Adjustable speaker ‘delays’ allow the processor to automatically compensate for your room size, and for situations where for example, the rear speakers are positioned closer to your seat than the front speakers. If you didn’t add a slight delay to the sound in such circumstances, there’s every chance you’d hear the rear speakers before the fronts, which would sound very strange indeed. To set delays, you need to measure the distance from each speaker to your seat and enter those values into the 'delay' section of your amp or receiver's set-up.

Most modern receivers and amps offer the choice of metres or feet for precise speaker delay calibration. However, some older kit requires you to enter in values to account for milliseconds of delay (which effectively does the same job, but which simply means you have to do the calculations yourself, rather than the processor). To work out these delays, use the following calculation: first, measure the distance from your front-left speaker to your seat. Then do the same for your left-rear speaker. You’ll have two numbers. For every 30cm of difference between these two figures, add 1ms (millisecond) of delay. For example, 300cm to front speakers, 150cm to rears = 150cm of difference, so 5ms of delay.

Finally, you’ll need to set the relative volume level of each speaker and your subwoofer. This can be done using the receiver’s built-in test tone, which can be used to both ensure you've wired each speaker up correctly, and to adjust each speaker for an even level of volume at the listening position. This is best done using a sound pressure level meter. Sit in your listening position, and point the meter straight upwards, not at your speakers. Set the meter's sensitivity to 80dB and flick the selector switches to ‘C’ weighting, and ‘Slow’ response. Turn on your receiver’s test tone, and turn up the main volume dial until you get a reading from the front-left speaker of 75dB. Then use the volume trims on your receiver’s remote to adjust the volume from every other speaker in the system until it shows that level.

Introducing Zeppelin - the ultimate iPod speaker system, brought to you by the makers of some of the most advanced hi-fi speakers in the world. With its breathtaking sound quality and stunning design features, Zeppelin really is the speaker your iPod has been waiting for.

There are two models in the family to choose from. The original Zeppelin has become a modern design classic - the ideal all-in-one sound system for any space and occasion. And now there's also the streamlined Zeppelin Mini, perfect for when you want a big sound in smaller spaces. Whichever Zeppelin you pick, you can be sure that your digital music will never quite sound the same again.

A great iPod speaker system deserves fantastic music to play. At the Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound you can download better than CD-quality music that will sound amazing on either Zeppelin or Zeppelin Mini. Sign up for a free trial, and you’ll receive a six-track sampler to really show off your speaker’s true potential. Members receive an album a month, plus access to an ever-increasing high-quality musical archive. Click here to find out more.

To read the latest news about Zeppelin and Zeppelin Mini visit the Bowers & Wilkins Blog. They’ll keep you updated about new reviews, awards, and any firmware updates that are available. You can also post your thoughts on Zeppelin and Zeppelin Mini, and have some fun letting us know what music sounds best on your speakers. Click here to sign up.

The Zeppelin mini will be launched in South Africa in January 2010 - priced at +/- R3999.

