Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Dolby Atmos for Home Theater

To summarise the above � what would M have to do to support Atmos and similar 3D audio formats?

1. Develop a HD621 mk2 which will have to accept bitstream and perform the decoding. (and HDMI 2.x support while they are at it). The onus is off the player from decoding these formats and I'd be surprised to see BR players ever being capable of churning out double figure channels of LPCM.

2. Support for at least 4 additional audio channels so that, at the minimum, 5.1.2, 5.1.4, 7.1.2, 7.1.4 and 9.1.2 layouts can be supported. This may require additional processing power in the 861 and a second or enhanced SpeakerLink connection to the HD621 mk2.

3. Design new (smaller) speakers for the height channels (active or not).

Probability of the above happening? Timeframe?

My belief is that 3D sound systems will be adopted by the HT market and in a few years� time will be the only set-up considered by those lucky enough to have a dedicated room.

Cliff,

I think you have it. It is a tall order. I think you bring up a good point that M shouldn't waste any effort on a player at this point. I had hoped the could do a modified Oppo player, like the MSB. But I think you have it correct.

I imagine that an external whiz bang HD621 mk2 would be the easiest. My biggest concern is looking at the likes of Trinnov and Datasat systems, their hardware is PC based. So their systems are essentially built on traditional PC boards, allowing for a lot of noise, but also allowing for a lot of processing power. The existing architecture of the 861 seems to have a limited about of processing power, which limits noise, but limits its capacity.

Yes, processing power is a key issue. In my probably na�ve model, I had the HD621 taking the burden on that and hopefully leaving not too much to add to the 861. But that assumes the number of added channels is at the lower end of the spectrum. Too many unknowns... (digress into Donald Rumsfeld mode)

This HD621mk2 would have to know all the speaker positions to calculate for Atmos Objects. It would need a GUI, or be limited to the standard models described above (the limited modell Onkyo etc. also use) That is Atmos light.

Indeed. In this speculative model of how Atmos could be implemented, the HD621 mk2 would be a bigger beast altogether. GUI could be the Config program with speaker parameters going to both processor and HD621.

I suppose M could follow the ADA/Trinnov model, where there is a tack on integrated box that does the room correction and leaves the processor to only decode. They would need to break from their external HDMI policy and have a processor that does full Atmos.
ADA

They could do their own, with an MMHR connection.

I�m taking some encouragement from M�s development of 3D audio algorithms (Trifield 3D) and use of height channels for in-car use. I wonder if they�ll make it to the living room?

Quite an interesting overview of Atmos from Andrew Jones of Pioneer.

Andrew Jones on Atmos

Thanks for the link. I have been a fan of Andrew Jones for more than a decade. Since I live in Las Vegas, I attend CES every year and I make sure I spend at least an hour with Andrew in the TAD room. Andrew does great demos with very interesting musical selections, great discussions and of course great equipment. As he is in this video is pretty much how he is in person. I have several pair of Andrew Jones designed speakers and enjoy them very much.

And by the way I live about a mile from the Regis theater in the Red Rock Casino. This is an IMAX 7.1 equipped with Atmos. Just saw Planet of The Apes there. Very nice, indeed very nice.

Gary

Yes, Andrew does come across as a likable, down-to-earth character even through you know he�s keen to flog you his speakers.

There will undoubtedly be a lot of Atmos kit at next month�s Cedia and the next 12-24 months will be interesting when we should find out whether or not object-based sound rendering is just a passing phase or the must-have and future of HT.

I'm waiting for some OnCeiling speakers to be released first as I would prefer those to the modules that mount on top of the Front and rear channels and bounce off the ceiling.