5.1 Audio, 7.1 Audio Dolby Pro Logic, what does all that mean? Well, these are all terms that have to do with the multichannel sound capability of the new home theater systems. Now, we have always had Dolby Pro Logic, that's the stereo with the center, left, and right, that's standard more or less in every receiver today.
But now what come is 5.1, 7.1 Audio with true Dolby audio coming up. Something that comes out with Blu-ray players. Also, has been broadcast by some of the stations. So 5.1, what does that mean? Well, 5.1 refers to the number of speakers in a system and it's thought of the minimum for surround sound. The 5 represents the 5 speakers; that's the left, the right, the center, and the two rears, that's 5. And the .1 is your sub-woofer, that low frequency sound.
7.1 takes it one step further, it adds the side speakers. If you have been to a movie theater, you now what I am talking about. Those are the speakers around the side of you are sitting there. Now, obviously in a very small room, the 7.1 is not going to be much help to you. But if you have any room, you have a 50 inch TV set or larger, chances are the 7.1 will be really nice.
It's not a big deal to put them in. This for example is a 5.1 or 7.1 surround speakers, what they call it dipole, the sound comes out of both sides. As you can see, they are not very big. This allows you to get that extra sound and that sound stage, that's present in the room.
Now, high-end system also has something called THX certification. The THX certification is a certification that the cinema industry has cut down with the consumer electronics agencies to come up with a reference to say, this is THX certified, which means it's going to present the audio the way the producer or rather the director originally intended for the sound.
So, you get a 7.1 sound system THX certified with a nice big plasma screen or LCD screen, wow, what an experience it's going to be. Hope, this was helpful. If you want more information, don't hesitate to go to LivinginHD.com., look at the Answerman. Please, don't hesitate to put comments on it. I would love to hear from you, and I'll be happy to answer it in another episode. Thanks.
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