The Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, and Auro-3D Discussion Thread

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Basically yes. And my couch.
I have used rew for a number of years, and also have a tone generator in my phone and have spent a lot of time experimenting. Ime, I am able to hear all the way down to about 20 with straight tones. Now if you add in some higher level harmonics like say, the amaze demo, where it’s says “bass you can feel”, and there’s a big thunder roll, it’s probably centered higher, like 30 but the lower under current of bass is what gives is the weight. Much like Master and commander chapter 4(NOT bd version, 30hz filter),dvd version, some of the cannon blasts are deep, like 9hz iirc. That’s a gut punch that feels much more realistic than a 30hz explosion from say, the avengers.

To me, filtered movies are a little like watching with headphones. No matter how much bass you can “hear”, it doesn’t transfer to your body.

When it come to bass, if my seat and walls are shaking and it feels like an earthquake (which we do experience once in a while in OKC, definitely not funny when you are sitting on the 10th floor of a hospital ),then I’m all good.

I’m not concerned whether the earthquake-shaking is from a 30Hz signal or 10Hz signal.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

When it come to bass, if my seat and walls are shaking and it feels like an earthquake (which we do experience once in a while in OKC, definitely not funny when you are sitting on the 10th floor of a hospital ),then I’m all good.

I’m not concerned whether the earthquake-shaking is from a 30Hz signal or 10Hz signal.

I guess you’re easier than me!!!

 

[VonMagnum]

I just watched IRON SKY - Director's Cut in upmixed 5.1 German/English (highly amusing movie). The spaceship sound effects did very well with Neural X. I'm continually amazed how well Neural X works. It can bring even stereo into a nice surrounding (more abstract) "bubble" and 5.1 upmixed sounds hella similar to Atmos at times, let alone 7.1, which is often hard to tell apart compared to the less aggressive Atmos tracks (which are clearly superior, but represent maybe 1/6, IMO). I followed this up by Macross: Do You Remember Love in Japanese 5.1 upmixed. Good old Japanese 1984 animation updated to 5.1 sound several years back had Valkyrie's flying across my ceiling....

I'll probably watch Aquaman 3D tomorrow when I'm less sleepy.

 

[VonMagnum]

OK, I watched Aquaman in 3D with Atmos added. My GOD is Amber Heard *HOT* *HOT* *HOT* in this movie! I love that redder than red hair on her. She was just smoking.... And Nicole Kidman at 51 looked like she was 25! She's still incredible looking.

Atmos sound.... It was good. A lot of "blended walls of sound" in it though that made it hard to pick out overhead sounds from the rest as it was layered floor to ceiling half the time there was any kind of battle going on. There were a few standout spots (hatches opening, walking on top of the sub, things flying over), but I found myself not noticing speakers (sounds never seemed to come from any of them) and just hearing sound. I suppose it's supposed to be that way, but somehow I'm always listening for that killer overhead sound....

3D video. Great depth, bad crosstalk on my projector (most movies I've gotten in the past year have had little to none so this was a setback; I had to choose a compromise convergence setting to minimize it. Tolerable, but always irritating just the same).

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Atmos sound.... It was good. A lot of "blended walls of sound" in it though that made it hard to pick out overhead sounds from the rest as it was layered floor to ceiling half the time there was any kind of battle going on. There were a few standout spots (hatches opening, walking on top of the sub, things flying over), but I found myself not noticing speakers (sounds never seemed to come from any of them) and just hearing sound. I suppose it's supposed to be that way, but somehow I'm always listening for that killer overhead sound....

I agree 100%. Atmos for Aquaman was good, but not killer.

Killer Overhead would be like BR2049, Pacific Rim, Cliffhanger.

 

[Auditor55]

I've skimmed through some of the Transformers movies in Atmos (The Last Knight).

I haven't seen an entire Transformers Atmos movie yet. But from what I've seen, they don't seem to have a lot of overhead sound either.

So I think there are 2 kinds of mixing here. One is for the actual movie, and one is for the home BluRay Atmos.

Maybe Michael Bay cares about the movie part, but I'm not sure he spends a lot of time mixing the Atmos for the BluRay.

Some of these directors (Cameron, Nolan - who are even much bigger names than Bay) just don't care what goes into the BluRay.

It's a good thing some of them care. Although there are some lame ones, there are also some awesome Atmos and DTSX mixes to be thankful for.

Seems like every time visit this thread or one like it there is someone complaining about not enough overhead sound in some Atmos encoded movies. Well, that's a good thing. There shouldn't be lots of overhead sounds because that wouldn't be realistic since very few sounds are perceived directly from above us. That is what's gimmicky and fraudulent about Dolby's approach to immersive audio.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

There shouldn't be lots of overhead sounds because that wouldn't be realistic

When was the last time a helicopter or Batwing ever flew 10 feet above you head?

When was the last time a giant spaceship ever flew 10 feet above your head?

When was the last time giant rocks were falling over your head?

When was the last time giant robots were flying over your head?

When was the last time a tornado flew above your head?

We don't watch Fiction movies to remind us about our realistic boring lives where nothing ever happens overhead.

 

[VonMagnum]

Seems like every time visit this thread or one like it there is someone complaining about not enough overhead sound in some Atmos encoded movies. Well, that's a good thing. There shouldn't be lots of overhead sounds because that wouldn't be realistic since very few sounds are perceived directly from above us. That is what's gimmicky and fraudulent about Dolby's approach to immersive audio.

Not all songs have to "directly" above. If you ever stayed in a house with more than one floor (or had a roof) you might have heard a bird land on it or people on the floor above walking or birds or planes flying, etc. They're don't have to be "directly" overhead, but they are above 35 degrees, typically,

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, for REALISTIC overhead sounds, look at baseball-size hail storms hitting your roof.

