The earliest form of surround sound technology was introduced into the market in 1969. At the time it was referred to as "Quadraphonic" and the technology was mainly supported by placing speakers at each end of the room. The technology has since come a long way in terms of quality and affordability, making it possible for any type of consumer to adopt surround sound technology.
5.1:What Does It Mean?
While shopping around for surround sound, consumers will often see numbers such as 5.1. This numbering convention was designed so that consumers will be able to distinguish the overall sound quality between surround sound systems. The first number will represent the number of channels – the channels of full-range speakers. Therefore, the presence of more channels will often contribute to a richer, fuller sound, and allows for directionality of sound. The second digit in the number refers to the number of speakers that reproduce low frequencies.
The most common types of frequencies reproduced by home theatre surround sound systems are typically between the five to seven range. However, in some cases they can be as high as eleven. If you come across a number such as 9.2, the 0.2 represents 2 outputs for subwoofers. Because the lower frequency channels are only reproducing a fraction of the audio spectrum, they need to be hooked up to subwoofers.
Dolby Technologies
Dolby Technologies is known around the world for their home theatre and audio services. One of the technologies that they are the most famous for is Dolby Digital which is a sophisticated audio compression technology. The AC-3 is the most common form of surround sound for home theater systems. Dolby makes this technology compatible with satellite TV, DVD and Blu-Ray discs, video games and personal computers as well.
Dolby also offers Dolby Digital Plus which is newer to the market. Although many of the functions are similar to those found in Dolby Digital, the system also has HDTV and video streaming online. In order to keep pace with the evolving smart phone and tablet markets, Dolby has also made this technology compatible with both of these types of devices.
Dolby Digital Live is another technology offered by Dolby. It is designed exclusively for interactive media forms such as PCs and video game consoles.
Digital Audio Cables
Digital audio cables are used primarily to provide an audio connection between your TV and receiver. Due to the fact that digital audio cables are more technologically sophisticated, they are now also used for surround sound since they have the capability of passing multiple audio channels.
One of the most common types of digital audio cables is the coaxial digital audio cable. They are popular in the market place because they are able to provide a more secure connection. Another very common type of digital audio cable is the optical digital cable. The only downside of the latter is that they are less durable and can get ripped if they are bent. However, there is very little difference between these two cables when comparing sound quality.
Because of the fact that they can easily pass multiple audio channels, they have become exceedingly more popular than analog audio cables, which use separate wires to provide audio on the left and right sides.