Announcement

**Steve Guttag** · 03-16-2023, 05:55 AM

I would question all titles after the mid 1970s as to having 5-screen channels. They did happen but were very few and far between and even less so post 1977. For instance, you have Brainstorm listed as 5-screen channels. I don't recall that has an option and I do recall running it. I could see how 5-screen channels, on that title would make it even more cool but I just don't recall it as an option. Even by the late '60s, most 6-track mixes were "spreads" of the 4-track rather than a true dedicated 6-track mix. What is your evidence for most any of the 1980s titles having a 6-track offering? I'd be amazed if a title like Wolfen had a 6-track offering. Other than Annie, I'm not sure any of the titles you have as format 41 were. Superman not only wasn't a conventional 6-track, it was the test film for format 43.

There are people that do keep track of such things, but I'm not one of them. However, I was very active with 70mm releases in the 1980s and beyond and always a proponent of 5-screen channels but there were almost zero releases in formats 40 or 41 after Star Wars (1977), when Dolby and 70mm were heavily tied. Even when SDDS caused a mini-revival of 5-screen channels due to a studio (Columbia/Tri-Star) being owned by Sony, that didn't carry over to the 70mm releases (of which there were very few after the digital audio formats came into being). Even most of the SDDS-8 releases were uninspired and seemingly more akin to the 2D->3D conversions of today in that they were not really mixed that way but were released in SDDS-8 to accommodate the format's viability. There were definitely ground-up 8-channel mixes but I'd say that wasn't the norm...again, like 3D is today.

**Andrea Rossi** · 03-16-2023, 11:40 AM

Thanks for your insight, Steve - that's the type of help I need!

About spreads (wasn't that bad habit called "Columbia spread" by the way?):
I'm aware there are some such titles on 6-track and SDDS-8, but, unless the LC/LE and RC/RE are mute (I mean, unless they take the 4-track "as is"), don't they belongs to their respective categories?

Agree that after mid 70s, and in particular after Star Wars (thanks, Dolby!

) only a few titles were effectively 5-screen but I don't know which ones... got no evidences, but only clues, found in this very forum and other forums and websites like in70mm - but sometimes the info are controversials; I usually do not take in account IMDB as most info are wrong there.

Few titles I assumed myself being 5-screen because I read reviews of home media, or memories of theatrical experiences, where they talk about travelling/panning/directional dialogue - a no-no for Dolby, so probably a clue to be non-Dolby hence no baby boom/5.1.

So, back to selected titles:
Brainstorm = ?
Wolfen = Megasound, so no 5-screen!
Superman = Format 43?

About SDDS-8 "upmix":
I read somewhere (in US magazines, years ago, can't recall which ones though) that few 8-channel mixes use full fledged five screen channel potential; yet, also the ones that used the LE/RE sparingly did not make (usually) only spread - a notable exception is Twister (IIRC the director admited it): albeit it's difficult to tell the difference between a (less than stellar) 8-channel and a vanilla 6-channel, unless someone can make a direct A/B comparison - but in that case, how?

**Steve Guttag** · 03-16-2023, 01:06 PM

You can blame Dolby if you like but the realities are, the studios already moved away from doing a dedicated 6-track mix and stuck with a 4-track. Screen sizes were shrinking heavily after the mid-60's so the perception was the need for the "Extra" channels wasn't there. There was also a strong move away from panned dialog, which hurt some of the benefits of a true 5-across system since localization of sounds, including dialog is where more speakers shine (witness Dolby ATMOS today).

A spread mix is as one would think where LC and RC are derived via the three real channels, respectively. The audio is "draped" so if one were to pan something across, yes, as it passes over or stays at LC or RC, they are louder...but they are not unique in that their neighbor channels have the same information, at a lower level. If you want to hear an atrocity of a release on 70mm, check out The Bridge on the River Kwai. That feels like a mono mix spread to all five...it was rough to listen to. Talk about the wall of sound.

So, back to Dolby. Do you blame them for offering an alternative use for the tracks? They provided NR to kill the very apparent hiss. They took two, otherwise, unused or poorly used tracks and provided deep bass (subwoofers) for the masses. Before them, you had gimmick formats like Sensurround but with Dolby's LFE channel, one could have it on every title and allow systems that, here to for, couldn't really reproduce very low frequencies the ability, without replacing the entire system to jump into a more modern sounding system.

