Megasound
Encyclopedia
Megasound was the name of a movie theater sound system created by Warner Bros.
in the early 1980s. It was used to enhance the premiere engagements of a handful of Warner features, including Altered States
(1980), Outland
, Wolfen
and Superman II
(all 1981).
Theaters equipped for Megasound had additional speakers mounted on the left, right and rear walls of the auditorium. Selected soundtrack events with lots of low-frequency content (thuds, crashes, explosions, etc.) were directed to these speakers at very high volume, creating a visceral effect intended to thrill the audience. The system was added onto Dolby Stereo 70 mm Six Track systems, which was an early 5.1 system that eventually became the 5.1 surround sound common today.
Megasound is similar to MCA's Sensurround
. However, unlike MCA's SENSURROUND, Warner Brothers never attempted to market Megasound to other studios as a general purpose, high-fidelity, sound system like Dolby Stereo
.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in the early 1980s. It was used to enhance the premiere engagements of a handful of Warner features, including Altered States
Altered States
Altered States is a 1980 American science fiction-horror film adaptation of a novel by the same name by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky. It was the only novel that Chayefsky ever wrote, as well as his final film. Both the novel and the film are based on John C...
(1980), Outland
Outland (film)
Outland is a 1981 British science fiction thriller film written and directed by Peter Hyams.Set on Jupiter's moon Io, it has been described as a space Western, and bears thematic resemblances to High Noon....
, Wolfen
Wolfen (film)
Wolfen is the title of a 1981 horror film starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos based on Whitley Strieber's 1978 novel The Wolfen...
and Superman II
Superman II
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors...
(all 1981).
Theaters equipped for Megasound had additional speakers mounted on the left, right and rear walls of the auditorium. Selected soundtrack events with lots of low-frequency content (thuds, crashes, explosions, etc.) were directed to these speakers at very high volume, creating a visceral effect intended to thrill the audience. The system was added onto Dolby Stereo 70 mm Six Track systems, which was an early 5.1 system that eventually became the 5.1 surround sound common today.
Megasound is similar to MCA's Sensurround
Sensurround
Sensurround is the trademark name for a process developed in the 1970s by Cerwin-Vega in conjunction with Universal Studios to enhance the audio experience during film screenings...
. However, unlike MCA's SENSURROUND, Warner Brothers never attempted to market Megasound to other studios as a general purpose, high-fidelity, sound system like Dolby Stereo
Dolby Stereo
Dolby Stereo, is the trade mark that Dolby Laboratories used for the various analogue stereo cinema sound formats that they produced.Two basic systems used this name. The first was the 'Dolby SVA' system used with optical soundtracks on 35mm film...
.