Will Dolby's New Atmos 62.2 Format Redefine Surround Sound?

CIStud writes "Anyone who goes to see Pixar's new animated Brave film might come home with their ears ringing. Why? because Brave is the debut of Dolby Lab's new 62.2 surround sound format called Atmos, which adds new developments such as pan-through array and overhead speakers. With 62 speakers and 2 subwoofers, only a handful of theaters nationwide will be able to show the film at its full throttle. Dolby has produced a new highly informative video that talks about how movie sound has progressed from mono to stereo to LCR (left/center/right) to 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound and now Atmos. The big question is will the 62.2 format system be adapted for home theaters intent on emulating the immersive movie experience?" I've seen some busy input/output panels on home stereo equipment, but 62 channels is too many for my interconnect budget. Still, overhead sound seems like a good idea for some kinds of movie.

Comments

...overkill...?

[raydobbs]

Why does this remind me of the spoof commercial I saw somewhere for the 12 blade facial razor, for the ultimate in close shaves? The thing looked like a damn textbook attached to a Bic razor handle. 62 speakers sound like extreme overkill in any environment outside a professional theater.

Re:...overkill...?

[jonnythan]

It certainly is, but two points:

1) It will be astonishingly awesome in a professional theater.

2) No matter how many independent channels you've recorded or mixed for a pro theater, you can always downmix them to fit your personal theater layout. It's not as possible to as effectively upmix from fewer to more channels.

So by all means mix movies in 62.2 sound! Then give us Blu-ray discs with 7 surround channels, four ceiling channels, and two sub channels.

Gimmick

[ichthus]

Yet another gimmick to try to get people to return to the theaters. And again, we all say, "Just make better movies."