Again, I'm a 5-across kinda guy...always have been. I love panned dialog and wish it was used to this day (Toy Story did it a bit). but I don't record movies...just show them and set up systems to show them. ALL of my Atmos rooms have 5-across...regardless of screen size. My smallest professional ATMOS room has a screen about 20-feet wide...5-across. Everything just scales down.

**Andrea Rossi** · 03-16-2023, 03:42 PM

It's not Dolby's fault the progressive abandon of the 5-screen channel - the motivations you are writing about are indeed true. Even if at 250Hz I would not dare to call them proper subwoofers, the baby boom configuration was a wise use of some speakers that would remain unused otherwise; the Dolby A, then SVA, SR, AC-3, EX; all these helped to improve the theatrical sound.

What I mainly blame it for is the fact their technician forced audio engineers to stuck dialogue in the center only (even if some directors fought against this decision). The reason to "deploy directional dialogue to not confuse the viewers" is nonsense; at the contrary, it's not normal to hear voice from the center of a theater screen when the character who's talking is on the extreme right or left of it, sometimes many feet away, or to hear dialogue stuck there when the character is walking towards one side - that's why Pixar (wisely) chose to use (at least some) directional dialogue, to NOT confuse the kids too much. Was it too difficult to admit that their Dolby MP Matrix had problems with traveling dialogue? (yes, it was, of course, but I digress...)

And also, why using FOUR channels for the surround and only THREE for the screen, is behind my comprehension - where anybody knows that human beings are more accurate at discerning sounds that come from the front, up to one degree of spatial separtion, while much less from the back (and the top); it was not a technical decision too, as Sony was already able to use five screen channels, and two surround - plus a third matrixed one for selected movies, and DCP allowed up to 16 channels... but I guess it was a commercial move. But then Dolby Atmos brought back the LC and RC speakers "en vogue" again... isn't that funny somehow?

**Gordon McLeod** · 03-17-2023, 09:06 AM

Originally posted by Andrea Rossi View Post

It's not Dolby's fault the progressive abandon of the 5-screen channel - the motivations you are writing about are indeed true. Even if at 250Hz I would not dare to call them proper subwoofers, the baby boom configuration was a wise use of some speakers that would remain unused otherwise; the Dolby A, then SVA, SR, AC-3, EX; all these helped to improve the theatrical sound.

What I mainly blame it for is the fact their technician forced audio engineers to stuck dialogue in the center only (even if some directors fought against this decision). The reason to "deploy directional dialogue to not confuse the viewers" is nonsense; at the contrary, it's not normal to hear voice from the center of a theater screen when the character who's talking is on the extreme right or left of it, sometimes many feet away, or to hear dialogue stuck there when the character is walking towards one side - that's why Pixar (wisely) chose to use (at least some) directional dialogue, to NOT confuse the kids too much. Was it too difficult to admit that their Dolby MP Matrix had problems with traveling dialogue? (yes, it was, of course, but I digress...)

And also, why using FOUR channels for the surround and only THREE for the screen, is behind my comprehension - where anybody knows that human beings are more accurate at discerning sounds that come from the front, up to one degree of spatial separtion, while much less from the back (and the top); it was not a technical decision too, as Sony was already able to use five screen channels, and two surround - plus a third matrixed one for selected movies, and DCP allowed up to 16 channels... but I guess it was a commercial move. But then Dolby Atmos brought back the LC and RC speakers "en vogue" again... isn't that funny somehow?

The reason for dialogue centre channel only was because of the low seperation of the early Dolby matrix. The pentoptical module was gain riding for +3-3db giving only effecivly 6 db of channel steering. It was not until the use of the tate chips in the 150B did we start seeing logic steering that could actually created single hard channels. The other issue was matrix collapse that happens when in effect all 4 channels are being used at high levels at once and the steering collapses to big mono.
Even in the 60s most 70mm releases only used the 4 track mag mix and Le and Re were either not used or had a just a sum of L+C for LC and Rc was R+C
Tommy definetly didnt use LcRc MegaSound used LcRc for lowfrequency boost much like format 42 but used a eventide clockworks sub bass generator to drive dedicated subs
Sensurround titles did a variety of methods some contained control tracks for a noise generator (earthquake) others had rumble effects only

**Stefan Scholz** · 03-17-2023, 01:58 PM

From the theory, the 5 front speakers are very important channels, more than any other addition, required to cover the largest portion of the theatre hall with stereo coverage in the conductor's perspective.
It pretty much made sense, and that's why it was chosen on Cinerama and Todd AO. The theoretical research of human hearing related transform functions started in the 1930s, and continues until today.
Most point to 5 front, specially in rooms not suited for stereo (e.g. automobile driver seat). De Luxe car stereos these days come with the 5 speakers, some may not be directly noticeable in their install.

