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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1476669
Okay, so it’s like the old pay TV bundle in a new skin, but it doesn’t come with the old pay TV bundle price … we can handle that! But! We wanted something more than just a bigger, better image. We remember when we were a guest of Dolby in 2013 at their unveiling of the then new film, Gravity, and Dolby Atmos, their revolutionary spatial audio technology for a true immersive sound experience. Sitting in the Dolby Theater down in LA was mind altering. Before the world shut down, Woody Woodhall, head of Allied Post, reminded us of audio’s importance while he was doing the audio editing for a New Regency project. “Really well edited and well directed sound makes you scream in a horror movie, sweat during an action film and touches all of your senses which even well edited video can’t do,” he stated. Did you duck as the fighters flew over in Top Gun? Could you “feel” the pressure when Phoenix pulled 7+ Gs? How about when the hot breath of the T-Rex got close enough to bite you in half? Yeah, you can thank Dolby Vision/Atmos for those experiences. Dolby Atmos was initially designed to deliver 3D immersive sound in a theater. The audio format is object-based so audio content isn’t assigned to a specific channel but attaches sound to objects on-screen. It delivers sound from every angle, putting you in the middle of the action. That’s what we wanted in our home! It turns out there is a bunch of ways to accomplish it from reasonably priced speakers spread around the room up to an exotic custom-built home theater. We used the inexpensive (cheap) route about a year after experiencing Gravity using some reasonably priced speakers strategically located around the room. It wasn’t elegant but the first installation was a “proof of concept” to our wife and the quality of the immersive sound more than compensated for speakers spread around the room. We lived with that installation for 3-4 years and it was pretty good but …the more we drenched ourselves in the vibrant sound, the more improvements we wanted. When the pandemic sent everyone home, the stars seemed to be in perfect alignment. Folks quickly got tired of being “trapped” in their home and wanted to improve something, anything. No matter where you looked, handy persons, contractors and weekend remodelers were busy sprucing up their homes. With my wife’s full agreement, we had our flat family room ceiling changed to a natural beam peaked ceiling. It not only opened up the room, it gave us a chance to run speaker and electrical wires, add ceiling light cans and mount four speakers in the ceiling.