D-Box Motion Simulator - 04/03/05 11:49 PM
Our company was in a home show this weekend, and there was the usual assortment of landscape, window, hot tub, & electronic exhibitors there. One of the audio stores had a working display of the D-Box Motion Simulator
I must say that I was giddy-as-a-schoolgirl after the demo. It was like the first time I heard surround sound. The motion was sync'd so perfectly to the video, it was nothing short of amazing. Vibration at different frequencies, left to right and forward to back motion - it really took the movie to a whole new level.
I think I was most impressed with the level of restraint shown by the programmers. I fully expected it to be overdone for the "WOW" factor. This was not the case. During quiet (no action) scenes, the chair was "dead".
The first scene was the pod race from Episode 1. Man was it neat! Very impressive with lots of motion. But what really blew me away was the "bridge jump scene" from Gone in 60 Seconds. As Eleanor (the Mustang) sat there with it's lumpy idle, you could feel the perfect vibration through the seat. Nick Cage stabs the throttle and BOTH the frequency AND amplitude of the vibration change. Launch, and the seat tilts back as the Mustang accelerates. Depress the clutch, seat tilts forward, shift into second, pop the clutch, and NO WORD OF A LIE THE CHAIR SNAPS BACK HARD!! Hit the ramp, BIG tilt back, then nothing....... just floating airborne. Tilting forward, tilting forward, then BANG! Hit the pavement with multiple vibrations & impacts. Simply stunning. (I felt a little guilty going back for my 5th time.)
Sorry for my exuberance, but I'm still smiling. I want one bad!!!
Sidenote: They had the separate "platform" model - not the "built-in" models.
I must say that I was giddy-as-a-schoolgirl after the demo. It was like the first time I heard surround sound. The motion was sync'd so perfectly to the video, it was nothing short of amazing. Vibration at different frequencies, left to right and forward to back motion - it really took the movie to a whole new level.
I think I was most impressed with the level of restraint shown by the programmers. I fully expected it to be overdone for the "WOW" factor. This was not the case. During quiet (no action) scenes, the chair was "dead".
The first scene was the pod race from Episode 1. Man was it neat! Very impressive with lots of motion. But what really blew me away was the "bridge jump scene" from Gone in 60 Seconds. As Eleanor (the Mustang) sat there with it's lumpy idle, you could feel the perfect vibration through the seat. Nick Cage stabs the throttle and BOTH the frequency AND amplitude of the vibration change. Launch, and the seat tilts back as the Mustang accelerates. Depress the clutch, seat tilts forward, shift into second, pop the clutch, and NO WORD OF A LIE THE CHAIR SNAPS BACK HARD!! Hit the ramp, BIG tilt back, then nothing....... just floating airborne. Tilting forward, tilting forward, then BANG! Hit the pavement with multiple vibrations & impacts. Simply stunning. (I felt a little guilty going back for my 5th time.)
Sorry for my exuberance, but I'm still smiling. I want one bad!!!
Sidenote: They had the separate "platform" model - not the "built-in" models.