With their proposed Atmos layout, Dolby finally acknowledged the theoretical findings, by eventually proposing a 5 channel front, and distributed LFE bass management.

SDDS 8 was chosen for the forementioned research reasons, and to have the showcase option that Todd AO offered. The number of true mixes in the format is not really high, a mixing crew well knowing how to use it, can achieve exceptional results. To just pan the inner channels, or write "0" data ("0" PCM is a valid track, if enclosed in the files), Does not offer extra value and audio quality; but ended in the title number count. Then, theatres with 5 channel capability were mostly those old 70 mm installations, where only a few had sound systems capable of high dynamic range and full frequency response. Many were existing from magnetic stereo pre Dolby NR, again not adding to perceived quality.

Even for me, as being involved with SDDS in the 90's, I have no remembering, which titles actually featured true 5 fronts.
Schwarzenegger Last action hero comes into mind, as one of the very early ones, which might have existed in test only
For sure, MIB Men in Black was 8 channels correctly used, it's been the film we used to make promotional screenings with.
Also Petersen's In the line of the fire and Airforce 1, and The perfect storm had 5 screen used.
Pearl Harbour (adding expanded surround) to the 5 front is a rare exemption from a studio normally not into SDDS. Correctly played, it is extremely intensive and features a perfect mix.

Actually, there were a bigger number of European movies (actually most are teleplays) released in SDDS 8, due to the fact, that extra EU subsidization was granted for using enhanced technology. These films never played 8 channels outside the premiere screenings, the arthouse theatres they played in eventually were glorious mono, or optical SVA at best.

**Andrea Rossi** · 03-17-2023, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by Stefan Scholz View Post

Actually, there were a bigger number of European movies (actually most are teleplays) released in SDDS 8, due to the fact, that extra EU subsidization was granted for using enhanced technology. These films never played 8 channels outside the premiere screenings, the arthouse theatres they played in eventually were glorious mono, or optical SVA at best.

AFAIK there are about a hundred SDDS-8 movies; I wonder if those European movies you are talking about were in the list - like Les Miserables.

**Jerry G. Axelsson** · 03-18-2023, 12:40 AM

Hello Andrea, for what it is worth.

Apocalype Now (1979) was the first official format 43 in 70mm with split surround as far as I know. I assume they did tests with some title before, but I have not heard about specific titles such as SUPERMAN which you list above.
Most of the 80:titles you list above I would say was format 42 (70mm Dolby Stereo). We have BRAINSTORM in 70mm at out archive and it is format 42.

**Steve Guttag** · 03-18-2023, 11:34 AM

I'd say that any of the Steven Soderbergh movies (i.e. any of the Oceans movies) of the SDDS era would be SDDS-8. His sound mixer, Larry Blake was a proponent of the channel arrangement. He used it to keep sound elements from sharing the same speakers as other elements rather than for better localized panning, for instance. The notes in the can for his movies were clear that if you didn't have 5-across, play it in 5.1 rather than some mix-down, which would defeat the purpose of the separate mix and not be what he laid down.

**Andrea Rossi** · 03-18-2023, 01:18 PM

Thanks for all your inputs!

I can't edit the first post, so until I've found out which are which, I've divided the list in three chunks:

