1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,040 Have you ever walked out of a movie theater so impressed by the audio experience that 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,120 you forgot all about the 30 bucks you just dropped on popcorn and soda and could only 3 00:00:08,120 --> 00:00:13,120 think about how you wish the sound could surround you at home? 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:16,240 So you run down to your local big box store and start looking for home theater equipment 5 00:00:16,240 --> 00:00:25,080 but pretty soon you're thrust into a disorienting vortex of numbers and dots like 7.1 and 5.1.2. 6 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:32,200 So let's break down what these numbers mean. The first number you see in a surround setup simply refers to the number of channels. 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,320 Usually this refers to the number of regular speakers in your system. 8 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:40,040 So a conventional 5.1 system will typically have 5 speakers. 9 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,140 Front left, center, front right, surround left, and surround right. 10 00:00:44,140 --> 00:00:51,760 Each channel can receive a separate audio signal. So if you're watching a movie that has its audio encoded in 5.1 surround, the source 11 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:56,720 will likely send dialogue to the center speaker while the other speakers will play audio relative 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,880 to the action on the screen for a more realistic and immersive experience. 13 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:07,120 By contrast, a 2.0 system simply indicates a plain old straight forward stereo setup 14 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:13,000 with a left and a right channel only while 7.1 indicates two additional rear channels 15 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,120 above a normal 5.1 for greater immersion. 16 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:23,960 But what does that point 1 mean? The second number indicates a low frequency effects or LFE channel which would be reproduced 17 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:30,760 with a subwoofer. To see the woofers on a regular speaker typically aren't large enough or powerful enough to 18 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:36,200 accurately reproduce very low frequency or low end sounds, which is why subwoofers are 19 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:43,560 so often paired with speaker sets. If you've ever used a subwoofer, you'll know it only reproduces sub bass, so it's 20 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,760 broken out as a separate 0.1 to indicate that it's not a normal speaker. 21 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:53,280 For an even better experience, you might see 0.2, maybe even 0.4 to indicate that the system 22 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:59,280 supports two or more subwoofers for extra bass or for a little more spatial accuracy. 23 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,480 You won't always see a third number to describe a surround setup, especially as that convention 24 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:08,960 is a little newer, but if it is included, this indicates overhead or height channels 25 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,960 such as ceiling mounted or in-ceiling speakers. 26 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:16,400 Three numbers typically indicate that it's a system that supports an object-based surround 27 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:22,080 sound protocol like Dolby Atmos or DTS-X, where sounds are recorded as individual objects 28 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,960 in 3D space instead of simple channels, and if that sounds confusing, never fear because 29 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:33,200 you can learn all about Atmos in this video. Okay, now you know what the numbers mean, but there are a few other points to keep in 30 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:37,320 mind before you rush out to buy a new home theater setup. 31 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,340 Remember that the numbers represent channels, not speakers, and while each channel does 32 00:02:42,340 --> 00:02:48,360 usually get one physical speaker unit, a major exception is the ever-popular soundbar. 33 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:53,080 It's quite easy to find 2.1 soundbars that contain two separate sets of drivers for your 34 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:58,800 left and right channels as well as a built-in subwoofer, so even though 2.1 might make you 35 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:03,000 think of three separate speakers in the box, that isn't always the case. 36 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:08,280 Similarly, the third number is present in setups that have no actual overhead speakers. 37 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:13,400 Instead, there are upward-firing speakers that are either built into soundbars or sit on 38 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:18,400 top of your existing speakers that bounce sound off your ceiling to simulate sounds 39 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,280 coming from above you, with mixed results. 40 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:27,200 Another important tip for the best experience is that the source material should be encoded 41 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,200 in a way that matches your speaker's setup. 42 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,360 Although object-based schemes like Atmos can scale to different numbers of speakers, all 43 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:41,840 the way up to 64, there's lots of content that's specifically encoded for 5.1 or 7.1. 44 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,400 Don't worry if the encoding doesn't match your setup exactly because, for example, modern 45 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:51,800 receivers can easily down-mix the 7.1 signal to work on just two surround speakers if you 46 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:58,480 have a 5.1 setup, or up-mixing a 5.1 signal to a 7.1 home theater can also be done with 47 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:04,120 software trickery like Dolby ProLogic 2X, which is found on most modern receivers and 48 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:09,120 can analyze the audio signal to figure out what sound should be coming out of what speaker 49 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:15,480 and when. You could forget all of this stuff and just use the speakers built into your TV. 50 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:19,000 I mean, they, they at least function, right? 51 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,200 So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video, like it, subscribe, and hit us 52 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,160 up in the comments section with your suggestions for topics that we should cover in the future.