With the advent of high definition television, the development of components to match the resolution capabilities of HDTV are becoming more important. As a solution, more and more DVD players are equipped with "upscaling" capability to better match the performance of the DVD player with the capabilities of the today's HDTV's.
However, the introduction of Blu-ray and HD-DVD has confused the issue regarding the difference between the upscaling of standard DVD and the true high definition capability of Blu-ray.
Standard DVD Resolution
A standard DVD player, without upscaling, can output video resolution at 720x480 (480i). A progressive scan DVD player, without upscaling, can output 720x480 (480p - progressive scan) video signals.
480i represents 720 pixels displayed across a screen horizontally and 480 pixels down a screen vertically. This arrangement yields 480 horizontal lines, which are, in turn, displayed alternately. In other words, all the odd lines are displayed, followed by all the even lines.
480p represents 720 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 480 pixels down the screen vertically. This arrangement yields 480 horizontal lines on the screen, which are, in turn, displayed progressively, or each line displayed following another.
The Upscaling Process
Upscaling is a process that mathematically matches the pixel count of the output of the DVD signal to the physical pixel count on an HDTV, which is typically 1280x720 (720p) or 1920x1080 (1080i - and, some cases, 1080p).
720p represents 1,280 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 720 pixels down the screen vertically. This arrangement yields 720 horizontal lines on the screen, which are, in turn, displayed progressively, or each line displayed following another.
1080i represents 1,920 pixels displayed across a screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down a screen vertically. This arrangement yields 1,080 horizontal lines, which are, in turn, displayed alternately. In other words, all the odd lines are displayed, followed by all the even lines.
1080p, on the other hand, represents 1,080 horizontal lines displayed sequentially. This means all lines are displayed during the same pass. 1080p is the highest quality HD display format.
The Practical Effect Of DVD Upscaling
Visually, there is very little difference to the eye of the average consumer between 720p and 1080i. However, 720p can deliver a slightly smoother-looking image, due to the fact that lines and pixels are displayed in a consecutive pattern, rather than in an alternate pattern.
The upscaling process does a good job of matching the upscaled pixel output of a DVD player to the native pixel display resolution of an HDTV capable television, resulting in better detail and color consistency.
However, upscaling, as it is currently implemented, cannot convert standard DVD images into true high-definition images. In fact, although upscaling works well with fixed pixel displays, such as Plasma and LCD televisions, results are not always consistent on CRT-based high definition televisions.

Looking to Upgrade your 5.1 Theater to a 7.1 and not sure what surround speaker type to go for?

A surround sound speaker system means five, six or seven speakers plus a subwoofer . In addition to selecting the number of speakers (or channels) you want for a surround sound system, you need to select the type of surround sound speakers you want. There are three types to choose from, direct radiating speakers, bipole and dipole and each type produces different surround sound effects. Your decision should be based on your room and your listening preferences.

Direct Radiating Speakers
A direct radiating speaker outputs sound directly into the room towards the listeners. Surround sound effects in movies, music and games are most noticeable with direct speakers. In general, most people prefer direct speakers if they listen mostly to multichannel music. Direct speakers are placed at the sides or rear of the listening room behind the listeners.

Bipole Speakers
Bipole surround speakers have two or more speakers that output sound from both sides of the cabinet. If used as side surround speakers, the sound is output both towards the front and rear of the room. If used as rear surround speakers, they output sound in both directions along the rear wall. The dual speakers used in a bipole speaker are ‘in phase’, meaning that both speakers output sound simultaneously. Bipole speakers create a diffuse surround effect so the location of the speaker cannot be pinpointed. In general, bipole speakers are a good choice for movies and music and are usually placed on the side walls.

Dipole Speakers
Like a bipole speaker, a dipole speaker outputs sound from both sides of the cabinet. The difference is dipole speakers are ‘out of phase’, which means that one speaker is outputting sound while the other is not, and vice-versa. The purpose is to create a very diffuse and enveloping surround sound effect. Dipole surround speakers are usually preferred by movie enthusiasts and are also placed on the side walls.

Ever wondered what the advantages of HDMI over existing analog video interfaces such as composite, S-Video and component video?

Quality: Because HDMI is a digital interface, it provides the best quality of the video since there are no lossy analog to digital conversions as are required for all analog connections (such as component or S-video). The difference is especially noticeable at higher resolutions such as 1080p. Digital video will be sharper than component, and eliminates the softness and ghosting found with component. Small, high contrast details such as text bring this difference out the most.

Ease-of-use: HDMI combines video and multi-channel audio into a single cable, eliminating the cost, complexity, and confusion of multiple cables currently used in A/V systems. This is particularly beneficial when equipment is being upgraded or added.