Five-screen channel feature films | certain, or almost

2001: a Space Odyssey 1968 (6-track)
Agony and the Ecstasy, The 1965 (6-track)
Air Force One 1997 (SDDS-8)
Airport 1970 (6-track)
Alamo, The 1960 (6-track)
Annie 1982 (format 41)
Around the World in 80 Days 1956 (6-track)
Baraka 1992 (6-track)
Bible: in the Beginning..., The 1966 (6-track)
Can-Can 1960 (6-track)
Cleopatra 1963 (6-track)
Doctor Dolittle 1967 (6-track)
Erin Brockovich 2000 (SDDS-8)
Hello, Dolly! 1969 (6-track)
How the West Was Won 1962 (7-track)
In the Line of Fire 1993 (SDDS-8)
It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 1963 (6-track)
Khartoum 1966 (6-track)
Krakatoa, East of Java 1969 (6-track)
Last Action Hero 1993 (SDDS-8)
Last Valley, The 1971 (6-track)
Lawrence of Arabia 1962 (6-track)
Man in the 5th Dimension 1964 (6-track)
Men in Black 1997 (SDDS-8)
Ocean's Eleven 2001 (SDDS-8)
Ocean's Thirteen 2007 (SDDS-8)
Oklahoma! 1955 (6-track)
Out of Sight 1998 (SDDS-8)
Patton 1970 (6-track)
Pearl Harbor 2001 (SDDS-8)
Porgy and Bess 1959 (6-track)
Scent of Mystery 1960 (6-track)
Search for Paradise 1957 (7-track)
Seven Wonders of the World 1956 (7-track)
Sound of Music, The 1965 (6-track)
South Pacific 1958 (6-track)
South Seas Adventure 1958 (7-track)
Star! 1968 (6-track)
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines 1965 (6-track)
West Side Story 1961 (6-track)
Windjammer 1958 (7-track)
Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, The 1962 (7-track)

Five-screen channel feature films | probable

55 Days at Peking 1963 (6-track)
Adventurers, The 1970 (6-track)
Alfred the Great 1969 (6-track)
Andromeda Strain, The 1971 (6-track)
Anna Karenina 1967 (6-track)
Anne of the Thousand Days 1969 (6-track)
Antony and Cleopatra 1972 (6-track)
Barabbas 1961 (6-track)
Battle of Britain 1969 (6-track)
Battle of the Bulge 1965 (6-track)
Becket 1964 (6-track)
Ben-Hur 1959 (6-track)
Big Fisherman, The 1959 (6-track)
Black Tights 1961 (6-track)
Black Tulip, The 1965 (6-track)
Blue Max, The 1966 (6-track)
Born Free 1966 (6-track)
Bridge Too Far, a 1977 (6-track)
Bye Bye Birdie 1963 (6-track)
Camelot 1967 (6-track)
Cardinal, The 1963 (6-track)
Carpetbaggers, The 1964 (6-track)
Castle Keep 1969 (6-track)
Chaikovsky 1970 (6-track)
Charge of the Light Brigade , The 1968 (6-track)
Cheyenne Autumn 1964 (6-track)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 1968 (6-track)
Chronicle of Flaming Years 1965 (6-track)
Cinerama Holiday 1955 (6-track)
Circus World 1964 (6-track)
Comedians, The 1967 (6-track)
Concert for Bangladesh, The 1972 (6-track)
Cowboys, The 1972 (6-track)
Cromwell 1970 (6-track)
Darling Lili 1970 (6-track)
Deliverance 1972 (6-track)
Dersu Uzala 1975 (6-track)
Doctor Zhivago 1965 (6-track)
Earthquake 1974 (6-track)
El Cid 1961 (6-track)
Exodus 1960 (6-track)
Fall of the Roman Empire, The 1964 (6-track)
Far From the Madding Crowd 1967 (6-track)
Fiddler on the Roof 1971 (6-track)
First Men in the Moon 1964 (6-track)
Flying Clipper - Traumreise unter weissen Segeln 1962 (6-track)
Funny Girl 1968 (6-track)
Funny Lady 1975 (6-track)
Golden Head, The 1965 (6-track)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips 1969 (6-track)
