Trinnov’s in-house trailers aren’t your typical demo content. They’re purpose-built to showcase the full potential of immersive audio systems. Born from a passion for audio excellence rather than traditional marketing, these clips help integrators, calibrators, and home cinema pros demonstrate what properly tuned systems can really do.
We sat down with Trinnov co-founder and CEO Arnaud Laborie to talk about the idea behind these trailers and why the company began producing them.
CE Pro: What’s the concept behind these trailers?
Laborie: The idea for these trailers emerged as immersive audio was gaining momentum and relatively new to the market. Our team, especially Benoit Munoz, recognized early on that existing trailers present within the industry were often overly format-locked. Benoit identified an opportunity to create fresh, neutral content specifically for our demonstrations at key events like ISE and CEDIA Expo. Given our industry’s conservative inclination, this was a bold move when first introduced. The first Trinnov trailer produced by Benoit, a clip for the unveiling of DTS:X Pro, premiered at ISE 2020 and confirmed our belief that high-quality, immersive audio trailers would resonate deeply with our community.
CE Pro: Who are they intended for?
Laborie: At the start, these trailers were created for ourselves here at Trinnov, as we believe this to be a natural approach for creative teams driven by passion and personal standards. That said, we design these trailers with integrators, calibrators, and home cinema enthusiasts at the top of mind. At the end of the day, they are the core audience that truly appreciates the quality and innovation these clips represent. Feedback from industry partners, particularly integrators, validates our focus on creating content that accurately and genuinely excites and engages those who share our passion for high-quality audiovisual experiences.
CE Pro: What formats does Trinnov design them for and why?
Laborie: These clips are expressly designed for immersive audio greatness because, well, that’s what we do! We craft these trailers to showcase immersive audio technologies across all major formats, from Atmos, DTS:X, and others. Within Trinnov, we have always maintained an agnostic approach to audio formats and speaker brands, striving to maintain performance regardless of the system. Historically speaking, we have always been deeply involved with immersive audio, technically pre-dating Dolby Atmos through our collaboration with IMM Sound. Our goal remains consistent: to enable users to achieve optimal performance with any audio format or speaker brand configuration.
CE Pro: How do they help Trinnov market its solutions?
Laborie: Interestingly, these trailers were not initially conceived as traditional marketing tools. They sprang forth from a genuine enthusiasm for immersive audiovisual experiences. Our main intention in the creation of these trailers was to produce content that clearly demonstrates the capabilities of properly configured systems, not just our products specifically. Once created, we began sharing these short clips with our most trusted partners as we felt they were ideal for showing off what immersive audio can do. These trailers have organically reinforced our position as innovators and passionate leaders within the industry. They’ve broadened our reach, helping audiences recognize Trinnov’s deep commitment to audio excellence, whether they’re leveraging our equipment or not.
CE Pro: What’s the creative process like? How do you decide what to put in them?
Laborie: The creative process at Trinnov on the trailer front, largely driven by Benoit, is quite organic. Inspiration may come from emerging visual artists, technical innovations within our own labs, or a combination of many creative elements. For example, “Les Dieux,” inspired by Lucio Arese’s captivating visuals, challenged our team to create an audio piece that pushed low-end sound reproduction to its limits. Today, that trailer offers sound calibrators and integrators a clip that will stress-test any system on the bass reproduction front. We rigorously evaluate our created clips at major industry events like ISE and CEDIA Expo, gathering critical feedback from the most discerning audiences first, before making them broadly available to the public.
CE Pro: How do these trailers demonstrate the full capabilities of a properly calibrated system?
Laborie: Each trailer is mixed in reference-grade studios, including MSM Studios in Munich and Berlin, both of which are calibrated using Trinnov equipment. From the start, we have an unparalleled sonic reference, and from there, we further challenge ourselves to make great use of wides and tops that traditional content often (and sadly) overlooks. Industry experts have praised several of our clips as exemplary demonstrations of immersive audio, surpassing even major commercial releases designed to showcase system capabilities. Furthermore, clips we have produced like “Music Machine” have been widely adopted as a preferred testing tool, highlighting the effectiveness of these clips beyond standard testing methods.
CE Pro: How do dealers and integrators benefit from having access to these trailers in their showrooms or demo spaces?
Laborie: Integrators and dealers are constantly seeking engaging, fresh content to showcase the transformative impact immersive audio can have. Our trailers offer precisely that, vividly illustrating the benefits of expanded speaker layouts and advanced audio configurations. Explaining this phenomenon is one thing, but in this case, hearing is believing.
For instance, we receive feedback from partners all the time, such as a notable dealer in Sweden, whose customers upgraded entire systems after experiencing a true Trinnov demo. These trailers effectively bridge the gap between the technical explanation of a finely tuned system and customer experience, significantly aiding integrators in demonstrating the value of enhanced audio setups.
CE Pro: How has the response been from those who’ve experienced the trailers firsthand?
Laborie: Overwhelmingly positive. From everyone including our internal team to industry veterans and media representatives at major trade shows and events. Perhaps the greatest validation is seeing our trailers adopted into the demonstration scripts of our partners, such as those found on Kaleidescape players in premium showrooms worldwide. It is rewarding to see our genuine passion translate into excitement and adoption among partners and their customers, creating an incredible ripple effect of enthusiasm across our industry.
CE Pro: What makes Trinnov’s trailers different from standard demo content or Hollywood clips?
Laborie: Trinnov trailers are concise, standalone pieces created specifically to highlight audiovisual excellence without blockbuster budgets or star power. Instead, these clips captivate through artistic expression and meticulous sound design. Additionally, these trailers give emerging artists exposure to broader audiences as well, promoting innovative and alternative forms of artistic expression.
CE Pro: Are there any upcoming trailers in development, or plans to evolve the concept further?
Laborie: Absolutely. Benoit and the creative team continuously explore new concepts, driven by emerging technologies within Trinnov and collaborations with innovative artists. We remain committed to evolving these trailers, continually incorporating the valuable feedback we receive from our partners and growing our global audience. Given their reception so far, we are excited to expand on this concept further, always aiming to push the boundaries of immersive audiovisual experiences.
