Technicolor is working on a new one size fits all audio format for 3D sound for movie theaters and home cinemas.
Demonstrated at the CES show and in an early R&D stage the technology is intended to provide one file for the delivery of true 3D audio replayed over stereo (two speakers), surround (3-7 speakers and beyond) and wavefield synthesis systems (hundreds of speakers).
“Normally when you address sound you are addressing loud-speaker set ups,” explains Jan Mark-Batke of Technicolor R&D based in Hannover. “Each arrangement would need its own format and file with the audio content. We are researching one format that fits all of these set ups.”
Audio description based on ambisonics is stored in the file while a rendering engine intelligently knows the specific set-up of the loudspeakers and generates appropriate signals. The audio file could, for example, accompany 3D movies on Blu Ray discs.
“We know that movie studios and broadcasters have a clear demand for better 3D sound,” Batske adds. “We are looking for further directions to enhance 3D and the obvious enhancement is 3D sound which currently is nearly all 2D sound.”
