A 22.2 Multichannel Sound System for Ultrahigh-Definition TV (UHDTV)

A 22.2 multichannel sound system was developed for an ultrahigh-definition TV (UHDTV) system. It consists of three layers of loudspeakers: an upper layer with nine channels, a middle layer with ten channels, and a lower layer with three channels and two channels for low-frequency effects (LFE). Subjective evaluations were performed comparing the impression of various spatial attributes using UHDTV contents with pictures in a large room. These evaluations demonstrate that viewers have better impressions of various spatial attributes in a wider listening area with the 22.2 multichannel sound system than with other sound systems. This paper describes the 22.2 multichannel system for UHDTV, and discusses the advantages of 22.2 multichannel sound. It also describes the sound recordings and productions by the 22.2 multichannel sound system.