[TV Technology]

If all engineers were chocoholics, the final agenda for the 2012 Hollywood Post Alliance Tech Retreat this month could seem like an eye-popping visit to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

Across several days of panel discussions, roundtables, seminars, demos and more than 50 exhibitors, the Feb. 13–17 HPA confab at the Hyatt Grand Champion in Indian Wells, (near Palm Springs), Calif., on topics ranging from spectrum rededication to next-gen colorization, it seems virtually every major player in broadcasting and related industries will be in attendance.  …

ATTENTION TO AUDIO

…  Also Thursday morning amid the Breakfast Roundtables, Barco Digital Cinema will detail its new Auro3D audio system, which features a configuration boasting 11.1 channels logistically situated throughout specially equipped theaters in the United States, China and Russia. The new system’s first motion picture application, “Red Tails,” premiered in the United States in late January at Auro3D-enhanced facilities in Dallas, Los Angeles and Miami.

Barco Product Marketing Manager Tom Bert said while the introduction of digital projection has spurred a revival in 3D movies, cinema audio has been evolving very slowly. “As George Lucas put it, ‘sound is 50 percent of the movie experience,”” said Bert. “Still, the industry remains uncertain on how to properly implement a new 3D sound experience.” Auro-3D was designed to provide an immersive audio experience, while being backwards-compatible. “There’s no ‘chicken and egg’ problem here, which has blocked the introduction of similar new technologies,” Bert said.  …

For more information on the HPA Tech Retreat, visit hpaonline.com.

Read the full story here: http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/hpa-tech-tackles-ambitious-agenda/211588