Winners Announced In DTS-Sponsored Surround Music Award Categories
The winners in the two DTS-sponsored categories of the Surround Music Awards have been announced. The winner for Best New 5.1 Mix goes to Steve Parr of Hear No Evil for his production of track from a U.K. group called The Orchestra, while the Best New 5.1 Composition award goes to Alexandr Jero of Surround Records for his composition entitled Space or Dream of Life.
The Best New 5.1 Mix, which honors the mixing engineer who creates the most outstanding new 5.1 music mix, went to Steve Parr (from Hear No Evil in London) for his outstanding 6.1 ES mix of a track from a U.K. group of talented musicians performing as The Orchestra. The judges described this surround mix as an engaging musical journey that artfully layered this progressive jazz arrangement, both dynamically and spatially.
In recognition of this outstanding achievement, Steve Parr will be offered an opportunity to mix a complete project for future release on the DTS Entertainment label.
The Best New 5.1 Composition, which recognizes the technical and artistic skill necessary to actually create a music composition in 5.1 surround sound, was won by Jero from Surround Records in Detroit for Space or Dream of Life. The judges described this surround creation as comfortably thought-provoking and, while obviously composed to enhance a video presentation, this New Age expression evoked many images just from the surround music alone.
In recognition of this outstanding achievement, Alexandr Jero will be offered an opportunity to release this complete album as a 5.1 Music Disc on the DTS Entertainment label.
All Future Sports Broadcasts in Fox Widescreen to Carry Dolby Digital 5.1
Fox Sports broadcast of this years NFC Championship Game in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio to DTV affiliates in Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Washington DC marks the beginning of a new era for the sportsbroadcaster. All future events broadcast by Fox Sports in Fox Widescreen will be accompanied by Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Foxs first use of Dolby Digital 5.1 was during its 2002 Fox Widescreen presentation of Super Bowl XXXVI. With the proper equipment installed and the number of Dolby Digital 5.1 affiliates growing, Fox viewers can expect to hear more sporting events, such as its coverage of NASCARs Daytona 500 on February 16, and future regular programming delivered in Dolby Digital 5.1.
As with its last Super Bowl broadcast, Fox uses Dolby E to send the audio from the remote truck through its network and out to the local stations. At the affiliates, the Dolby E audio is decoded and then encoded into Dolby Digital 5.1 for delivery to consumers. Fox purchased a full complement of Dolby products to outfit its remote trucks and network infrastructure.
For a listing of programs broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, visit www.dolby.com/tvaudio.
SRS Labs Releases Circle Surround II 5.1 Plug-In For Windows Media Player 9
SRS Labs, Inc. has introduced a Circle Surround II software plug-in for Windows Media Player 9 Series users around the world. The Circle Surround II (CS II) plug-in is available for purchase from SRS Labs, www.srslabs.com, as well as from Microsofts newly launched Web site, www.wmplugins.com, for an
introductory price of $9.99.
The CS II Plug-in is the only 5.1 surround sound plug-in available for the Windows Media Player 9 Series. This patented surround sound format allows PC users to get 5.1 channels of surround sound from all content (excluding DVDs) including mono, typical stereo sources (such as MP3 files), and other matrix surround-encoded material. Optimal performance is achieved with CS-encoded source material.
For more information, visit www.srstechnologies.com.
