- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,375
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
The conversion of five stage channels to three for home video presentations simply creates "ghost" information for the two "missing" channels.
Modern audio presentations are very precisely committed to either full-coat magnetic film or to digital files, which are then replicated via controls. The point should be made that home theatre devices, especially those which decode signals must be set up properly in order to take advantage of the the information contained within the 5.1 or 6.1 signals available for processing.
Although "effects" channels were in use beginning in the early 1950s, they were not surround channels. They were used to sparingly add an effect to the rear. A 12k trigger tone was used to turn the rear channels off and on as needed.
These effects channels were still in use through the mid- 1960s. True surrounds didn't come into use until a decade or so later.
Also, the concept of the .1 channel being used for home theatre, does not necessarily relate to the "baby booms" used in theatres. Theatrical speakers have a much broader freqency range than our tiny home theatre speakers. Rolling of some of the lower information into a high quality sub-woofer can make up for some of this loss...
But that said, it must also be understood that all sub-woofers are not equal, nor can lower end examples handle low frequency music. Some sub-woofers are only useful for occasional low frequency noise generation, and even those which are capable of handling well-shaded low frequency audio, must be properly tuned to accept the audio signals fed to them at the proper cut-offs, in synchronization with their full-frequency partners.
The selection of a sub-woofer is just as important as the selection of one's full frequency speakers, and must be chosen to be a specific part of a system to perform through a specific tonal range.
RAH
Modern audio presentations are very precisely committed to either full-coat magnetic film or to digital files, which are then replicated via controls. The point should be made that home theatre devices, especially those which decode signals must be set up properly in order to take advantage of the the information contained within the 5.1 or 6.1 signals available for processing.
Although "effects" channels were in use beginning in the early 1950s, they were not surround channels. They were used to sparingly add an effect to the rear. A 12k trigger tone was used to turn the rear channels off and on as needed.
These effects channels were still in use through the mid- 1960s. True surrounds didn't come into use until a decade or so later.
Also, the concept of the .1 channel being used for home theatre, does not necessarily relate to the "baby booms" used in theatres. Theatrical speakers have a much broader freqency range than our tiny home theatre speakers. Rolling of some of the lower information into a high quality sub-woofer can make up for some of this loss...
But that said, it must also be understood that all sub-woofers are not equal, nor can lower end examples handle low frequency music. Some sub-woofers are only useful for occasional low frequency noise generation, and even those which are capable of handling well-shaded low frequency audio, must be properly tuned to accept the audio signals fed to them at the proper cut-offs, in synchronization with their full-frequency partners.
The selection of a sub-woofer is just as important as the selection of one's full frequency speakers, and must be chosen to be a specific part of a system to perform through a specific tonal range.
RAH
