Surround Sound Interview Quiz

In a single sentence, describe what bass management does

Redirects low frequencies from all the channels to the LFE output which then feeds the subwoofer (or Multichannel crossover and summing amp)

In DTS order, which channel is #2?

Right

What is the name for the 2 channel output of a matrix encoder?

LtRt

Upon decoding a matrix surround mix, signals that are identical and in phase in both LtRt channels are steered to which channel?

Center

In a single sentence, describe what a phantom center is.

Illusion that the sound is coming from the center of 2 speakers (or when the sound is equal energy in 2 speakers but sounds like it comes from between them)

What is the name of the control that allows you to bleed sounds to all the channels even when the panning grid displays a hard left surround position?

Divergence

What is the name of the channel an engineer can use to enhance the low frequency energy in a mix?

LFE

In one sentence explain what THX is

A certification company (or a licensing company)

True or False: All 7.1 systems use left center and right center channels

False

What's an example of one crossover frequency used in a bass managing or professional surround sound playback system?

80Hz (or any between 60Hz to 240Hz)

Is Dolby Digital a delivery format, playback format or codec?

Codec

Is 6.1 an example of a playback format, delivery format or codec?

Playback format

According to ITU-R BS.775-1, how many degrees off center should the left front and right front speakers be?

30 degrees

According to ITU-R BS.775-1, how many degrees off center should the left surround and right surround speakers be?

110 degrees

What does ITU-R BS.775-1 say about how far the speakers should be from the primary listening position?

Equal distance

On a surround monitor controller, inputs that are greater than 2 channels are referred to as what?

Wide

On a surround monitor controller, what is it called when you listen to a multichannel mix in a playback format that has fewer channels than the original content?

Downmixing (or folddown)

In one sentence describe the difference between LFE and a subwoofer

LFE is a channel and subwoofer is a speaker

What is converting a conventional stereo mix into surround sound referred to as?

Upmixing

Give one example of a matrixed surround sound codec

Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby Pro Logic II or Dolby Pro Logic IIx or DTS NEO:6 or SRS Circle Surround

Give an example of a discrete digital surround sound codec

Dolby Digital (ac3) or Dolby Digital Surround EX or Dolby True HD or DTS or DTS ES or DTS HD

Give 2 examples of delivery formats where Dolby Digital can be stored

Pick 2: Film, DVD, Blu ray, and HD Broadcast

What's the alternate 3 character name for Dolby Digital?

ac3 (or .ac3)

True or False: If a playback system has a subwoofer it is always considered to be a .1 system

False

What surround pan control lets you adjust between a true center and a phantom center?

Center Percentage (or Center %)