WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.040 Have you ever walked out of a movie theater so impressed by the audio experience that 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 00:00:08.120 --> 00:00:13.120 think about how you wish the sound could surround you at home? 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 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. 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. 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:35.320 Usually this refers to the number of regular speakers in your system. 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.040 So a conventional 5.1 system will typically have 5 speakers. 00:00:40.040 --> 00:00:44.140 Front left, center, front right, surround left, and surround right. 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 00:00:51.760 --> 00:00:56.720 will likely send dialogue to the center speaker while the other speakers will play audio relative 00:00:56.800 --> 00:01:00.880 to the action on the screen for a more realistic and immersive experience. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:07.120 By contrast, a 2.0 system simply indicates a plain old straight forward stereo setup 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:13.000 with a left and a right channel only while 7.1 indicates two additional rear channels 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:16.120 above a normal 5.1 for greater immersion. 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 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 00:01:30.760 --> 00:01:36.200 accurately reproduce very low frequency or low end sounds, which is why subwoofers are 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 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:47.760 broken out as a separate 0.1 to indicate that it's not a normal speaker. 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 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.280 supports two or more subwoofers for extra bass or for a little more spatial accuracy. 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 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:08.960 is a little newer, but if it is included, this indicates overhead or height channels 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.960 such as ceiling mounted or in-ceiling speakers. 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:16.400 Three numbers typically indicate that it's a system that supports an object-based surround 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:22.080 sound protocol like Dolby Atmos or DTS-X, where sounds are recorded as individual objects 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:26.960 in 3D space instead of simple channels, and if that sounds confusing, never fear because 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 00:02:33.200 --> 00:02:37.320 mind before you rush out to buy a new home theater setup. 00:02:37.320 --> 00:02:42.340 Remember that the numbers represent channels, not speakers, and while each channel does 00:02:42.340 --> 00:02:48.360 usually get one physical speaker unit, a major exception is the ever-popular soundbar. 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 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 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:03.000 think of three separate speakers in the box, that isn't always the case. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:08.280 Similarly, the third number is present in setups that have no actual overhead speakers. 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:13.400 Instead, there are upward-firing speakers that are either built into soundbars or sit on 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:18.400 top of your existing speakers that bounce sound off your ceiling to simulate sounds 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.280 coming from above you, with mixed results. 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:27.200 Another important tip for the best experience is that the source material should be encoded 00:03:27.200 --> 00:03:30.200 in a way that matches your speaker's setup. 00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:34.360 Although object-based schemes like Atmos can scale to different numbers of speakers, all 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. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:46.400 Don't worry if the encoding doesn't match your setup exactly because, for example, modern 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 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 00:03:58.480 --> 00:04:04.120 software trickery like Dolby ProLogic 2X, which is found on most modern receivers and 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 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. 00:04:15.480 --> 00:04:19.000 I mean, they, they at least function, right? 00:04:21.520 --> 00:04:25.200 So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video, like it, subscribe, and hit us 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.