multi-channel audio/DVDs (WAS: Hi, the Audium...)

[Derek Holzer <republikasleazka@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

wow,

thanks for sharing this link to the Audium. i've been thinking a lot the 
last few weeks about 3D sound, and i've been tinkering with a 4 channel 
audio-locator in Reaktor, maybe soon an 8 channel. but a 169-channel 
system?!? amazing.

one thing the SF Gate review of the Audium:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/08/30/DD12439.DTL
mentioned is a multi-channel format called DVD Audio 5.1

a quick google search turned up the specs on DVD audio here:
http://www.mpeg.org/MPEG/DVD/Book_B/Audio.html
which state that
"up to a maximum of 8 audio streams can be multiplexed into the same cell 
with a single video stream. Each stream for example is designated for a 
particular language or special effects & music tracks."
and that these 8 channels can be and "up to 8 separate streams are 
permitted, as long as the combined stream rate is less than or equal to 9.8 
mbit/sec" for a max of 8 X 16-bit/48KHz (the low-end for DVD sound, by the 
way...)  --- which sure sounds interesting if you can find a DVD player that 
can play all 8 channels at once!

anybody have any experience with DVD mastering or hacking? i really think 
DVDs could be 'the way forward'(as someone on this list referred to wireless 
ethernet) in creating interactive and immersive sound recordings, and that 
exploring and (especially) exploiting this type of technology could produce 
results unintended by the format designers.

best,
derek

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