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Things just look better when they sound better. The adoption of 5.1 surround sound by broadcasters, audio recording engineers, and consumers has been a phenomenon. But one area that has lagged is production. Traditionally, video producers could deal with surround sound only in post.
A small, innovative Canadian company called Holophone has come up with a solution. Its product, the H2-PRO surround-sound microphone system, already has an impressive record after only a short time on the market. The H2-PRO has been used on high-end productions like the 2005 Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl, by numerous platinum recording artists, and by ABC, NBC, FOX, ESPN, and many TV stations in Asia.
The Holophone H2-PRO is an 8-channel surround-sound microphone system that's great for audio recording, broadcasting, and audio for video. The groundbreaking surround mic emulates how the human head receives and experiences audio signals.
(Those looking for a smaller solution may be in luck. Around NAB time, Holophone plans to ship a much-anticipated microphone that's aimed at professional videographers who use smaller cameras. The less expensive Holophone mic system will encode 5.1-channel audio directly onto DV tape. In the meantime, I was happy to put the H2-PRO mic through its paces.)
Egghead
As the world's first surround-sound mic, the Holophone H2-PRO is blazing a new trail. It has the most accurate audio imaging of any microphone I've used. The 5.1 or 6.1 channels are compatible with all standard, multichannel audio-encoding processes - Dolby Digital, DTS, and Circle Surround. It's also the only mic capable of handling 7.1 surround without any further processing. Best of all, it's so easy to use. But the Holophone surround mic is unlike any mic you've ever seen. Designed to approximate the human head, it resembles a large egg about 8in. in diameter.
The multidirectional H2 is actually more than just a single microphone - it is eight discrete mics in one. Placed strategically around the surface of the mic head are eight DPA 4060 capsules that can correspond to the various channels of 5.1 surround sound (Left, Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, and Low Frequency). When the time comes, it's ready...