By Driving home the fact that this is the phone media buffs need to buy (after we learned it was the first Android phone to get official DivX HD video certification), SRS is announcing that their 5.1 Virtual Surround technology can be found in all Galaxy S Smartphones. The feature can be enabled by an easy-to-spot “5.1ch” button within the music and video player, but how will you know it’s working alright for you? Listen for these changes in the audio:
- Creates an accurate 5.1 personal surround sound experience over any stereo headphones
- Dialog Clarity boosts the frequency range of the human voice in a way that lifts the dialog above the audio effects
- A drastic increase in overall bass response
Virtual 5.1 will never beat true 5.1, but what do you expect from a mobile phone? Plug in those headphones and enjoy one of the best sound experiences you’ll find on an Android phone to date!
[via SRS]
Ok, I’ve been trying to activate this feature on my vibrant, but it first says: Needs to be connected to headphones. I connect the headphones (provided with the phone), then it says: Only works when sound effects are off. I tried switching the equalizer off, and anything I could switch off, but it still gives me that message. Anyone has any ideas?
I have the same problem. Trying to find some resolution on the Web but no luck. Anyone?
You’ll need to set equalizer and effect in settings to ‘normal’. And you can enjoy this feature.
Thank you very much! It worked!
I’m no sound engineer, but it’s pretty difficult to get 5.1 out of headphones. You know, since the “5” represents 5 speakers and the”.1″ is the subwoofer. Furthermore, how are you going to get quality of this nature out (ideally you’d want to minimize loss)?
Wow! that’s really a nice feature, I wish my Evo come with that feature. But anyway Evo still the king of Androids
not that good for music.. sounds weired
I just watched Repo Men and used the 5.1 setting. Let me just say, it sounded spectacular. I was amazed that the sound being produced was from a phone. Note: Headphone quality matters when using this feature. It doesn’t work that well with the stock headphones but when you throw on a pair of Sure’s, the 5.1 experience is heard.
@mazurson…Music is not supposed to sound good on 5.1 channels. It is optimized for 2.1.
I’m with you Nate about the 5 speakers. BUT it’s damn sure surround sound coming into my left and right ears. This feature on my Vibrant completes the awsomeness of watching a movie with great clairity, a true black contrast ratio, and playback that is as smooth as if i’m watching it on my HDTV. The Galaxy S is without a doubt the best phone out for video playback. Hands down.
@cherven
The Evo sucks so hard that id rather like cow balls than get a free Evo FFS.
So stop bragging you dickhead
After you enable the 5.1, does it work if you want to listen to music in an app like Slacker Radio or Pandora.
I really enjoyed the 5.1 settings but, IMO if you set the Equalizer to Classic and effect to Wide, you’ll get a much better audio experience.
Wouldn’t a 2hr movie drain your battery down to about 1%?
I agree with Josh…I use classic and switch between wide and bass enhancement effect depending on the type of music I am listening. The SRS mode sounds pretty good too though.
@surroundsoundjoe
lol- i thought the same thing but on a recent cross-atlantic flight, i watched avatar, shutter island, and the a-team and was at about 35% afterward. i had purchased a micro USB battery boost for the flight and i just used it for the last hour or so to make sure i had enough power to use the phone once i landed.
i used the srs 5.1 for all the movies and it sounded great to me. i agree it doesn’t sound so great with music though :)
@surroundsoundjoe
I watched 4 episodes of Dr Who yesterday with about 45% battery remaining afterwards, that’s about 3 hours of video playback. Not too shabby. I imagine if you put it on airplane mode as well you could get some more life than that. Video doesn’t seem to stress the battery as much as some other things (gaming or web browsing).
Just a fascinating device. Had my Vibrant since the day after launch and i simply love it. Yes it has its fair share of quirks but what device doesn’t? The video playback using the 5.1 watching a movie sch as Jurassic Park is simply amazing. Can’t wait to see what else this handy device will be able to dish out now that Media Hub is on its way ;-)
For the critiques talking about 5.1 in headphones. It’s virtual, so by that definition means it won’t be true 5.1. There are some 5.1 headsets out there, however they’re expensive.
Not great for music – use the equalizer and effects for better results.
For movies though – unbelievable with it on compared to off. It sounds like sounds coming from all over the room.
@kingpong where did you get these movies i can never find movies for my phone
hey im new to the android world i got the samsung captivate
where y’all gettin movies from and media hub aint available yet
I copied Transformers 1 & 2 from my brother’s HD2 onto my Samsung Vibrant and the 5.1 sounds awesome for these movies.
@tracksforhire and T-Bear….I am getting my movies from Torrents. The Galaxy S models play a very large selection codecs.
So far my Vibrant has played every avi I threw it.
I’ve tried this. It’s not good for music, but incredibly brilliant for movie. Try it!!!!
For music try the effect “wide” with different equaliser. It’ll sound brillant!!
> Driving home the fact that this is the phone media buffs need to buy
LOL. There’s more than the Galaxy out there guys. Have you actually taken a proper, unbiased look at the Nokia N8, out this month? Surpasses Android in every way, AND plays any DivX videos (as one of many formats it plays natively) AND has full HDMI video out (and composite too separately by the way) AND has TRUE (yep) FULL Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound out to your home entertainment system (only phone in the world to do so), AND can be fully controlled by Bluetooth mouse (with on screen pointer) and keyboard. Not to mention the best camera ever seen on a phone, loads of Web TV channels (not to mention BBC iPlayer at 30fps) and it’s cheaper than most Androids too.
May I humbly suggest an N8 is the true media phone.
Did Nokia get some kind of exclusive deal with Dolby? Why didn’t the Galaxy S get Dolby Digital Plus?
Just FYI: “Virtual 5.1 will never beat true 5.1, but what do you expect from a mobile phone?”
Upcoming Nokia N8 has Dobly digital plus surround sound tech. I am thinking of buying it.
@cherven
Run Neocore benchmark head to head with a Galaxy S and the Samsung will crush your “king of Androids”
thank you hima,it worked well :)
5.1 is bad for music but nice in movies.
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using surround sound on your sound system and home theater is great, the sound are very realistic _
Regarding Dolby Digital Live – it only makes sense if you have a 5.1 output (as the N8 does). Without that 5.1 content doesn’t do you any good. Virtual surround is the ideal solution for a mobile phone where you are normally listening on the go with stereo headphones.