I learned to say "point" when in Navy Basic Electronics school at
Great Lakes in 1960 as "along this wire to a connection point", next to another connection point, etc.

JJK

Clipped from the Dolby Labs FAQ


"Question
What is meant by 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1?

Answer
With respect to soundtracks, such as those on movies and DVDs, 5.1 means that the soundtracks are recorded with five main channels: left, center, right, left surround, and right surround, plus a low-frequency effects (LFE) bass channel (called a ".1" channel because it covers only a fraction of the frequency range of the main channels)."

That about covers it for me, five point one it is.

"Some movie soundtracks use a variation on 5.1 called Dolby® Digital Surround EX™, which has now migrated via DVDs to home theater. This format matrix encodes a third surround channel onto the left and right surround channels of 5.1 soundtracks, and may be decoded or not at the cinema’s or home listener’s option due to their inherent compatibility. Because the extra surround information is carried on the left and right surround channels, Dolby Digital Surround EX encoded soundtracks are still regarded as 5.1 soundtracks.

With respect to home playback, the terms 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 mean that there are five, six, or seven main speakers, plus a subwoofer, in the playback system. (The subwoofer reproduces the LFE channel recorded on 5.1 soundtracks, plus any bass the main speakers cannot handle.) The difference is in the number of surround speakers: two in a 5.1 system, three in a 6.1 system, and four in a 7.1 system.

Obviously, a 5.1-channel soundtrack can be played on a 5.1-speaker system. But it is not always understood that it can also be played on a 6.1- or a 7.1-speaker system. To do this, the two surround signals on the 5.1 soundtrack are spread across the three or four surround speakers. This distribution can be accomplished by a Dolby Digital EX decoder, a THX Surround EX decoder, or other proprietary methods provided in home theater equipment by various manufacturers.

So the number (i.e., 5.1) describing the soundtrack does not have to match the number applied to the speaker system. It’'s even possible to play two-channel stereo content over these multi-speaker systems by using a matrix surround decoder such as Dolby Pro Logic® II. The delivery format and the speaker configuration are independent, and it is the decoder's job to bridge them effectively."

Well, I develope surround sound systems for a living and this is the first time I've heard it called "Five dot One". I think that must have come about by some marketing genious who was more familiar with the dot COMS than audio terminology.

The Pop/Soda thing is not an East Coast/West Coast thing. I actually always thought it was a North/South thing. I'm from Michigan and we say "Pop". You go anywhere South of Michigan it's "Soda". I do alot of traveling throughout the U.S. and I've adapted to just saying "Soda" most of the time. Then I went to Kentucky and they go with "Coke". A guy asked me, would you like a "coke"...I said sure...He said, "what kind do you want?" I had to sit there and scratch my head for a second...so I said, "What kind do you got?" He, said well we got RC Cola, and Diet RC Cola....I said, well give me a Coke. This went on for hours. I went to California, and they where saying "Pop". It's all a mess, I gave up trying to adapt and just decided to say, "Give me a Beer" and no one get's confused. :-) Well, except for when I visit Canada, then I have to say, "Give me a Beer...Aye". If I don't add the "Aye", then I find the French/Canadian don't understand me. It's a good thing I watched Strange Brew alot growing up and currently watch a lot of hockey, otherwise I couldn't speak Canadian.

The comma and decimel reversal like in Spain, really confused me the first time I saw this. They do the same thing in Brazil. The first time I went to Brazil, I arrived in the airport and went to the airport McDonalds, because I knew how to say "Big Mac" in Portuguese :-) Well, I looked at the price and it said $3,59.....I said damn!!!! Over Three thousand for a Big Mac....I didn't bring enough money with me!!!!

Well, I'm in the US, and I use "point" when referring to software releases, and audio channels. Like others have said, I only use DOT when referring to URL's.

I work in the financial industry, and when we're dealing with figures, we use SPOT, like 25 spot two three, for 25.23. I found this odd at first, but I do it naturally now.

Thanks to the wonders of Google, here's one possible explanation as to the origin of the "dot" in "dot com."

As an aside, one of the things that really bugs me is the whole Dolby Digital ".1" business. If, for example, the audio tracks being delivered to a theater are full-bandwidth to begin with, then why did Dolby see the need to tack on an extra .1 Low Frequency Effects channel? Furthermore, how is that channel used today? Do soundtrack editors put things like gunshots and dinosaur clomps that ordinarily would drive the other channels way over 0db?

Another thing (Rednroll can probably answer this): how did the whole Dolby "5.1" concept get twisted into someone going into a computer store and buying a "2.1" speaker system? What I mean is, in the world of computer speakers, "2.1" means "2 satellite boxes and 1 woofer/subwoofer," which can be driven very well with a Dolby 2/0 feed. In other words, a .1 speaker system is not at all the same thing as a .1 Dolby Digital feed, and one is not needed for the other. Right?

"My personal fave to get Canadians to use the word "About" in a sentence.
"

???
Are you expecting to hear "aboot"??
AFAIK, that's an American pronunciation.

Mike

Well, except for when I visit Canada, then I have to say, "Give me a Beer...Aye".


Sorry but it's not "Aye", it's "Eh".
Look up the Bob & Doug, the Mackenzie Brothers. They're the ones who started it all.

Mike
a Canadian who never says "Eh" :-)

Today must have been veeeeerrry boring for you all, lol.

Not boring at all. After going full-tilt for over 12 hr., this is a way (for me anyway) to blow off some steam :-)

Mike

LOL rs170a
I see your " . "

" I see your " . " "

And I raise you a " · "

Mike

Dots should be dots (•), not periods (.).

Travis

What's a "period"? .. Here in the UK it is called a "Full Stop"! PERIOD!

Grazie - ;-)

>>>Are you expecting to hear "aboot"??
AFAIK, that's an American pronunciation.<<<

Yes on the first part and no on the second. The only Americans I have ever heard say "about" as "aboot" are transplanted Candians. But than again it might be an East Coast / West Coast thing for Canada as well. I know more than a few people from Vancover and have never really heard them say "aboot" however people from, say, Toronto say it a lot. It is like - well people from the West Coast say "albany" "Al - bany" and people on the East Coast say it "All - bany", and if you are in the city you hear "Awl - bany"

Oh hell - I dunno. Anyone up for making a documentary on this matter? he he. :)

>>> What's a "period"? Here in the UK it is called a "Full Stop"! PERIOD!<<<

Here in the states we call it being married.



OUCH!

The earliest that I remember hearing "dot", (okay, I'm showing my age here), is when packet switching first came out, X.25 (X dot 25). I thought it sounded kewl, too.