The Surrounding Sounds of a Home Theater Package

Surround sound is another defining element in a homeaudio encoding uses a lesser compression ratio
theater package. Watching a movie in a surroundcompared with Dolby encoding.
sound environment is all together a differentThough, one thing to note, DTS audio encoding isn't
experience, recreating an actual movie theater'scommon on television broadcasts and on DVD
sound enhancements. As movie production studiosintegrated sound enhancements.
nowadays consider the surround sound factor, mostWithin these noted elements of DTS and Dolby
movies design their production's sound elements tosound formats, most home theater package users
be fully compatible with surround sound systems,have to decide if DTS support should be integrated
enhancing the elements of a suspense story, or aninto the home theater package's surround sound
epic action battle scene.setup, in choosing which speaker setup to implement.
In the realm of home theater packages, surroundThe 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 surround sound speaker setups
sound is an integral component, complimentary toare the most commonly used in home theater
high quality television systems, ideal for a homepackages. In defining speaker setups, the .1 in a
theater package.surround speaker setup refers to a subwoofer
Most sound systems for home theater packageschannel, while the number preceding the .1 refers to
support the two leading types of surround soundthe number of speakers. A subwoofer channel is
formats; Dolby Laboratories and Digital Theaterbasically one which carries a low-frequency sound
Systems. With Dolby Laboratories the Dolby Digitalideal for bass boost effects.
and the Dolby Pro Logic variations are common inA 5.1 surround sound setup simply means 5 speakers
home theater packages. Digital Theater Systems hasand one subwoofer. A right, center and left front
produced various sound enhancements in homespeaker setup, with left and right surround, or rear,
theater packages, bearing the DTS mark.speakers. A 6.1 surround sound setup has an added
Between Dolby Laboratories and Digital Theaterspeaker which is another rear speaker. In a 7.1
Systems, a wide array of sound options are available,surround sound setup, two channels for surround,
the varieties sometimes induce headaches onand rear are dedicated, completing the home theater
potential home theater package "upgraders". Topackage's setup.
avoid headaches, "upgraders" are advised to knowThe mentioned surround speaker setups complement
certain information about Dolby Laboratories andthe surround sound formats, though different sound
Digital Theater Systems' sound formats.channeling splits and mixes are dependent on the
Most marketed DVDs are integrated with Dolbytype of supported sound format, be it in Dolby or in
sound options, while some with DTS options. WithDTS.
the right kind of sound system, utilizing the rightThe decision as to which speaker setup to use, with
surround sound format, a home movie experienceDolby and DTS compatibility considered, now lies on
would be equal to that to a movie theater.home theater "upgraders".
DTS audio is generally clearer and sharper, as DTS