There are many examples of overhead sounds depending on the settings - footsteps on upper floors, rain pounding on roof, birds in park, etc.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yeah, for REALISTIC overhead sounds, look at baseball-size hail storms hitting your roof.

There are many examples of overhead sounds depending on the settings - footsteps on upper floors, rain pounding on roof, birds in park, etc.

Just remember his goal is to be a pain in the a55 first and foremost. It’s the only reason he posts.

 

[VonMagnum]

Or blaster shots hitting the roof or say a laser sword swinging over your head....

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Just remember his goal is to be a pain in the a55 first and foremost. It’s the only reason he posts.

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I think you’re right.

I think in 10 years when Atmos-X (or whatever) is out, he’ll still be saying, “I think Atmos is going to fade away”.

I think we can all understand that many people don’t have the resources or time for upgrading to Atmos. They can still enjoy 5.1 or 2.0 sound. But at some point they just need to let it go.

 

[VonMagnum]

I just watched Atomic Blonde in DTS:X. What a mind job. Sound wise, it was pretty good. There were a lot of overhead effects from planes to water, fireworks, etc. It's not Harry Potter, but it used DTS:X wisely, IMO. The movie was a bit hard to follow at times (had to confirm a few things online about the ending), but was still pretty good.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I just watched Atomic Blonde in DTS:X. What a mind job. Sound wise, it was pretty good. There were a lot of overhead effects from planes to water, fireworks, etc. It's not Harry Potter, but it used DTS:X wisely, IMO. The movie was a bit hard to follow at times (had to confirm a few things online about the ending), but was still pretty good.

Yeah, I haven’t re-watched the HP movies for the same reason it took me so long to re-watch Atomic Blonde.

But maybe with DTSX, I might actually like the HP this time around, which would be a major feat. Haha.

I only saw a few minutes of the last HP movie, and I could tell the OH effects were significant.

 

[Soccacrazy24]

I created a post, but didn't see this one. Would the dolby almost speakers make a good difference on a vaulted ceiling and is it that much better (for someone who is on a tighter budget)? Opinions?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I created a post, but didn't see this one. Would the dolby almost speakers make a good difference on a vaulted ceiling and is it that much better (for someone who is on a tighter budget)? Opinions?

Not exactly sure of your question. Make a good difference over what? Non atmos? Absolutely without question. How tall is your ceiling and how steep? Does it slant from side to side or front to back. My ceiling rises from left to right. I used IC speakers with an angled baffle(about 15°) so they basically point straight down. How tight is tight?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I created a post, but didn't see this one. Would the dolby almost speakers make a good difference on a vaulted ceiling and is it that much better (for someone who is on a tighter budget)? Opinions?

In general, you will see that the people who ACTUALLY have Atmos installed in their houses believe that Atmos offers a SIGNIFICANT enjoyment over regular surround sound (5.1, 7.1, 9.1).

It's one of those things where you have to EXPERIENCE it for yourself to believe.

There are some people who don't actually have Atmos installed in their houses who believe that Atmos is a waste of money. They will try to convince themselves and others that Atmos will somehow fade away, although Atmos has been around for over 6 years now and still growing in numbers.

Some of us may have spent close to $2,000 on ceiling speakers for Atmos.

Some of us may be willing to spend a lot more than that on ceiling speakers for Atmos because we've seen what Atmos can do.

But you don't need to spend more than $200/pair on ceiling speakers for a great Atmos experience and enjoyment.

In my opinion, you can have great enjoyment of Atmos regardless of the ceiling type you have (vaulted or not) or budget.

One significant enjoyment which many of us had not anticipated when we first adopted Atmos/DTSX is the DTS NeuralX UPMIXING ability.

This Upmixing feature (DTS NeuralX and Dolby Surround/DSU) turns almost anything into a surround experience that sounds like Dolby Atmos, even when the original source is regular DD, DTS, or just plain 2-Channel sources!

You can watch regular movies and TV shows (even 2Ch) and then you see some Rain/Storm and you can hear that Rain pouring down from your ceiling speakers!

You see Fireworks on DD/DTS/2Ch movies and then you hear that fireworks from your ceiling speakers! It is so COOL.

There are so many examples of where DTS NeuralX (many of us just call it NeuralX) can take any source and recreate some really cool sounds.

I was watching HBO's "Generation Kill" (older series) some time ago. It's in regular DTS. But when the bullets start flying, I heard it from my ceiling speakers. And then during final 5 minutes of the series when the soldiers were watching footage of the war, Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Arounds" started playing from the CEILING speakers! It was cool in the moment. It gave me goosebumps and tears of joy.

For music, I used to own many SACD, DVD-A, and DTS-CD for many years. But I have NEVER enjoyed Multi-Channel Music as much as I do now using NeuralX on plain 2Ch CD music!

 

[Soccacrazy24]

Not exactly sure of your question. Make a good difference over what? Non atmos? Absolutely without question. How tall is your ceiling and how steep? Does it slant from side to side or front to back. My ceiling rises from left to right. I used IC speakers with an angled baffle(about 15°) so they basically point straight down. How tight is tight?

Yes, I think my question necessarily specific but more so the opinion of atmos or not. I have a center vaulted (like a triangle) ceiling with slopes from left and right of the entertainment area and it probably slopes about 10-15 degrees.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yes, I think my question necessarily specific but more so the opinion of atmos or not. I have a center vaulted (like a triangle) ceiling with slopes from left and right of the entertainment area and it probably slopes about 10-15 degrees.

15 degrees slope isn't bad. You're all good for Atmos.

 

[panteragstk]

15 degrees slope isn't bad. You're all good for Atmos.

Yep. All he needs are some decent ceiling speakers with the ability to angle the tweeter and he's good to go.