Will arcade PCBs evolve to 5.1/7.1 Dolby Digital formats?

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 7:49 pm

Considered that most Jamma based PCBs are either in mono or stereo output, wouldn't it be cool if modern day Jamma PCBs could output in glorious 5.1 or 7.1 Dolby Digital surround sound output? Cave would be wise to endow their latest arcade mobo with stereo or even 5.1 surround sound setup -- mono sound is so early 1980s-ish. Of course, it would cost a bit more in terms of getting the PCBs manufactured to have such better sound output...why not take advantage of better sounding technology?

You might recall that with Pioneer's LaserActive laserdisc-based gaming console, they used a specialized three-dimensional sound process called "Roland Sound" that used only two speakers for that full-surround sound experience. Same could be said with Capcom's arcade based CPS-2 mobo with the Qsound technology and two speaker setup.

Even Konami dabbled with stereo sound output in their arcade PCB of Gyruss...and this hails back from the year of 1983. Even the cool Rick Dyer produced laserdisc games of Dragon's Lair and Space Ace were presented in stereo sound output. Same can said about Funai's laserdisc arcade shmup of Interstellar as well -- presented in stereo. ^_~

Sure, it would entail using a digitial optical cable or HDMI cable output interface and a good high quality stereo reciever to do proper sound justice. Perhaps a small but substantially powerful stereo reciever ought to do the trick (especially in some of those candy cabs that lack enough roomy space such as the Taito Egret 29" one).

I recall playing Armored Core 2 demo at the Spring 2000 TGS inside From Software's gaming booth and they had a Japanese PS2 running it with a 5.1 speaker setup. Sounded awesome indeed. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

agustusx · Post by **agustusx** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:11 pm

Who needs more than Qsound?

Do the any PCB's have true 2.1? That would be a start

4.1 would likely be the HIGH end.

7.1 audio is really only needed in larger environments and even 5.1 would be much for the small radius a arcade machine uses. The center channel is usually utilized for vocals, and I'm not sure there would be a big need for this in arcade games.

I guess Daytona USA had Quadraphonic sound, that was pretty sweet. Quad sound is not as sweet as discreet digital audio, but it worked well. In that case however it is a much larger gaming area than most, and IIRC there are speakers in front and back of you. I don't know how often outside of a racer you would use this.

EDIT: Never answered the question directly, I vote not to 7.1 ever happening in any common way, but I could see some ambitious game designers taking advantage of 5.1 for certain genres.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:04 pm

If the economics of theater games ever return, then there'd be a prime situation for 7.1 or whatever crazy setups.

Other than that, it'd be nice to have the extra immersion. I don't get it at home, certainly.

Udderdude · Post by **Udderdude** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:16 pm

Nooooo! Mono sound forever :O

emphatic · Post by **emphatic** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:56 pm

Just stereophonic sound would do. The sound of ESPGALUDA and DDP-DOJ when hooking up my PS2 in the EGRET II is super sweet and I much prefer it before playing my ESPGALUDA PCB in mono. I wouldn't be much surprised if the game roms include stereo sound, but CAVE figured that no dedicated cabinets - no control over how it's installed by the operators - let's not waste time or money on it.

Is it not a fact that modern games with stereo sound have dedicated cabinets or operate on JVS standard instead of JAMMA? Perhaps we should all be grateful that we can still play them on our *dead* technology?

croikle · Post by **croikle** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:21 am

Given reports of the noise level in Japanese arcades, there might not be a noticeable improvement. Combine that with the need to get extra hardware, and you'd need a popular, profitable game to make it worthwhile.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 6:39 pm

agustusx wrote:Who needs more than Qsound?

Do the any PCB's have true 2.1? That would be a start 4.1 would likely be the HIGH end.

7.1 audio is really only needed in larger environments and even 5.1 would be much for the small radius a arcade machine uses. The center channel is usually utilized for vocals, and I'm not sure there would be a big need for this in arcade games.

I guess Daytona USA had Quadraphonic sound, that was pretty sweet. Quad sound is not as sweet as discreet digital audio, but it worked well. In that case however it is a much larger gaming area than most, and IIRC there are speakers in front and back of you. I don't know how often outside of a racer you would use this.

EDIT: Never answered the question directly, I vote not to 7.1 ever happening in any common way, but I could see some ambitious game designers taking advantage of 5.1 for certain genres.

Let's not forget Sega's Model 2 powered Virtual On game with four speaker setup + bass module mounted directly underneath the player(s) seat on the full-deluxe sit-down enviromental cabinet setups. Quite an audio/visual treat taken to the max. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:10 pm

that new Raizing

Storm game has a dolby related setup, it runs on PS3 based hardware, likely to get a port I presume...

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:21 pm

Probably it will be Dolby 2.1, and that's it. It would drive the price of the hardware even higher, and arcades are already struggling as it is.

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:33 pm

Where would the rear speakers go for a 5.1 or 7.1 setup? 3.1 might make sense for a wide cab in the spirit of the 6-player Konami X-Men, but actual surround only makes sense for sit-in cabs and other specialized setups. I don't see how it would happen in a more general way.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:07 pm

Ex-Cyber wrote:Where would the rear speakers go for a 5.1 or 7.1 setup? 3.1 might make sense for a wide cab in the spirit of the 6-player Konami X-Men, but actual surround only makes sense for sit-in cabs and other specialized setups. I don't see how it would happen in a more general way.

One working solution is to have the rear speakers mounted on a sturdy frame for support, suspended in mid-air and extended some ways from the backside of the player(s) from the top portion of said upright arcade cabinet. That was the way how the Armored Core 2 demo kiosk was setup at From Software's booth at the TGS back in March of 2000. It worked fine nevertheless. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

antares · Post by **antares** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:17 pm

House Of The Dead 4 Special has Dolby Surround.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:46 pm

Even Atari Time Warner Interactive's T-Mek enviromental arcade cabinet (circa 1994) used a 4.1 speaker setup: used four 4" speakers rated at 8 ohms + an 8" subwoofer rated at 4 ohms directly underneath the player's seat. Pretty powerful setup with the heavily touted CAGE Total Immersion Audio system.

I've seen and played Atari's prototype T-Mek cabinet that was configured in an upright version. Later, Atari wanted to go the full enclosed-enviromental route with the production T-Mek cabinets -- weighed a whopping 580 lbs per setup! Up to three enviromental T-Mek cabs could be hooked up via link-up interface for a grand total of six players maximum. I recall playing T-Mek at a local arcade with two of them for up to four players altogether.

All this info, I gleaned from Atari's T-Mek Operator's Manual which I do have. It is interesting to note that the huge T-Mek PCB is Jamma standard and uses analog joysticks to play the game -- so using digital-based 8-way joysticks won't work with this particular PCB anyways. Fascinating stuff indeed. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~