What Blu-Ray did you watch last night?

[Graham Ritchie]

I forgot that I did take a couple of screen shots of "Hunt of the Wilderpeople" a few night ago using the Panasonic. some wonderful NZ scenery.

[Brian Fretwell]

DTS 5.1 is probably the default soundtrack. You may have to go into to audio in you player and select the Sensurround track (2.1). From the quote from the review above, I would not expect the Sensurround audio to be very impressive.

I'm sure none of our home cinemas have the .1 set up Sensurround had in cinemas. The ones I saw these in had bass units at the front the whole width of the screen and two 6ft cubes of them at either side of the rear of the suitorium. The trilaer for BAttle for Miday had the foyer light fittings shaking. My Super 8 cut down of Battlestar Glactica has the soundtrack duplicated on the balance track at the points where it would be beneficial and when I showed it I put that track through another amp with RIAA equalisation applied and fed it to two 12" bass units. Unfortunately I think that amp, which had a separate swithc so the RIAA (magnetic disc cartridge) EQ is long gone, as is the balance strip head on the Eumig Mark 926 GL!!

[Graham Ritchie]

Regarding "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" the film does a brilliant take of a NZ Toyota Hilux, "Crumpy and Scotty" commercial that was a TV hit, way back here in 1982.

[Ed Gordon]

I'm sure none of our home cinemas have the .1 set up Sensurround had in cinemas. The ones I saw these in had bass units at the front the whole width of the screen and two 6ft cubes of them at either side of the rear of the suitorium. The trilaer for BAttle for Miday had the foyer light fittings shaking. My Super 8 cut down of Battlestar Glactica has the soundtrack duplicated on the balance track at the points where it would be beneficial and when I showed it I put that track through another amp with RIAA equalisation applied and fed it to two 12" bass units. Unfortunately I think that amp, which had a separate swithc so the RIAA (magnetic disc cartridge) EQ is long gone, as is the balance strip head on the Eumig Mark 926 GL!!

Brian, most receivers do not have a phono input these days, but you can still hook up a turntable if the turntable has a phono preamp built in, or you can buy a separate preamp for about $20 US which uses the aux input. If your receiver supports multiple channel sound (such as 5.1), it should support 2.1. In addition to checking your receiver, you would have to go into the setup for the Bluray/DVD and select 2.1 audio.

The Sensurround system had the standard 2 channels for analog stereo. However, the subwoofer worked differently:

The original Sensurround design used for Earthquake employed a pseudorandom noise generator, designed by D. Broadus "Don" Keele, Jr., to create the low-frequency rumble, using recordings of the 1971 Sylmar earthquake as a reference. Two low frequency control tones were printed on the film's mono optical or magnetic track; from the projector, the tones entered a control box in the projection booth, which fed low frequency pseudorandom noise to 1,600 watt BGW 750 audio amplifiers driving the speakers. The control box generated a pseudorandom noise signal with energy between 17 and 120 Hz. The control track method was employed because there was no way to accurately record bass lower than 40 Hz on an optical or magnetic film soundtrack at the time. When receiving the noise signal, the amplifier and subwoofers responded with sound pressures ranging from 100 dB to 120 dB. The resulting rumble could be felt by audience members as well as heard.

So the original third audio track was a control track for low frequency output. What is not clear is what is on the LFE (subwoofer) track. I assume it works the same a the 2.1 speaker system that is common for PC's and external speaker systems that hook up to TV's to provide better bass.

Since I don't have a bluray that includes "Sensurround 2.1" I can not test the performance. Sensurround had a short life in the movies, but it did raise interest in the use of subwoofers in general, and those subs used for Sensurround wound up is Disco nightclubs.

[Brian Fretwell]

The nearest thing to home sensuround was seeing at a audio show "Butt-kicker" loudspeaker kits that played the .1 signal to a unit fitted to your seat to shake that. I don't think I saw them anywhere else though!!!

[Ed Gordon]

The nearest thing to home sensuround was seeing at a audio show "Butt-kicker" loudspeaker kits that played the .1 signal to a unit fitted to your seat to shake that. I don't think I saw them anywhere else though!!!

I have seen ads for those "shaker transducers" but never heard/felt them in action. Here is one from Amazon:

Dayton Audio BST-1 High Power Pro Tactile Bass Shaker 50 Watts RMS, 4 Ohms Impedance - Turn Any Surface into a Speaker System - Generates Subwoofer Lows


Max watts & impedance: With 50 watts of power at 4 ohms, the Dayton Audio BST-1 Bass Shaker serves as an efficient exciter speaker, delivering an immersive tactile bass experience.

Transducer speaker technology: The BST-1 turns your furniture, home theater seating, or gaming chair into a bass-enhancing transducer speaker, making you feel the vibrations for an engaging audio experience.

Feel the power of a Dayton Audio: The BST-1 adds depth and dimension to your audio, ensuring you don't just hear the sound, but feel it too - perfect for gaming, movies, and music.

Seamless integration: The BST-1 easily connects to bass shaker amplifiers allowing you to upgrade your home theater or gaming setup with minimal hassle.
Backed By Our Famous Risk-Free Purchase - Not only does your Dayton Audio BST-1 High Power Pro Tactile Bass Shaker come with an exclusive 5-year warranty, but you’ll get our comprehensive spec guide

Versatile application: Experience the sensation of a bass shaker for couch setups, gaming stations, or home theater seating, as the BST-1's compact design and versatile mounting options make it a perfect addition to any audio environment.

