1. Fantasound Developed by Disney for “Fantasia” (1940)
Pan pot, click track, multitrack recording & overdubbing
L-C-R speakers across the front
Manually switched or panned surround speakers
Forerunner of modern theatrical sound for movies

2. Quad Early surround format for music (1970's)
Consisted of 4 speakers (theoretically located in each corner of the playback room)
Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd)
Format wars, difficulty with finding suitable delivery media, and poor speaker placement contributed to its demise.

3. Theatrical Surround Dolby True Stereo (1977: Star Wars)
- 4 channels: LCR + mono surround
Dolby Digital Surround (1990's)
- 5.1 standard introduced
- AC3 codec
Others: 6.1, 7.1
source:

4. Virtual Reality & 360 Camera
Can consist of “Audio Object” and sound field information
Generally delivered in Ambisonic B-format
- W,X,Y,Z files – order depends on encoder used
- more on this next week...
HRTF
- Head-Related Transfer Function = a model of the “EQ Curve” generated by your head & ears based on the direction of the sound source
- this HRTF is convolved onto the ambisonic files

5. Monitor Setups ITU/SMPTE

6. NARAS

7. NARAS

8. Monitor Setups (continued)
Should be 5 full-range speakers
matching make and model
Surrounds and center speaker can be 1 size down of same model provided spec's are similar enough
Between 6.5 and 7.5 feet from mix position
At ear height
Placement of surrounds can be anywhere from 90 degrees (Wendy Carlos) to 150 degrees (NARAS)
Depends on what your end goal is
NARAS: 135 – 150 degrees
SMPTE: 107 – 120 degrees (110 common)

9. Calibration Don't take this for granted
Most powered speakers have adjustments for input level and speaker response - make sure settings are correct
Pink noise and SPL meter
Ref level: 0 VU = 85 dB C-weighted/slow
Crossover setting
“no higher than 120 Hz” - NARAS
Bass managed system = 80 Hz
Procedure outlined pp. 36–38 “Surround Recommendations” NARAS P&E Wing

10. What to do with subwoofer?
Bass Management vs. LFE
LFE = Low Frequency Effect
It is the “.1” band-limited channel
Gets a 10 dB in-channel boost on playback
LFE should NOT be used to handle bass content sent to main speakers
Bass Management “refers to the redirection of low frequencies from the main channels to the subwoofer, so that it reproduces all the low frequencies in a surround mix... including the 1" LFE channel” - NARAS
Crossover network
Usually done “internally” on home theatre systems

11. What to do with center? Two “centers” in a 5 speaker system
Center speaker
Phantom center between L & R
Be careful of using both
Use of “Divergence” panning
Some systems don't HAVE a center speaker
Two much overlap can sound bad
Comb filtering
Center speaker is always anchored
Phantom centers tend to be unstable with movement

12. What to do with surrounds?
Envelopment vs. Localization
Humans don't localize all that accurately to the sides and rear
Phantom imaging works best in the front
Can work between rear speakers
Not so much between front and rear pairs
Envelopment
Ambience to surrounds
“Decorrelated” effects
Use of delays and reverbs
Localization
Get creative
Just remember some home theatre systems don't use full-range speakers to the rear