Intelligence: HDMI supports two-way communication between the video source (such as a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality such as automatic configuration and one-touch play. By using HDMI, devices automatically deliver the most effective format (e.g 480p vs 720p, 16:9 vs 4:3) for the display that it is connected to - eliminating the need for the consumer to scroll through all the format options to guess what looks best.

HD Content-Ready: HDMI devices supporting HDCP have the comfort of knowing they will have access to premium HD content now and in the future. HD-DVD and Blu-ray have delayed the activation of the image constraint token (a.k.a. content protection flag) with today’s HD movies to help minimize potential issues caused by the transition, but are expected to activate this in a few years, meaning future HD movies will then not be viewable at HD resolutions over unprotected interfaces such as analog component.

Background
The standard DVDs you own now all use "lossy" multi-channel soundtracks, developed by Dolby Labs and Digital Theater Systems (DTS). "Lossy" means that a lot of data are thrown away using perceptual coding in order to greatly reduce the amount of "digital" space occupied on the disc by the soundtracks. The perceptual coding is very sophisticated (it's based on the principle that sounds softer than you can detect in the presence of louder sounds at or near the same frequency do not need to be encoded). This process enables Dolby Digital and DTS to carry six-channel discrete soundtracks (five channels plus a ".1" low-frequency effects channel), which run at relatively low data rates even when compared to the data rate from a lossless two-channel format like Compact Disc's "Red Book" PCM (pulse-code modulation).

While lossy formats like Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts can--and do--sound really excellent, far better than the old analog soundtracks of the past, anyone would agree that lossless soundtracks such as those offered on Blu-ray are preferable if enough space is available on the disc. Just to emphasize, a PCM audio track like that from a compact disc is lossless: it’s a stream of "1s" and "0s" that precisely describe the frequencies and relative loudness (amplitude) of a music signal. No data are discarded to conserve bandwidth. And Blu-ray's new lossless soundtracks use sampling rates and word lengths greater than compact disc and have the considerable potential to sound superior to the existing lossy Dolby Digital/dts formats.


The Blu-ray Soundtracks
The three lossless audio formats associated with Blu-ray players' high-resolution audio soundtracks are Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) and Linear PCM (Linear Pulse-Code Modulation). These formats will all convey eight discrete channels (7.1) of no-loss audio that exactly duplicate the original studio masters, but there are various ways of extracting the signals depending on how new or current your AV receiver is and what kind of input connections are available.

Older AV receivers
Owners of AV receivers that have a set of multi-channel analog input jacks -- usually six or eight RCA female inputs -- need not despair. As long as you get a Blu-ray player which has internal decoding of the aforementioned formats and that's equipped with a full set of analog output jacks, then you can still connect and benefit from the impressive high-resolution audio included on most Blu-ray discs. Your AV receiver doesn’t need HDMI inputs or outputs as you can still route the 1080p video directly over HDMI cables to your TV display or projector, bypassing your AV receiver for Blu-ray video. You will require a set of six or eight analog RCA cables to link the Blu-ray player's analog RCA audio output jacks to your AV receiver's multi-channel analog input set.

If you don't care or don't want to be bothered connecting the analog eight-cable set, then you could still use an optical digital or coaxial digital output from the Blu-ray player to the AV receiver’s optical or coaxial input. Your AV receiver will extract a standard lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix from the Blu-ray disc's Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack. The latter is a lossy audio format, so you can expect the audio to sound as good as any standard DVD's Dolby Digital mix or maybe better, because Dolby Digital Plus runs at a higher data rate that your AV receiver’s chip set may benefit from.

Getting Lossless Audio via HDMI and PCM
Dolby TrueHD is based on the original Meridian Lossless Packing profile that was developed for DVD-Audio, in which eight channels are compressed to take up less space but then exactly reconstructed by the player so there are no losses. If you get a Blu-ray player that will "unpack" or decode Dolby TrueHD and output it via HDMI in PCM form, then you all you need is an AV receiver that’s capable of receiving multi-channel PCM via HDMI. Any version of HDMI cable will carry multi-channel PCM -- including HDMI 1.0 through HDMI 1.3. However, your AV receiver must be able to deal with eight channels of PCM audio via HDMI connection.

