Surround Sound vs Dolby Atmos vs Spatial Audio

[alandbush]

To add some further spice Devialet talks about "SPACE™ technology": 

SPACE™ technology opens up a new dimension of sound. A patented algorithm upscales any mono or stereo signal into a 5.1.2 signal for an all-enveloping, muli-layered, deeply immersive sound experience, whatever the content you’re enjoying. 

But what on earth does that mean?   Without any metadata how can you make 5.1.2 out of a mono signal?  "Man-guessing"??  I was unable to find any patent filing that might explain this and also notice that while I was writing this post Devialet's website appears to have been updated, "patented" being replaced with "proprietary" in the above quoted text which I copy-and-pasted directly from the page but is now sunk without trace.

If anyone here can shed any light I'd be fascinated to understand if this is technical innovation or simply marketing innovation.

I suspect, like most marketing speak, the real technical details are omitted.
As you rightly surmise SPACE™ is probably capable of 5.1.2, if the appropriate information is present.

As an example, check out the following description of legacy surround matrix encoders.


Pro Logic II

Using the same matrixed four-channel sound as the original Pro Logic, Pro Logic II can create a 5.1 surround sound mix from a stereo source. Pro Logic II also has another trick up its sleeve: It can separate the surround signal into stereo left and right channels instead of the original Pro Logic’s dual-mono presentation. This processing mode is commonly used when watching non-HD TV channels with a stereo-only audio mix.

Pro Logic IIx

If your video source is presented in 5.1 surround — and your home theater system supports additional speakers — Pro Logic IIx can take that mix and expand it to 6.1 or 7.1. Pro Logic IIx is subdivided into movie, music, and game modes.

Pro Logic IIz

Pro Logic IIz allows the addition of two “front height” speakers that are placed above and between the main stereo speakers. This form of matrix processing aims to add more depth and space to a soundtrack by outputting sounds from a whole new location in the room. Since IIz processing can be engaged with a 7.1 soundtrack, the resulting format could be called 9.1.

Despite the addition of these height channels, Pro Logic IIz does not enable a true 3D placement of sounds. To enable that, you’ll need Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.



BTW - there have been plenty of surround matrix algorithms over the years.  DTS offered NEO and other variations, Lexicon had a highly respected Logic 7. Yamaha, Denton and Marantz had proprietary algorithms.  And of course, there were always the playful effects of Hall, Jazz, Sport et al.

There is a limitation, of sorts, to SPACE™ that you may not have come across.  It requires a PCM digital signal.