Up to now, creating a surround soundtrack for an HD video of a live event has been complicated and costly. To simplify the process, surround-sound specialist SRS Labs offers a portable solution allowing HD producers to create 5.1 and 6.0 multichannel audio on two-channel camcorders or field audio recorders.

The SRS Circle Surround Portable Encoder (CSE-06P) lets sound recordists encode 5.1 or 6.0 channels of discrete program material (left, center, right, left surround, right surround, and center surround or LFE) for recording and transmission via any stereo medium, including two-channel HD camcorders.

SRS Labs says the resulting left/right material is robust and suitable for analog and digital distribution. With the companion SRS Circle Surround Decoder (CSD-07) or SRS Digital Circle Surround Decoder (CSD-07D), the left/right can be decoded to 5.1 or 6.1 and mixed into a discrete surround mix for delivery over ATSC, DVD or other discrete carriers.

If a stereo transmission path is desired, simply mix the left/right as stereo with other mono, stereo or left/right encoded sources and monitor with the companion decoder.

The CSE-06P can be belt- or camera-mounted. Power for both the encoder and the microphone phantom power is delivered via standard 4-pin power supplies on most cameras.

Using the CSE-06P, a remote video crew can capture and deliver full 5.1 surround via tape or remote feeds, enabling the listener to instantaneously feel like they are immersed in an on-location experience. Also, when mixed with main stage events, the remote feed will blend and maintain that same immersive quality.

Circle Surround two-channel material is backward compatible with all existing playback formats from mono to 5.1 channel surround sound (Pro Logic II). But it sounds best with a Circle Surround decoder. It can be used on all platforms-music, film, television programming, games, and Internet streaming.

For field recordists, the portable encoder features a surround headphone-monitoring mode, SRS Headphone PRO, which accurately monitors discreet 5.1-channel mixes over conventional headphones.

For more information, visit www.srslabs.com.