The other method of extracting and hearing Dolby TrueHD is by what’s known as bit streaming: a raw data stream of Dolby TrueHD that is sent from the Blu-ray player via HDMI 1.3 to an AV receiver that has built-in decoding of Dolby TrueHD. So far, there are only a few AV receivers with this capability, however more and more will be appearing with each passing month.

DTS-HD Master Audio
Similar to Dolby TrueHD, the same requirements exist for extracting the DTS-HD lossless Master Audio tracks, which like Dolby TrueHD, can carry up to eight discrete audio channels. You must have a Blu-ray player that will internally decode DTS-HD MA or output it via a bitstream and HDMI 1.3 to a new AV receiver that has a built-in decoder for DTS Master Audio.

Many speakers offer a bi-wiring connection option. Bi-wiring means connecting two lengths of speaker wire to each speaker, one to the woofer section and another to the midrange/tweeter section. Bi-wiring a speaker is an inexpensive way to improve sound quality by running two identical lengths of wire to each speaker, or purchasing a set of bi-wire speaker cables. Bi-wiring reduces the negative effects of the impedance differences between high and low frequencies traveling through a single wire. Bi-wiring speakers with separate wires reduces the interaction between the two and improves sound quality.
How to Bi-wire Stereo Speakers:
Not every speaker can be bi-wired. A speaker must have separate terminals for the woofer and midrange/tweeter. Sometimes they are marked by the designation 'high' and 'low, and sometimes they are not marked at all. Be sure to consult the owner's manual for further information before attempting to bi-wire your speakers. In addition, the bars that connect the terminals must be removed before connecting speaker wires to prevent damage to the speakers or amplifier.
Benefits of Bi-amplifying Stereo Speakers:
Bi-amplifying a speaker is another way to improve sound quality, but is a more expensive option because separate amplifiers are required for the woofer and the midrange/tweeter section of each speaker. In addition, rather than using the passive crossover built into the speaker to split high and low frequencies, an electronic crossover is recommended to get the best performance. Bi-amplifying a system allows the best amplifiers to be used for the bass and midrange/treble but because of cost is used mostly for very high-end systems.
How to Bi-amplify Stereo Speakers:
Bi-amplifying stereo speakers also requires separate terminals for the woofer and midrange/tweeter on the back of the speaker. Be sure to remove the bars that connect the terminals before connecting the speaker wires to prevent damage to the speakers or amplifier and consult the owner's manual.

The Blu-ray format is going to push forward the limits of current media substantially which allow you to enjoy a host of great benefits which include:

•Improved Capacity,
•High-Definition Video,
•Enhanced Interactivity,
•Enhanced Copy Protection, and
•Being Future Proof.

The most obvious benefit is the larger capacity. With 25gb/50gb to use, movie and game studios will be able to offer much more in terms of extra features and longer gameplay. Also many new DVD titles require 2 discs for added features whereas only one will be needed for Blu-ray which will lower the prices for you.

High-Definition (HD) video playback is perhaps the most useful aspect of the next-gen formats. As HD becomes more mainstream (Sky launched there HD offering recently and more households are buying HD ready TV's) the ability for disc formats to support it is imperative. Blu-ray offers space for 2hrs/4hrs respectively of HD video (different encodings will allow more and less) with space for interactive features still available.

The enhanced interactivity features are another step forward compared to DVD. By incorporating the java platform (called BD-J), Blu-ray players can have dynamically changing interactive menu's that can be updated via an internet connection built into the player. These updates can include extra subtitles tracks and promotional features not available at purchase. This could effectively eliminate the 'special editions' studios tend to use as users could simply download all the extra features they wanted though its not clear if this will be free.

