pjk@hou2a.UUCP (P.KEMP) (10/01/85)
This appeared in a local paper on Friday 9/27: (Re-printed in part without permission) > From The Los Angeles Times (by Morgan Gendel) > > Hollywood - CBS may be literally journeying > to "another dimension ... of sight and sound" > when all-new episodes of "The Twilight Zone" > premiere at 8 p.m. [PDT & EDT] today on channels > 2 and 10 [NYC and Philadelphia]. > > The revived speculative-fiction series, to which > CBS has owned title rights since it began airing > on that network in 1959, will feature touches of > "three-dimensional sound" this time around. > > A bird singing in a tree on screen, in other words, > should sound as if it is higher up and perhaps farther > away than the people speaking in the foreground. > The sound of a trickling water fountain travels from > the top corner of the screen as the camera pans > accordingly. > > The magic behind this is "spatial reverberation > processing," which recreates sound via computer to > match how the brain would perceive it in different > situations. The process has served as the > impetus for CBS to catch up with rival NBC's > efforts in stereo TV, because that is the format > that best showcases the new effect. > > "We're going to do experimental stereo in Philadelphia > for the `Twilight Zone' premiere," CBS Broadcast > Group spokesman George Schweitzer said. The network > until now has not had enough music or sound effect- > oriented shows to warrant a rush to stereo, Schweitzer > added, but does intend to gradually convert to stereo > over "the next several years." > > Even viewers hearing "The Twilight Zone" on a standard > TV set's 3-inch speaker, however, will be able to > pick up "really accurate positioning of sound," said > Stanford University acoustician Betsy Cohen, a consultant > to the series. > > "In stereo, we get all that and more," Cohen said. > "You get left-to-right motion and you get surround. > You get a great sensation of sound moving around your > ears." > > Cohen, who is a consultant to CBS on its eventual > move to stereo, also is paid by "The Twilight Zone" > to implement the 3-D process, first developed at > Northwestern University's Computer Music Studio. > . . > > The 3-D effect thus far is used sparingly, because > it is processed at Northwestern and is only subtly > perceived on monaural sets. But [executive producer > Philip] DeGuere does not believe that it is a wasted > effort. In stereo videocassette form, or rebroadcast > when stereo TV is more widespread, "these shows are > going to have an enhanced quality that is going to > make them worth a lot more money to CBS." ... Does anyone know anything more on this "3-D sound" system? Is there an article in some journal on this? Is it a matrix system like "Ambisonics" (sp?), or is it some new type of digital manipulation of parts of the sound track between the stereo channels? Would Dolby Surround-Sound decoding work well on this or is there a more optimum method of decoding? Paul Kemp ihnp4!hou2a!pjk The above statements are those of the author only, and are not those of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
karn@petrus.UUCP (Phil R. Karn) (10/01/85)
Too bad "3-D-sound" is no replacement for shoddy acting and recycled plot themes. Phil