and look forward to hearing movies optimized for their existing TV speakers. Plans are also being made to further optimize movie sound mixes for listening on tablets and smartphones, which the public has been migrating towards in recent years.
04-01-17, 03:42 AM
#2
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
re: (April Fools!) Industry dropping multi-channel sound, new focus will be on soundbars
yeah that was the scuttlebutt at CES this year.
Also heard this from the salesman at Best Buy when I picked up my Bose system last month.
Also heard this from the salesman at Best Buy when I picked up my Bose system last month.
Last edited by Paul_SD; 04-01-17 at 04:58 AM.
04-01-17, 11:02 PM
#7
DVD Talk Special Edition
re: (April Fools!) Industry dropping multi-channel sound, new focus will be on soundbars
The way things are going these days, it sure seems plausible.
04-02-17, 06:20 AM
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re: (April Fools!) Industry dropping multi-channel sound, new focus will be on soundbars
Now that April 1st is out of the way, closing to avoid confusion.