The enhanced copy protection is one aspect you won't notice as much but is very important. Blu-ray utilizes a variety of copy protection methods such as Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Advanced Access Content System (AACS). The DRM method used on Blu-ray is called BD+ which creates dynamically changing keys to protect the discs. This means that if a key is cracked only a select portion of the discs are compromised. The AACS can effectively disable players which are deemed 'bad'. i.e. if copied discs are used frequently, the AACS could disable the player for the user and stop it working even if bought by someone else. The final copy protection which may affect you is the Mandatory Managed Copy System (MMCS) which limits users to a set number of copies of discs by making the user register the 'right' to copy the disc.

Finally the Blu-ray disc has been designed to be future proof. This means that by buying all the new equipment needed, you will not need an upgrade in the near future (5 yrs) as these next-gen formats evolve. Also TDK has announced work on a 200gb Blu-ray disc (6 x 33gb layers) which will future proof the format even more.

This is just an overview of the benefits that Blu-ray offers. There are many smaller improvements but the benefits listed above are the ones that you are most likely going to affect you.

The simplest form of home theatre system is a home theatre in a box (HTiB), which provides a complete package of source, amplification and speakers. Frequently, these systems are inexpensive, small and severely constrained in performance terms. You’re unlikely to benefit from the same picture-enhancing features as you could expect to find on a standalone DVD player, for example, while most systems feature amplifiers with strictly limited but often wildly exaggerated power outputs. This will be especially noticeable in larger listening rooms, where the acoustic demands of the space will have a considerable impact on any system’s sonic potential. It’s true that you can find higher-performance complete solutions from certain manufacturers, but even so, these are still limited in both capability and longevity next to separates components.

Choosing separates kit, on the other hand, ensures you get to enjoy both excellent performance and a long lifespan from a system. Even the cheapest surround sound receivers will sonically outgun HTiB kit, providing more power, more exciting dynamics and vastly superior surround sound processing. They’ll also offer an extensive range of input sockets for source components coupled to additional channels of amplification to support 7.1 surround sound. If you don’t intend using these channels, you can frequently redirect them to suit other purposes, such as bi-amplifying your front speakers (see our hi-fi guide for more) or even powering another pair of speakers in a second room. Most receivers can also serve as video-switching hubs for all your sources, simplifying wiring and operation by allowing you to switch picture and sound simultaneously.

There’s no need for aesthetic compromises, either. Couple a good receiver to a quality DVD player from the same manufacturer and you have matched aesthetics that look every bit as elegant as the most thoughtfully styled HTiB. What's more, both components should also work off a single remote control.

Finally, opting for separates kit allows far more flexibility over speakers. You can opt for large or small designs as your room, budget and tastes allow, and you can also opt to add more speakers, giving a still-more cinematic surround effect. A 7.1 speaker array can add considerable surround ambience to your listening, and also tends to give more flexibility over speaker placement. This involves add two extra rear-speakers which provide more atmosphere. You could also consider adding an additional subwoofer for a still-more convincing and realistic spread of bass.

The perfect music recording adds as little as possible to the original performance: ideally, you should be able to hear the artist’s voice or the instrument he or she is performing on, in their original unvarnished form, as if they are actually there in the room performing especially for you.
By contrast, every sound you hear in a movie theatre is a trick. No one has ever stuck microphones next to a nuclear explosion and recorded it. No-one has ever recorded a T-Rex roar, the crash of a passenger liner as it snaps in two or the howl of a spaceship as it screams past your ear. These are 'best guess' sounds, designed to create a convincing and impressive sonic experience that adds to the movie theatre experience – but they’re not ‘real’.
In fact, every sound in a theatrical soundtrack is generated after the film has been completed. The dialogue is re-recorded in a studio, the music is introduced and then the sound effects are added, gleaned from a variety of audio sources, some of which can be quite unusual. For example, biological sounds – whales, especially – can be used to help reinforce deep bass effects in explosions, while the sound of the Titanic breaking in two was created using a gravity-driven concrete car crusher and some substantial decking planks. The sound designer’s art is also constrained by the need to preserve the most crucial element of the movie soundtrack, the dialogue. Most directors object to having their scripts obscured in a sonic melee, and are prepared to sanction some quite unusual sonic tricks to preserve clarity.
This distinction is important, because it helps to better understand the function of a home theatre system. Unlike hi-fi, it’s not there to convey reality: it’s there to create it, or whichever version of it the director is attempting to reproduce. To that end, the best systems should ‘fool’ you into believing that you are sitting in a movie theatre, enjoying the entertainment experience laid before you every bit as much as you would in the ‘real’ environment

