# Forget about Blu-Ray, HDTV, and 7.1 Surround Sound **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942 "2008-01-25T11:25:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/1 "2008-01-25T11:25:12Z")
[Your home theater system just became obsolete.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7205338.stm) > [@](#): > > Super Hi-Vision - or Ultra High-Definition TV as it is sometimes known - carries some impressive statistics. > > It has a screen resolution of 7680x4320 pixels, 16 times greater than current HD. > > To watch the format NHK has a purpose-built 500 inch screen in its labs, along with the world’s only 22.2 multi-channel surround sound system, which the format also supports. > > Currently there are only two cameras capable of recording the format. > > They are extremely bulky and heavy and are capable of shooting less than 20 minutes of film each day. > > To transfer just 18 minutes of video requires some 3.5 terabits of data. Can we just pick a format and stick with for another 50 years, please? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/2 "2008-01-25T16:11:53Z")
Your OP is a bit of an exaggeration, isn’t it? They don’t expect to start broadcasting until 2025. I’ll be thrilled if my HD set and home theater last another 17 years. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/3 "2008-01-25T16:29:39Z")
Why would we need 22.2 sound channels? Center, Just to the left, a little more left, a little bit more more left, Left, just past left, a little further past left, way past left, almost left rear, left rear, Rear Center, right rear, almost right rear, way past right, a little further past right, just past right, right, a little bit more right, a little more right, just right of center and back to center. (plus two sub?) Think of the speaker wire! ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/4 "2008-01-25T16:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Why would we need 22.2 sound channels? [/QUOTE] And what is the 0.2 of a channel doing? Does it make the system significantly better than 22 channels? ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/5 "2008-01-25T17:59:08Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] I’ll be thrilled if my HD set and home theater last another 17 years. [/QUOTE] _I’ll_ be thrilled if I can figure out what HDTV to get for right now. I was looking yesterday and my head _still_ hurts. The ultra HD can wait (besides, I don’t have room for a TV that big ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/6 "2008-01-25T18:40:43Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] And what is the 0.2 of a channel doing? Does it make the system significantly better than 22 channels? [/QUOTE] The part after the decimal reflects how many subwoofer channels there are. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/7 "2008-01-25T19:39:45Z")
[QUOTE=Zebra] Why would we need 22.2 sound channels? Center, Just to the left, a little more left, a little bit more more left, Left, just past left, a little further past left, way past left, almost left rear, left rear, Rear Center, right rear, almost right rear, way past right, a little further past right, just past right, right, a little bit more right, a little more right, just right of center and back to center. (plus two sub?) Think of the speaker wire! [/QUOTE] Well, then you have the speakers across the ceiling, under the floor and a couple up your… ejem. 7680x4320? :dubious: 7680x4320 resolution? You couldn`t make use of that resolution even if you stand with your nose against the screen. It`s an obscenity. As an aside, I work on a visual effects production house; if in the future we have to wait 6 weeks for each frame of an animation to render at 7680x4320 resolution, I`ll personally hunt down the jokers behind this and feed them to a goldfish, bit by bit. It may take months, but I need something to do while I wait for those renderings. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@matt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/8 "2008-01-25T19:59:00Z")
Personally, I’m hanging on to my CD player and VCR until the Holodeck is perfected… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/9 "2008-01-26T01:04:56Z")
Oh, c’mon, **Tuckerfan** … all you have to do is wait until they come up with one that makes it absolutely impossible for you to actually own recordings or play them as you wish, absent continuous subscription payment to the rights-holder… …once they decide if it’ll be Sony-proprietary, Apple-proprietary, Phillips-proprietary, Toshiba-proprietary, MicroSoft proprietary… :D:D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/10 "2008-01-26T01:27:51Z")
This technology was demo’d years ago, with the same specifications. The current systems amount to little more than discrete panels that each show a quadrant of the image (they’re pulled out of their cases and fixed together so that the joins are almost invisible, hence “purpose-built”). The name “Hi-Vision” is a hold-over from Japan’s original pre-digital high definition video format (_very_ roughly equivalent to 1035i by HDTV standards) from the same technology group. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/11 "2008-01-26T01:46:14Z")