Grand Prix 1966 (6-track)
Great Wall, The 1962 (6-track)
Great Waltz, The 1972 (6-track)
Greatest Story Ever Told, The 1965 (6-track)
Guns for San Sebastian 1968 (6-track)
Guns of Navarone, The 1961 (6-track)
Half a Sixpence 1967 (6-track)
Hallelujah Trail, The 1965 (6-track)
Hawaii 1966 (6-track)
Hellfighters 1968 (6-track)
Hindenburg, The 1975 (6-track)
Holiday in Spain 1962 (6-track)
Ice Station Zebra 1968 (6-track)
Imperial Venus 1962 (6-track)
In Harm’s Way 1965 (6-track)
Innocents Abroad 1959 (6-track)
Is Paris Burning? 1966 (6-track)
Jeremiah Johnson 1972 (6-track)
Kelly's Heroes 1970 (6-track)
King and I, The 1956 (6-track)
King Kong 1976 (6-track)
King of Kings 1961 (6-track)
La Fayette 1961 (6-track)
Le Corsaire 1965 (6-track)
Le Mans 1971 (6-track)
Let the Good Times Roll 1973 (6-track)
Lion in Winter, The 1968 (6-track)
Little Big Man 1970 (6-track)
Logan’s Run 1976 (format 41)
Long Ships, The 1964 (6-track)
Longest Day, The 1962 (6-track)
Lord Jim 1965 (6-track)
Lost Horizon 1973 (6-track)
Lucky Lady 1975 (6-track)
MacKenna's Gold 1969 (6-track)
Man of La Mancha 1972 (6-track)
Man with the Golden Gun, The 1974 (6-track)
Marooned 1969 (6-track)
Mary, Queen of Scots 1971 (6-track)
Mayerling 1968 (6-track)
Mediterranean Holiday 1964 (6-track)
Miracle of Todd-AO, The 1956 (6-track)
Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 (6-track)
My Fair Lady 1964 (6-track)
Nicholas and Alexandra 1971 (6-track)
Oklahoma! 1955 (6-track)
Oliver! 1968 (6-track)
Operation Crossbow 1965 (6-track)
Othello 1965 (6-track)
Paint Your Wagon 1969 (6-track)
Panorama Blue 1974 (6-track)
Paper Tiger 1975 (6-track)
Papillon 1973 (6-track)
Pink Panther, The 1963 (6-track)
Poseidon Adventure, The 1972 (6-track)
Professionals, The 1966 (6-track)
Raintree County 1957 (6-track)
Return of a Man Called Horse, The 1976 (6-track)
Rollerball 1975 (6-track)
Rollercoaster 1971 (6-track)
Run, Run, Joe! 1974 (6-track)
Ryan's Daughter 1970 (6-track)
Sand Pebbles, The 1966 (6-track)
Savage Innocents, The 1961 (6-track)
Scrooge 1970 (6-track)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 1954 (6-track)
Shellarama 1965 (6-track)
Shoes of the Fisherman, The 1968 (6-track)
Silent Running 1972 (6-track)
Sleeping Beauty 1959 (6-track)
Solomon and Sheba 1959 (6-track)
Song of Norway 1970 (6-track)
Spartacus 1960 (6-track)
Star Is Born, A 1976 (format 41)
Sweet Charity 1969 (6-track)
Taming of the Shrew, The 1967 (6-track)
Taras Bulba 1962 (6-track)
That's Entertainment! 1974 (6-track)
That’s Entertainment, Part II 1974 (6-track)
Thoroughly Modern Millie 1967 (6-track)
Tom Sawyer 1973 (6-track)
Too Late the Hero 1970 (6-track)
Tora! Tora! Tora! 1970 (6-track)
Towering Inferno, The 1974 (6-track)
Trial of Billy Jack, The 1974 (6-track)
Unsinkable Molly Brown, The 1964 (6-track)
Waterloo 1970 (6-track)
Where Eagles Dare 1969 (6-track)
Wild Bunch, The 1969 (6-track)
Wild Rovers 1971 (6-track)
Wind and the Lion, The 1975 (6-track)
Winning 1969 (6-track)
Woodstock 1970 (6-track)
You Only Live Twice 1967 (6-track)
Young Winston 1972 (6-track)
Zulu 1964 (6-track)

