Way back when the NES was released, nobody cared how good the monaural bleeps and bloops sounded, because there wasn't a lot of choice in regards to sound formats. Nowadays, with the Xbox, GameCube and Playstation 2, cinema-quality sound is available right in your living room. If you've got the right equipment, games such as Halo and Metroid Prime can create an immersive atmosphere that can heighten your gaming experience immensely. So, when you go to your game's sound menu, what options should you choose? Read on to find out...
All sound formats except Mono have an optional LFE channel. LFE stands for Low Frequency Effects, and is often reffered to as Bass; which is handled by a Subwoofer. Since the LFE channel uses only 1/10th of the power of a normal channel, it is referred to as a .1 channel. For example, the 2.1 format is Stereo with a Subwoofer channel, whereas 2.0 is Stereo without the Subwoofer channel.
The LFE channel can be excluded from a sound system, but it makes the overall sound stage appear remarkably empty. Therefore, most sytems should have a Subwoofer to get the most out of their gaming experience. As a side note, Bass is non-directional; meaning you can have the Subwoofer in any part of the room and it would sound as if it were right in front of you.
Monaural (Mono):
1.0 (1 Channel - Center)
This is a single channel of sound, sent directly to your speaker. Even if you connect two or more speakers up with the Mono option on, you'll only get the single channel of sound from each speaker.
Stereophonic (Stereo):
2.0 or 2.1 (2 Channels - Left and Right, Optional LFE)
This is the standard in electronics today. Two discrete (seperate) channels of sound are delivered to the left and right speakers. Considered a revolution when first introduced, Stereo allows for audio positioning. For example, if a character enters from the left of the screen, you'll hear their footsteps in the left speaker channel. If a rocket is fired out of the right side of the screen, you'll hear it fade into the distance in the right speaker channel.
Dolby Pro Logic (Surround Sound):
4.0 or 4.1 (Left, Center, Right, Rear, Optional LFE)
Introduced by Dolby in the mid 80's, Dolby Pro Logic allowed for a greater sound stage by providing four channels of sound. Since the rear channel has to be extracted by a decoder from a stereo signal, there is significant quality loss resulting in a muffled sound for that channel. Most Pro Logic soundtracks include the LFE channel for pounding bass. Now if a chopper were to circle around the sound stage, it would move from Left, to Center, to Right, to Rear, and you'd have a constant hum from the Subwoofer.
Dolby Pro Logic II (5.1 Surround Sound)
5.1 (Left, Center, Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, LFE)
Included in most recievers from the year 2000 onward, DPL2 is one of the newest sound formats. It still uses a matrixed stereo signal like it's predecessor, although the decoding algorithms allow clear, precise seperation of all six channels. This is the best sound format available on GameCube, as it doesn't have digital audio output. Unless you're a total audiophile, you most likely won't be able to tell the difference between DPL2 and...
Dolby Digital (5.1 Surround Sound)
5.1 (Left, Center, Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, LFE)
This has been the standard in cinemas since the mid 90's, and is included in most home theatre recievers. It can only be transferred from the source material to the reciever by either a Coaxial Digital cable or a TOSLINK Optical Fibre cable. As stated before, if you compare a good DPL2 sound mix to a good Dolby Digital sound mix, you'll be hard pressed to find a difference. The Xbox touts in-game Dolby Digital as one of its most powerful defining features - the PS2 can only output Dolby Digital during FMV cutscenes.
DTS (Digital Theatre Systems Surround)
4.0-5.1 (Left, Center, Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, LFE)
Primarily used in DVD movies, DTS has recently started appearing in videogames such as Indycar Series, most EA Sports titles, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on Playstation 2. The main advantage of DTS is its high bitrate encoding - in laymans terms, that means you get higher quality sound. It takes a large amount of processing power to decode a DTS signal, so it's rarely included in games.
Into the future...
Dolby Digital EX, DTS ES, SDDS (6.1, 7.1, 8.1+ Surround Sound)
6.1 or 7.1 (Left, Center, Right, Rear Left, Rear Right, Back Left, Back Right, Subwoofer, Sides)
Owners of higher-end recievers know the benefit of a good EX or ES soundtrack. This is the best surround experience you can get at home. No game to date has taken advantage of an EX or ES soundtrack - it's rarely used even on DVD's. The main use of these two formats are in cinemas, along with SDDS (8.1+) which is currently cinema-only domain. Perhaps we'll see these formats used in the next generations of console wars..?
Recommended Demonstrations:
Dolby Pro Logic II - I recommend Rogue Leader, Starfox Adventures, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and Zelda: The Wind Waker when demonstrating the DPL2 format. All have phenomenal DPL2 soundscapes.
Dolby Digital - I recommend Halo and Splinter Cell when demonstrating the DD5.1 format. These are the forerunners of the Xbox Dolby Digital crop.
DTS - Considering the limited choice, I'll have to recommend Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on PS2 for this demonstration.
And that concludes PALGN's Sound Format guide. If you have any questions for the author, click the 'Add Comment' button on the top of this page to be taken to the PALGN forums.
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