NRG Acoustics SG-4: Multichannel surround sound

NRG Acoustics SG-4: Multichannel surround sound

Multichannel audio is a technique of enhancing the sound processing top quality of an audio source with additional audio channels from audio speakers that surround the listener (surround channels), providing sound with a 360 radius in the horizontal plane (2D) compared with "screen channels" (middle, [front] left, and [front] right) coming from only within the listener's frontward arc.

Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot in which the audio effects perform the best, and provides a constant or frontward perspective of the sound field with the listener around this location. The procedure improves the conception of sound spatialization by manipulating sound localization; a listener's ability to get the location or origin of a detected sound in direction and distance. This typically is achieved by means of multiple discrete audio channels routed to an array of loudspeakers.

There are numerous multichannel sorround sound systems based formats and techniques, ranging in processing and recording tactics as well as the amount and placing more channels.


NRG Acoustics SG-4: Grounds of use

Though cinema and soundtracks signify the primary uses of surround techniques, its scope of application is much wider than that as surround sound enables creation of an audio-environment for all variations of purposes. Multi channel audio techniques are useful to recreate contents as varied as music, conversation, synthetic or natural sounds for cinema, television, transmissions, or computer systems. Regarding music material to illustrate, a live performance is able to use multichannel approaches to the context of an open-air show, of an musical theatre or even for broadcasting; for a film specific techniques are tailored to movie theater, or even to home (e.g. home cinema systems).

The narrative space is also a content that can be enhanced through multichannel solutions. This is applicable mainly to cinema narratives, for example, the dialog from the characters of a film, but may be also used on plays for theatre, to a convention, or to integrate voice-based comments in an archeological site or monument. Just like, an exhibition could very well be enhanced with topical ambient sound of water, birds, train or equipment sounds. Applicable natural sounds may also be used in informative programs.

NRG Acoustics SG-4 - Other fields of application contain gaming systems, computers and other platforms.

In this purposes, the content would typically be artificial noise produced by the computer device in interaction with its user. Significant work has been specifically done using multichannel audio for enhanced situation awareness in military services and public safety purposes.