Assuming you’ve opted to buy speakers from the same manufacturer for every channel in your home theatre system, a fundamental requirement for great sound, the next important thing is to position the speakers correctly in your room. The ITU (International Telecommunications Union) standard for multichannel recording and playback is one recommended standard for speaker placement, often employed by studio engineers when mixing surround audio for both movie and music use, and as a broad guideline, it’s effective. However, the ITU stipulations can be impractical for many homes. For example, it demands identical speakers be used in each channel, including the centre channel, which is difficult to do if your system has floorstanding speakers for left and right front channels.
Broader guidelines, then, are as follows: First, try to get the rear surround speakers high up on the walls, tilted down towards your listening position (this is true of two, three or four rear speaker systems). If you don’t want to wall-mount your speakers, consider using tall stands instead. The key is to avoid placing your rear speakers too close to your ears: height helps introduce an additional and natural acoustic ‘delay’ to the sound. The only exception to this rule is a dedicated dipole/bipole surround speaker, which fires sound in multiple directions at once. Designs such as this can be placed alongside or behind the listening position, but shouldn’t be tilted downwards.
Secondly, place your centre speaker at the same height as the main left and right speakers, under the screen if possible. Try to align its tweeter with those on the other front speakers in your system, or if that’s not possible, use a laser pointer and align its angle of tilt so that it focuses on to the same position on your seat as your other speakers. This can be extremely effective, and is easily achieved with a simple tilting centre-speaker stand such as the one we make. Further centre-speaker tweaking will help focus your system’s soundfield. If you imagine a shallow, curved arc that runs through the plane of your main left and right speakers, the centre speaker needs to be placed at its apex, so that it sits right at the heart of the stereo image generated by your main speakers, and slightly behind them. It should also be placed equidistant between the two, or as close as it is practicably possible to be.

Big screen sound from a small system. Bowers & Wilkins introduces a new sub-R12 000 Mini Theatre system. New addition to Bowers & Wilkins' award-winning Mini Theatre range. M-1 satellite speakers partnered with compact and powerful ASW608 subwoofer. Amazing value for money at under R12 000.The MT-25 is the latest member of the award-winning Mini Theatre range from Bowers & Wilkins, makers of the world's most advanced home cinema sound systems. Compact and discreet the MT-25 will fill a room with rich, detailed multi-channel surround sound, thanks to a perfect partnership between the M-1 satellite speakers and the powerful ASW608 subwoofer.
Beneath its stylishly curved outer shell, the diminutive M-1 satellite speaker is bristling with state-of-the-art Bowers & Wilkins technology, including the famous Nautilus tube-loaded tweeters. Taking up front, side and rear channel positions in a 5.1 home theatre system, the M-1 is available in a choice of colours: black, silver or white.
Providing the bass channel in the surround sound set up, the ASW608 offers extraordinary power and control for such a compact subwoofer. Even better, it integrates beautifully with the M-1 satellites, creating a coherent, seamless soundscape. Ultra-solid construction and a 200 Watt Class D amplifier deliver maximum precision and power.
For those who are looking for great home cinema sound but don't want it to dominate their living room,MT-25 provides the ideal solution. The Mini Theatre range comprises the MT-25 and MT-30 system, which includes the award-winning PV1 subwoofer.
The MT-25 is available now!