Post-pandemic, many people turned to on-demand video streaming platforms for their entertainment needs. For moviegoers these days, it needs to be a big-budget movie theater with enhanced sound and picture quality. This also explains why many larger movie theater companies, such as INOX, are adding newer technology to their movie theaters to attract consumers. INOX has now brought its AmpliX Premium Sound Format (PSF) technology to its Megaplex theater at Inorbit Mall Malad, Mumbai. The company plans to deploy the technology at its upcoming cinemas in New Delhi and Indore. But what exactly is this audio technology, and how does it work?
First, AmpliX is an audio technology that integrates seats into the sound system of a theater hall to provide 360-degree sound. It is said to be a next-generation audio format that uses binaural technology to provide a surround sound field. The technology will enable 3D audio effects by stimulating the experience of the user’s body, thereby creating a natural audio experience. It will also use an algorithm to sync with the audio on the screen to further enhance the audio experience.
How does INOX’s AmpliX audio technology work?
To understand how AmpliX works, we first need to understand which binaural technologies in audio add directionality to audio, allowing users to experience a more immersive surround sound experience. This audio is usually recorded using two microphones to create the 3D effect.
Binaural audio generally works best with headphones and closed spaces. In this case, built-in speakers in the seats will help provide a 3D audio experience. If the speakers are placed close to the body, they also trigger mechanoreceptors on the body, which further enhances the content consumption experience when watching a movie in a cinema using AmpliX technology. Mechanoreceptors are somatosensory receptors that can be stimulated by touch, pressure, vibration and sound. In this case, the 3D audio effects from the auditorium seats will stimulate the receptors, providing a more immersive audio experience.
If the technology had to be embedded in every seat in a theater, it would be limited to some seats, and those seats would be slightly more expensive. So we can only expect to see AmpliX audio technology in upcoming movie theaters, not in existing ones.