Surround sound in Cinema



 In 1940 Disney wanted to release their new film, Fantasia, but instead of the 2 channel system in place, they wanted to have more speakers and channels. They ended up having a system very similar to what we have today, with three front speakers and two surround speakers at the rear. This was a huge breakthrough to show multi-channel audio was possible and the audience loved hearing the sound of the bees in Flight of the Bumblebees flying all around them.

 Unfortunately this was ultimately too complicated and too expensive for production and for cinemas themselves, so surround sound took a bit of a back shelf for a while. It was in the 1970’s when it really came back thumping. Dolby came along and created Dolby Stereo as said in the previous section, and this new 4 channel system make a huge difference for surround sound. One film in particular, Star Wars, was released with Dolby Stereo and the success of that film led cinema owners to upgrade, and for production to embrace the new format. Surround sound was big again.

 Dolby Stereo grew in the years after that, and Dolby improved upon it in the 1980s with Dolby SR, which brought a wider dynamic range to the sound. The big breakthrough was in 1992 when surround sound became digital. Dolby released Dolby Digital Surround which brought us the 5.1 configuration we know and love today. There have been various improvements to the system meaning cinemas can now employ a 22.2 system if they wish.

 Surround sound brings a new aspect of audio to us as the consumers. We are so used to music coming straight at us in stereo, from one or maybe two speakers. This creation is one of the attractions of going to the cinema, as to be able to hear the noise surrounding you is a fantastic feeling, especially when it’s of great quality.