This is a great technology. Just think for the medical field. The Drs will be able to put a camera in you and actually stand infront of a wall sized screen and be able to see in more detail the tumor or what have you. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/12 "2008-01-26T01:59:54Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] …Can we just pick a format and stick with for another 50 years, please? [/QUOTE] Good thing they didn’t say this in 1958. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/13 "2008-01-26T15:23:55Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] Well, then you have the speakers across the ceiling, under the floor and a couple up your… ejem. 7680x4320? :dubious: 7680x4320 resolution? You couldn`t make use of that resolution even if you stand with your nose against the screen. It`s an obscenity. As an aside, I work on a visual effects production house; if in the future we have to wait 6 weeks for each frame of an animation to render at 7680x4320 resolution, I`ll personally hunt down the jokers behind this and feed them to a goldfish, bit by bit. It may take months, but I need something to do while I wait for those renderings. [/QUOTE] HA! This is the exact point I was going to come in here and mention. There’s a certain point where more resolution just won’t matter anymore. I’d say we’re already there with 1080p. Sure, you can go higher, but talk about diminishing returns! And to add to Ale’s post, imagine having to work with digital files of such magnitude! It’d be insurmountable. Here’s a comparison of [HD](http://goodcomics.com/sdmb/hd.jpg) to [Ultra HD](http://goodcomics.com/sdmb/UHD.jpg). Good god. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/14 "2008-01-26T16:01:47Z")
So far as I’m aware this isn’t even any media available with 7.1 audio, outside of a few demos here and there. It’s all 5.1. I’m really not sure our ears are directionally sensitive enough to hear any greater spatial resolution than 7.1, especially since you can give sounds the appearance of coming from between the speakers by playing them out multiple speakers at varying volumes. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/15 "2008-01-26T19:07:30Z")
[QUOTE=cmyk] HA! This is the exact point I was going to come in here and mention. There’s a certain point where more resolution just won’t matter anymore. I’d say we’re already there with 1080p. Sure, you can go higher, but talk about diminishing returns! [/QUOTE] 1080p is not nearly good enough. It does not look that clear on a screen over 65 inches. And if you have seen those HD broadcasts before movies on a movie screen it looks really bad. ---
**Author:** ![FourPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e0b2c6/32.png) [@FourPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FourPaws)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/16 "2008-01-26T21:43:12Z")
[QUOTE=Two and a Half Inches of Fun] 1080p is not nearly good enough. It does not look that clear on a screen over 65 inches. And if you have seen those HD broadcasts before movies on a movie screen it looks really bad. [/QUOTE] Then you have a crappy 65" HDTV. My 65" Mitsubishi (bought Nov 07) looks fine with 1080i and 1080p. HDTV channels are a little fuzzy at that size, but otherwise, it’s all good. Normal 480 tv is fuzzy, but not remarkably so. Egads man, 20 years ago we were watching cable on console TV’s and the cable tuner was a box attached with a cord to the TV; DVD players weren’t available and VCR’s or (Betamax for that matter) were the size of carry on luggage. N there’s no point to this paragraph, just wanted to give you a little history before telling you to get off my lawn. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/17 "2008-01-26T21:45:17Z")
Ha. In a couple years when they finally perfect a direct hi-rez feed into your head, this thing will be nothing more than a curiosity. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/18 "2008-01-27T16:40:41Z")
Look. it’s all _irrelevant_. **We want holodecks!** And we want them **now!** If this ‘new’ technology is a step towards holodecks, good. If not, who cares. Holodecks! The last invention of human kind! **NOW!** ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/19 "2008-01-27T16:47:23Z")
[QUOTE=Ale] As an aside, I work on a visual effects production house; if in the future we have to wait 6 weeks for each frame of an animation to render at 7680x4320 resolution, I`ll personally hunt down the jokers behind this and feed them to a goldfish, bit by bit. It may take months, but I need something to do while I wait for those renderings. [/QUOTE] Somehow this reminds me of the statement “Nobody needs more than 640K RAM for anything” and “one central computer per planet is enough”. Yesterday’s geek overkill is tomorrow’s mainstream standard. If it’s available, uses for it will be found. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942/20 "2008-01-27T16:47:32Z")
[QUOTE=ianzin] Look. it’s all _irrelevant_. **We want holodecks!** And we want them **now!** If this ‘new’ technology is a step towards holodecks, good. If not, who cares. Holodecks! The last invention of human kind! **NOW!** [/QUOTE] I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Do any of the current presidential candidates endorse a Manhattan Project scale of development for holodeck technology? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forget-about-blu-ray-hdtv-and-7-1-surround-sound/434942.md?page=2)