Did Dolby Surround (1982) implement a centre channel before Dolby Pro Logic 1 (1987)?

[everettT]

@everettT This is a bit of a digression, but looking back on it, I wonder if some of the people I cited in my original post were using the term "Dolby Surround" when they really mean "Dolby Pro Logic"?

Also I thought it was odd that Pro Logic 1 was introduced in 1987, and a lot of the games I'm researching, which came out in the early/mid and even late 1990s, still had the original Dolby Surround logo on them.

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Maybe someone who knows how the branding generally worked in the 1990s could speak to whether it was common for the branding terms to be used interchangeably?

Is it possible that games and video tapes were stamped with the original logo, even though their soundtracks were actually mixed in Pro Logic 1?

Video games are interesting as they typically follow movie industry production where it would be decorder dependant. In the home environment it would have been pro logic then ac3, the problem was licensing got a little weird in the late 90s.

 

[TheRealOC]

Some may confuse the audio mix of media with the up mixer. Before Dolby AC-3(Dolby Digital 5.1)in 1995, Dolby tracks were labeled Dolby Stereo or Dolby Surround. Dolby Pro Logic was the decoder used to process those tracks and I cannot remember any media being labeled Dolby Pro Logic. I referenced the article for the mention of home media in it. I remember our family receiver being an old Kenwood V6020. It had surround speaker hookups but my brother kept going on about how much we needed to update to Pro Logic. I would get one of Pioneer's first AC-3 capable receivers in the 90's. My brother would go on to use that Kenwood into the 2000's at his place.

@Trebdp83 Is there a dummy-friendly analogy that we could use to differentiate formats and audio mixes etc from upmixers?

In my own mind, I tend to just take all the home Dolby options (Dolby Surround, Dolby Pro Logic 1, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic 2, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Pro Logic IIz, and Dolby Atmos) and think of them as "formats" or "surround sound technologies", but that's probably not quite right.....?

 

[snakeeyes]

Deriving extra channels from less channels is called matrix decoding Such as Prologic or Prologic 2.

Having unique channels is called discrete decoding. Such as Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby TrueHD 7.1 or Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

 

[TheRealOC]

Deriving extra channels from less channels is called matrix decoding Such as Prologic or Prologic 2.

Having unique channels is called discrete decoding. Such as Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby TrueHD 7.1 or Dolby Atmos 7.1.4

So if upmixing is generating extra signals from sources with less signals, how is that different from decoding?

 

[Trebdp83]

Dolby is responsible for much of the confusion. The return to "Dolby Surround" for the new Dolby up mixer didn't help matters at all. Then there are the couple of different ways to get Dolby Atmos signals to equipment for decoding these days. Only those who have kept up with the audio formats and the different versions of decoders will be able to quickly identify the media and decoders and the optimal way to set things up. Backward compatibility has kept it all from becoming a huge mess all the way around.

So, as was mentioned, Pro Logic offered up a center channel that extracted audio from non discrete Dolby tracks. Dolby would introduce 5.1 tracks via AC-3(Dolby Digital) a few years later and then different Pro Logic iterations for 7.1 and beyond. Now, Dolby Atmos is the big deal. The issue now is that most get their Atmos over streaming devices and services with some still purchasing 4K Blu-ray Discs for the best in picture and audio. Some think that their Dolby Atmos capable gear will deliver Atmos properly while streaming but that is entirely dependent on the service and device used to deliver the Dolby Atmos track to one's equipment.

Disc players aren't so difficult to set up. Streaming hardware is not the big issue but rather the deals struck with one service using one device or another with Dolby. Then there are the ridiculous settings on streaming devices and Smart TVs. Lots of nice speakers, receivers, processors and separates all waiting for users to crack the code on their media devices to get good sound in their rooms these days. Some will see a red Dolby light on their gear and think all is well. Many will simply be up mixing Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby TrueHD signals as Atmos metadata is not getting to their decoders for any number of reasons, one of which may be the service tier.

I find it funny that for so long 5.1 and then 7.1 tracks were so desired and now many have 5.1.2 or 7.1.4 and so on speaker configurations and a Dolby Atmos track decoded properly will show no incoming channel info at all. This is how one will know if Atmos metadata is coming along for the ride. If a Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 or even Multichannel PCM 7.1 signal via some devices is being detected and displayed as the incoming signal, then Atmos metadata is not in the mix and the equipment will actually use the Dolby Surround up mixer to send audio to any additional speakers in the setup.

 

[creastysomp]

I started with home surround in 1989. Cannot remember the brand, but there was some component that you could input the TV's audio out into and then connect three speakers. One front speaker and two surround. Not a center channel, per se, but you had just one up front.

 

[Kingnoob]

I started with home surround in 1989. Cannot remember the brand, but there was some component that you could input the TV's audio out into and then connect three speakers. One front speaker and two surround. Not a center channel, per se, but you had just one up front.

Wow that’s 2 years before I existed lol, Dolby Surround is amazing to have started out 2ch ?mono back channel and stereo or mono front channel ??
Very interesting! Prologic 1 was my first surround before that enhanced audio 3D surround on a dvd player . Still miss that dvd player after it broken.
Tv virtually surround was best I had originally.

 

[creastysomp]

Deriving extra channels from less channels is called matrix decoding Such as Prologic or Prologic 2.
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[DonaldMartin]

Dolby is responsible for much of the confusion. The return to "Dolby Surround" for the new Dolby up mixer didn't help matters at all. Then there are the couple of different ways to get Dolby Atmos signals to equipment for decoding these days. Only those who have kept up with the audio formats and the different versions of decoders will be able to quickly identify the media and decoders and the optimal way to set things up. Backward compatibility has kept it all from becoming a huge mess all the way around.

So, as was mentioned, Pro Logic offered up a center channel that extracted audio from non discrete Dolby tracks. Dolby would introduce 5.1 tracks via AC-3(Dolby Digital) a few years later and then different Pro Logic iterations for 7.1 and beyond. Now, Dolby Atmos is the big deal. The issue now is that most get their Atmos over streaming devices and services with some still purchasing 4K Blu-ray Discs for the best in picture and audio. Some think that their Dolby Atmos capable gear will deliver Atmos properly while streaming but that is entirely dependent on the service and device used to deliver the Dolby Atmos track to one's equipment.

Disc players aren't so difficult to set up. Streaming hardware is not the big issue but rather the deals struck with one service using one device or another with Dolby. Then there are the ridiculous settings on streaming devices and Smart TVs. Lots of nice speakers, receivers, processors and separates all waiting for users to crack the code on their media devices to get good sound in their rooms these days. Some will see a red Dolby light on their gear and think all is well. Many will simply be up mixing Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby TrueHD signals as Atmos metadata is not getting to their decoders for any number of reasons, one of which may be the service tier.

I find it funny that for so long 5.1 and then 7.1 tracks were so desired and now many have 5.1.2 or 7.1.4 and so on speaker configurations and a Dolby Atmos track decoded properly will show no incoming channel info at all. This is how one will know if Atmos metadata is coming along for the ride. If a Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, Dolby TrueHD 7.1 or even Multichannel PCM 7.1 signal via some devices is being detected and displayed as the incoming signal, then Atmos metadata is not in the mix and the equipment will actually use the Dolby Surround up mixer to send audio to any additional speakers in the setup.

Thanks for the info. I will keep it in my mind. I am glad I found your post. While searching for it online, I also found https://samedaypapers.com/custom-dissertation-writing/ website where I found custom dissertation writing help and now I won't take too much time to complete my essay assignment.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Trebdp83]

Glad to be of any help. Dolby audio in our home theaters, it’s our paradise, and it’s our war zone.