Play A New Way (NAPSA)—More and more Americans are getting powerful high-fidelity home theater surround sound systemsfor their TVs and DVD players at home, and now consumers are using these systems to enhance the video game experience, too. Most games incorporate the latest sound reproduction technology in their soundtracks, just like DVD movies and television programs such as NYPD Blue and The Sopranos. This means you can hear the roar of the crowd, the gunshots or the hum of the engine as if it were really there. Since the action in a video gameis interactive and unpredictable, the sound must betriggered in real-time in order to keep the sound and the action synced up. Console systems like the Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2, and Nintendo Gamecube produce either Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound in real-time to match the action. You can get “like you’re there” sound from your video game system with new “Home Theater In a Box” products that include a receiver with Dolby digital and Dolby Pro Logic II, five main speakers, a subwoofer, andall the wiring necessary to connect the system. Usually costing as little as $300, these products deliver between 50 and 100 watts of power to each of the main speakers and are extremely powerful. The subwoofers in these packages—perfectly matched to the The right speakers can insert you into your favorite video game as easily as into your favorite movie. systems—often pack quite a punch. This allows many of the home theaters to create bass that can shake the walls around your console and deliver a massive gameexperience. Indeed, video games are a perfect environment for 5.1-channel digital sound. Precise placement of sound effects all around the player adds realism, and helps draw the player into the game. Multichannel sound can add entirely new elements to game play: players feel like they’re really where the action happens, and can even hear opponents sneaking up from behind! For more information on sound systemsor tips on hooking oneup, go to www.dolby.com/games.