Five-screen channel feature films | not probable at all

1941 1979 (6-track)
Absolute Beginners 1986 (format 41)
Big Trouble in Little China 1986 (format 41)
Blue Lagoon, The 1980 (6-track)
Capricorn One 1978 (6-track)
Champ, The 1979 (6-track)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 (format 41)
Cobra 1986 (6-track)
Comes a Horseman 1978 (6-track)
Cruel Horizon 1989 (6-track)
Days of Heaven 1978 (format 41)
Heaven’s Gate 1980 (format 41)
Manhunter 1986 (format 41)
Rhinestone 1984 (format 41)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1978 (format 41)
Spies Like Us 1985 (6-track)
Year of the Dragon 1985 (format 41)
Zoot Suit 1981 (6-track)

To help me further, for the next posts please write the titles in bold, so it will be easier to spot them and subsequently edit the list.
The common experience here is very helpful and appreciated: THANKS AGAIN!

**Stefan Scholz** · 03-19-2023, 04:38 AM

Originally posted by Andrea Rossi View Post

AFAIK there are about a hundred SDDS-8 movies; I wonder if those European movies you are talking about were in the list - like Les Miserables.

The European films are probably not covered in a list, and if you ask officially, many 3 channel titles with zero data on the inner tracks are in the list, mostly Warner, as there was a discount in mastering 8 track. I do remember Anatomy 1 and Anatomy 2 to be mastered in 8 track, these were German production. Another one is a movie about "life of teens in a high rise building project area in Berlin", which was mastered 8 Ch, but never made it to the movie screen. I forgot the title. And some more, due to the forementioned initiative of EU cultural subsidizations.

Michael Todds "Around the world in 80 days", is one of the very first 70 mm roadshows. This title at the played in Cinestage sound, which not only featured 5 front tracks, but also used expanded surround to a left right and rear channel using Fairchild's Perspect-A-(sound) decoding, or from 8 tk sep mag players. This made it 8 channel. The first rdshow installations played that way, reissues were conventional. I still have the original invoice for the installation and rental cost of the sound system additions ($1k per week) in 1957.

**Andrea Rossi** · 03-19-2023, 05:39 AM

Found an archived official list of Dolby encoded movies (dated 1998); so if it's not Dolby Stereo, it is automatically "Format 40"/Todd AO/five screen channel, right? - unless those movies were not released in 70mm with a 6-track at all... so, from the unprobable list, I found that

the following were NOT Dolby Stereo, hence they "should" be five screen channel:

1941 1979 (6-track)
Blue Lagoon, The 1980 (6-track)
Capricorn One 1978 (6-track)
Champ, The 1979 (6-track)
Cobra 1986 (6-track)
Comes a Horseman 1978 (6-track)
Cruel Horizon 1989 (6-track)
Manhunter 1986 (6-track)
Rhinestone 1984 (6-track)
Spies Like Us 1985 (6-track)
Zoot Suit 1981 (6-track)

the following were Dolby Stereo mono surround, so some may be format 41, and others format 42 (most probably):

Absolute Beginners 1986 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)
Big Trouble in Little China 1986 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)
Days of Heaven 1978 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)
Heaven’s Gate 1980 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1978 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)
Year of the Dragon 1985 (Dolby Stereo mono surround)

now, from the previous two lists, what should be confirmed:
- which titles were effectively ever released as 6-track?
- which Dolby Stereo are format 41?

PS: forgot to mention: Das Boot is listed as SRD mono surround; as it was released as SDDS-8, maybe it could be the only Format 44?!?

I consider all Dolby Stereo mono surround released after Star Wars not included in the previous lists as Format 42 (baby boom) unless stated otherwise.

Originally posted by Stefan Scholz View Post

The European films are probably not covered in a list, and if you ask officially, many 3 channel titles with zero data on the inner tracks are in the list, mostly Warner, as there was a discount in mastering 8 track. I do remember Anatomy 1 and Anatomy 2 to be mastered in 8 track,

WHAT?!? So, Sony officially listed 5.1 masters but released as 7.1 as SDDS 8-channel? So maybe this is the reason why late lists did not include some titles?

Anatomie 1 and 2 - I heard about them, but now it seems more official!

**Steve Guttag** · 03-19-2023, 07:39 AM

Andrea, there seems to be a disconnect here. You seem to associate Dolby Stereo with the omission of tracks 2 and 4 (LC/RC). That was ALREADY HAPPENING before Dolby stepped into the picture. By the 1980s, the vast majority of cinemas putting in 70mm did not put in LC/RC. Unless it is known otherwise, you should default to all post 1980 titles as format 42 compatible, including the Ultra Stereo titles like Cobra. Honestly, I'd suspect most 1970s titles as well thought there may be some spread mixes in there.

I ran Spies Like Us. It definitely wasn't 5-across. The theatre I ran it in had all 5 screen channels. The number of format 41 titles, that were not reissues, can probably counted on 1 hand...maybe 2 but I can't think of that many. You need to REALLY set your sights a lot lower.

**Allan Young** · 03-19-2023, 07:59 AM

You've listed Cinerama Holiday under probable/6-track. This was definitely 7-track as with the other Cinerama titles. Missing from the list are the The Best of Cinerama (1963) and Cinerama's Russian Adventure (1966) (both 7-track).

Chronicle of Flaming Years (which was 1961, not 1965) is listed as 6-track. Although it was shot on 65mm, it was optically extracted to three-strip Kinopanorama and would have had 9-track sound.

Also missing are the other dozen or so 9-track Kinopanorama features.

Announcement

Five screen channel list - help needed

Five screen channel list - help needed

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