A HISTORY OF SURROUND SOUND

• 1940 First known use of discrete surround in motion pictures:
  • Walt Disney's animated Fantasia.
  • This is the first use of any recorded surround sound.
• 1951 Cinerama uses control tracks to select surround speakers.
• 1952 2-channel stereo open-reel tape appears.
• 1957 Westrex 45-45 2-channel stereo record is introduced.
• 1961 FCC approves GE-Zenith system for 2-channel stereo FM.
• 1967 First known use of discrete surround in live and recorded music:
  • Pink Floyd used a (then new) studio 4-track recorder on stage.
  • It was used for surround playback of extra parts during the concert.
• 1968 First known use of discrete surround in music recording for consumer use:
  • Ampex and Advent experiment with discrete 4-channel.
  • This is the first open-reel tape surround sound intended for use in homes.
• 1969 Ampex 4-channel open-reel tape machines available.
• 1969 Record companies reject 4-channel without disc records.
• 1969 First known use of matrix for surround sound:
  • Peter Scheiber's regular matrix system.
  • It never sold, but was functionally the same as QS.
• 1970 Dynaco creates a passive 4-channel matrix system.
  • The speakers are placed in a diamond shape, not a square.
  • No special equipment is needed to use it.
• 1970 Electro-Voice Stereo-4 is first matrix system on the market.
• 1970 Benjamin Bauer, CBS, investigates the New Orleans matrices.
• 1970 Q-8, a 4-channel 8-track cartridge was released by RCA.
• 1971 Scheiber, Dynaco, E-V matrices test out nearly identical.
• 1971 Dynaco produces Dynaquad, a square version of its diamond.
• 1971 JVC announces CD-4, a record system using subcarriers.
• 1971 JVC and Audio Technica make special pickups for CD-4.
• 1971 CBS announces SQ matrix, different from all others in use.
• 1971 Sansui announces QS, a regular matrix without phase problems.
• 1971 First known use of matrix surround in stage production:
  • Ondine, University High School, Bloomington IN
  • Early UniQuad encoder, Dynaco Diamond used.
  • This made voices and sounds come from unexpected directions.
• 1971 5 different discrete 4-channel FM systems are proposed.
• 1972 Gain-riding "logic" decoders become available for SQ.
• 1972 RCA adopts CD-4, produces no equivalent stereo records.
• 1972 Norelco develops an 8-track cassette that is never sold.
• 1972 Denon announces UMX, a matrix different from all others.
• 1972 First 4-channel receivers with basic decoders are sold.
• 1973 Sensurround, a control-track system, is used in 3 movies.
• 1973 The CD-4 system has problems:
  • Special pickups are needed to detect the carriers.
  • Dust specks and wear make crashes, not tiny clicks.
  • Standard pickups erase the carriers, producing a "sandpaper quad" effect.
• 1973 SQ leads sales due to Columbia's large record market share.
• 1973 Sansui Variomatrix becomes an alternate to gain riding logic.
• 1973 Electro-Voice Universal decodes regular matrix and SQ without switching.
• 1973 4-channel receivers with logic decoders appear on the market.
• 1974 UniQuad symmetric separation matrix proposed, never used.
• 1974 Logic decoders appear for most matrix systems.
• 1974 CBS develops "Variblend," a smooth logic decoder for SQ.
• 1974 4-channel open-reel recorders sell more than other surround:
  • Open-reel surround sales far exceeded expectations.
  • Decline in other surround sales is attributed to recession.
  • Other surround sales were expected to match open-reel sales.
  • Companies conclude that discrete sells better than matrix.
  • An errant push for discrete quadraphonics ensues. It doesn't sell.
  • Most open-reel decks were not bought for surround sound, but for homebrew recording studios.
  • Most people were waiting for a standard system to emerge before buying.
• 1975 First known use of matrix surround in motion pictures:
  • Tommy, the rock opera by The Who, used QS.
  • The soundtrack album is the first encoded like the film.
• 1975 CD-4 and SQ battle in US markets, regular matrix languishes.
• 1975 The BBC proposes Matrix, H, between QS and UMX.
• 1975 QS recordings are sold mostly in Europe and Japan.
• 1976 FCC rejects all competing 4-channel FM systems.
• 1976 Surround sound sales die due to lack of a standard.
• 1976 Popular record companies drop surround sound.
• 1976 Dolby Stereo is created for film use by Dolby Laboratories.
  • It is a regular matrix with delay separation enhancement.
  • Soundtrack albums can be encoded just as the film is.
• 1977 4-channel receivers are no longer on the market.
• 1977 The first use of Dolby Stereo in motion pictures:
  • George Lucas Star Wars
  • The soundtrack is the first album in Dolby Stereo.
• 1978 The Tate SQ decoder becomes available.
• 1978 A few films are made in a 3D version of Dolby Stereo, also encoding vertical sound position.
• 1979 Classical record companies drop quadraphonic production.
• 1979 Most movies are made in Dolby Stereo, most theaters aren't.
• 1979 Many new movie soundtrack albums are in Dolby Stereo, but not so labeled.
• 1979 The first use of Dolby 70 mm in motion pictures:
  • Apocalypse Now, also available in Dolby Stereo
  • The soundtrack album is in Dolby Stereo
• 1982 Compact disc (CD) appears. 4-channel definition never used.
• 1984 The first home decoders for Dolby Stereo, labeled "Dolby Surround," are sold.
• 1985 FCC approves stereo television, allowing matrix surround TV.
• 1985 first stereo television network broadcast:
  • Friday Night Videos on NBC on 7/19/85
• 1985 Mini-theater size degrades the performance of surround sound.
• 1986 Dolby Surround becomes the de-facto surround sound standard.
• 1986 The last quadraphonic records disappear from classical catalogs, but the records still contain the encoding.
• 1986 The FCC lets several competing AM stereo systems exist.
• 1989 Surround decoders are again generally on the market, but this time they are Dolby Surround.
• 1990 Home theaters are on the market.
• 1992 CDs displace phonograph records (the original reason matrix surround exists).
• 1993 Popular and classical recordings appear in Dolby Surround.
• 1995 Dolby discrete AC-3 appears, killing the de-facto standard.
• 1995 Digital cassettes threaten to remove another standard. They never sell well.
• 1996 High definition TV threatens to remove all format standards.
• 1996 Three digital surround systems appear. Bye bye standards!
• 2007 Analog television ends, replaced by many different digital systems.

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