Recently, CE Pro sat down with Geir Skaaden, chief products and services officer for DTS to discuss how the company is helping dealers demo DTS:X systems, it’s Play-Fi headphone app and more.

What is DTS doing to foster DTS:X adoption in the custom installation market?

We’ve been bringing surround into the custom install market for 25 years. This year we extended this to DTS:X Pro. It provides more channels and it gives installers the ability to sell something unique. It goes into the high-end A/V receivers and processors. It supports up to 32 channels of speakers. The technology is scalable. It services advanced configuration in the cinema and the home. The channel configuration is more about the hardware designer, so we follow them and how many channels for these configurations that are feasible.

It’s also a differentiator. We allow for the technology to allow installers more flexibility with the positioning of the speakers, and any symmetrical speaker layout can be supported.

What can dealers use to demo DTS:X systems?

We highly encourage demos. Every year we release a demo disc that includes custom content and Hollywood features such as Atomic Blond and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. We ask producers to pick segments from these films to pick interesting elements from the sound.

For integrators, these discs are the easiest way to demonstrate relevant content. Dealers can reach out to our marketing to find out more about it. The other good thing, the disc has all the rights for public demonstrations to allow dealers to use those clips freely in their stores. Technically, you are subject to content royalties when you play a disc in your store.

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Are there plans to add channels, high-resolution audio and other features?

DTS:X is a lossless format, similar to when Master Audio came out, and we’ve always been a leader with resolution. In the creative community there is a lot of interest in immersive audio in the cinema and in the home. We’re focusing on working with the creative community to find innovative ways to bring immersive content to homes to provide a full theater experience.

We’re doing something unique with our IMAX Enhanced program too. When it comes to sound, we are not remixing IMAX sound. We are not putting a nearfield mix; we’re taking a full DTS mix and bringing it to the home. IMAX theaters have a unique approach with sound and speaker layout, and IMAX Enhanced is capable of bringing that into the home.

How is the introduction of high-res audio compatibility and voice control going with the Play-Fi platform?

Play-Fi is a multiroom format and we are pleased with the customer base representing the high end of home audio music. We are committed to supporting high-resolution audio, and it provides us with some differentiation, including products from McIntosh and Arcam.

If you look at the services most used on the platform, the high-res services such as TIDAL tend to index higher on the customer base over the traditional services. The customers appreciate it and it’s great to see streaming has emerged from a compromised compressed service to high-res audio service. So, we see it as something that is growing.

Voice as a user interface is a key component. They are two independent things, high-res is for music enthusiasts and audiophiles, while voice command is broader in scope, and consumers expect this option more in their electronics to control with their voice.

Can you briefly explain the Play-Fi Headphone App and its benefits?

Play-Fi has a unique ability to sync video with low latency. You maintain sound quality with no lip-sync issues. The headphone application allows you to use any headphones to connect with a handheld device and the device with the app syncs with a component to allow for a private experience without any compromise of quality.

This application also uses any headphones to allow users to plug into a connected device. Essentially you have a high-res connection to the TV. There are a lot of good headphones for TV private listening, but they all use Bluetooth. That means you are getting a fairly compressed experience. Play-Fi uses Wi-Fi to carry high-res signals and it syncs multiple listeners in different languages.

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