[Douglas Meltzer]

Brian & Ed,

That is very cool! In addition to using it with Sensurround Blu-rays, I re-recorded the Universal Earthquake digest a while back and I would love to try that out!

[Ken Finch]

Watch out, the damn thing could shatter all your glassware and quite likely also some plastics. Probably not good for the human body at some frequencies!, I understand that similar things can happen with extremely high frequencies. I believe the loudness / intensity is also a factor. Sensuround was just another short lived gimmick.😳 Incidentally, my home cinema amplifier is a Yamaha DSP~A5 and will play both Dolby digital and dts5.1 but I have never bothered with a Subwoofer as the vast majority of my collection do not need it. All the sound input sockets are phono and the video output to the Epson is either component or Svideo. The image is upscaled to high definition i.e bluray by the projector.

[Ed Gordon]

Watch out, the damn thing could shatter all your glassware and quite likely also some plastics. Probably not good for the human body at some frequencies!, I understand that similar things can happen with extremely high frequencies...

They anticipated the problems and diligently worked to avoid them!

When the amplifiers were fully engaged, they could produce sound between 100 and 120 decibels, at frequencies as low as 15 Hz – creating a wave that vibrated the air in the theater, using the flooring and walls themselves as conduits. This meant that viewers not only heard the earthquake, they felt it in their ribcages. According to Watson, “We generate both sub-audible and audible frequencies that actually vibrate the torso and the diaphragm inside the body. You feel something going on in your flesh and the auditory nerves are also responding to the sensation. The viewer feels that the building is shaking. It isn’t really, but it feels that way. If you touch a thin plaster wall in the theater, or if you touch a seat that has metal in it, you find that the seats actually vibrating.”

The Sensurround speaker cabinets themselves were enormous and had to be individually installed in each theater that would play the movie. Entire rows of seats had to be removed at considerable expense to owners, who risked physical damage to their buildings. Installation took up to three days and involved a fleet of inspectors checking for correct electrical specifications and structural integrity. For the movie’s debut at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, every inch of the theater, from the basement pipes to overhead chandelier, had to be inspected and secured. A giant fishnet was spread across the ceiling to catch any falling plaster.

Source: https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.co...nd-cerwin-vega

[Graham Ritchie]

Doug

I don't no if you remember back in 2011 I mentioned watching Earthquake when we got a strong aftershock that made the house shake, it was the real thing all right 2011 what a year that was, wont forget that one.

Ken

I do like a good sub doing its thing, sadly I think I have blown mine after screening Interstellar a while back, I think it was a bit much for the sub I will look at it one day While I worked at the cinema it was that mid to high range of frequencies that you had to keep in check, that's the range that causes most of the sound complaints you might get. As we all get older, our hearing changes and those mid to high can be a bit much. I remember one night screening "The Flight Of The Phoenix" when upon entering the cinema from the back was asked by a group of folk if I was running things, I replied I was and they asked before the film had even started if I could keep the sound level down. They had never been at our place before, but had a bad experience at another cinema. I replied no problem I would adjust the level for them when the film started. I went back into the cinema after about 20 minutes into the feature, asked them how is that, they replied fine and thanked me for doing it. The way I looked at it, that those folk were paying our wages so you want people to leave afterwards feeling they had a enjoyable night, after all they might just come back.

[Brian Fretwell]

Last night for me it was Doctor Who and the Daleks with Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, Jenny Linden and Roberta Tovey. Unfortunately I left it too late to run Coast of Skeletons (which had been on th ebill when I saw it on original release) as well.

Also I think the improved bass response of Dobly 70mm 4.1 and later put paid to Sensuround, even in the few films it was suited to as not many cinemas (in the UK at least) were set up for it outside the main city centres.

[Ed Gordon]

I do like a good sub doing its thing, sadly I think I have blown mine after screening Interstellar a while back, I think it was a bit much for the sub I will look at it one day...

If the sound is breaking up the rubber/foam surround which holds the paper cone to the metal speaker frame needs to be replaced. If your not getting any sound the sub amplifier needs to be replaced. Replacing the rubber/foam surround is not difficult; it's just a tedious job.

[Graham Ritchie]

Thanks Ed

I am not getting any sound out of it at all. I will still have a look inside though. At present my "finance controller" about getting another one, "Yvonne" has told me I will just have to do without it so at present I will have to do as I am told

[Graham Ritchie]

I have been using the Panasonic of late with its new lamp, I must admit although not full 1080, the image is very good for an old projector by todays standards. I have know idea how long this new cheap replacement lamp will last, but it was well worth replacing the original time expired lamp with this one

Tonight it was the blu-ray of "Where Eagles Dare"

Two nights ago, and again using the Panasonic it was something I don't always do, and that's a double feature night. I picked up a while back an Australian film called "Paper Planes" second hand on blu-ray which turned out to be good. After a short break the DVD of "The Time Machine" so all up an interesting and enjoyable night at the movies, here are a couple of screen shots

"Paper Planes" starring Sam Worthington and Ed Oxenbould








The Time Machine.

[Ken Finch]

Graham, you are dead right about hearing changes as you get older. In my case, it started to deteriorate many years ago. I started to lose the higher frequencies in both ears, and it has got steadily worse over the years. The hearing aids have to be regularly adjusted. I also developed tinnitus and now have special hearing aids which combat this thanks to good old NHS. My particular hearing loss is attributed to being subjected to a lifetime of a working in a noisy environment.