Dolby 7.1 Daters

[Shibu Paul]

Dear Members,

I hope you're all doing well. I wanted to reach out to this wonderful community to discuss a matter related to Dolby 7.1 dater. Currently, we've been using the same Dolby bouncing ball dater for the past 11 years in our 7.1 auditoriums. It's been a reliable choice, but we're considering whether there are newer or older 7.1 dater (not Atmos ) options that might offer a fresh experience.

Here are a few questions I have:

Newer Dolby 7.1 Dater Are there any newer Dolby 7.1 dater available that have emerged in recent years? I'm curious if any advancements have been made that could enhance our audio quality.

Older Daters :On the flip side, has anyone experimented with older Dolby 7.1 daters ? Perhaps there are some hidden gems or unique characteristics in older versions that could bring a nostalgic or distinctive touch to our auditoriums.

User Experiences: If anyone has already made the switch to either newer or older daters, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Did it noticeably impact the audio quality or the overall viewer experience?

Our ultimate goal is to provide an exceptional audio experience for our audiences, and your collective knowledge and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your time and assistance.

Best regards,
ShibuPaul

[Jon Dent]

Judging from Dolby's internal site, there's nothing newer than the bouncing balls for non Atmos content, and the only other option is a 'countdown' trailer in 2D and 3D that's 5.1 only.

I ended up creating a 7.1 policy trailer for our theater using a 3D animation of our logo because people were sick of the bouncing balls so I feel your pain

[Steve Guttag]

I think the problem with Dolby 7.1 is that, unlike other formats, 7.1 isn't proprietary to Dolby. So, any effort put forth to a promotional tag for it could be used by equipment other than Dolby and not be licensed on the feature side. As such, what is the value, to Dolby, for making such snipes if they are going to not turn into any sort of equipment, or, better yet, licensing sales? Dolby Atmos is theirs and though IAB, as an encoding method, allows non-Dolby sound companies (e.g. DTS-X) to have their own object oriented sound, the Dolby Atmos layout, commissioning...etc. is Dolby's so they can get value from promoting it. 7.1 lacks those benefits. There is nothing Dolby about the format. It is generic.

I would think a problem for others to develop snipes is monetizing the work effort. People expect "free" for such things. With free, you can't make it up on volume. So, yeah, you can do what Jon has done and roll your own. It's too bad because I think Dolby could get some promotional value since it puts their name out there before every show...even if played back on non-Dolby equipment. QSC developed their own snipes but who has seen them? It was called "Under Water Symphony." A problem with such tags is what consumer has heard of QSC? Really, Dolby and DTS have consumer brand recognition and then there is a BIG drop to other companies.

[Jon Dent]

I think it would still benefit Dolby's brand recognition to do 7.1 versions since there are still plenty of those theaters out there, but I get the business decision behind only promoting the latest and greatest format.

Actually, on second thought I wonder how many 7.1 theaters there actually are. It was the top format for only a few years before Atmos showed up.

[Steve Guttag]

Of our existing theatres, I'd say about 75% are 7.1 and nearly all new theatres we put in (or new sound systems) are 7.1. There just isn't a cost factor associated with 7.1 aside from 2 amplifier channels (1 amp, in most cases) and possibly adding some rear surround speakers to allow each quadrant to have enough power handling/spl to run without damage.

[Elia Orselli]

If you are using a Dolby/Doremi server, the "Dolby Encrypted Content Test" DCP is a nice alternative to Spheres, it's not 7.1 specific, but it's 7.1 (and it doesn't show an Atmos logo)

[Stefan Scholz]

Adding 7.1 is no cost issue. Surround speakers are full frequency required these days, so you need ample power, and eventually bass management to drive them anyway. So there is not even extra hardware required, every surround speaker connected to its own power amp, or a group of 2 to one output channel. It is just the output wiring from the processor, if you're still doing it analog, or if you're networking, a no brainer.
It is a miracle, why there are still 5.1. playback systems. Oh yes, those from ancient past, never upgraded.

For a royalty free standard, why should you create trailer? As has been pointed out before. Turn the question around, for something that is normal and the standard in exhibition, why should you advertise it?
When cars didn't have airbags, the ones providing a driver seat airbag, normally came with a sticker "Airbag installed". later "Passanger Airbag installed" visible to everyone. Today not a single new car advertises the use of airbags anymore. It became a standard.

[Marco Giustini]

every surround speaker connected to its own amp? That'd be great but not everybody can afford Atmos There are still plenty of new rooms where the whole surround channel is driven by one channel.