Tomorrow's World 3D Stereo Test 21-03-91

First UK demo of 3D Stereo - a "new" sound recording system by Roland which was eventually marketed as Q-Sound.

[@BL1TZEN]

I remember recording this on my TDK cassette when it was aired simultaneously on Radio 1, playing the shit out of it and constantly being impressed by it for ages.

[@liamkeane998]

I remember this! Speakers all set up for the effect which was to me back then, pretty impressive. Quality BBC programming and the lovely Kate Bellingham - great days!

[@subliminalvibes]

I have a Roland RSS demo laserdisc from 1991 (Roland 3D Sound Triangle) which has 2 stereo tracks, one for headphones and the other track for speakers. Both give incredible 3D results even on a simple 2 speaker setup and it didn't require any fancy equipment as all the filters are applied before final recording.

[@jaymac7203]

This will definitely catch on!

[@davidkgame]

I had this recorded on a cassette when it aired, and remember playing it in my first car - this aired literally the week I passed my driving test! It was the only thing that sounded half decent in my little Austin Metro!

[@DexterMorganBengal]

I feel old.

[@rajapiro30]

When the sound is better than the video quality 😂

[@CassetteMaster]

I was only about 20 days from being born when this was done.

[@theprof291166]

Works pretty well - like Q sound.

[@snakedriver]

I watched this at the time and remember tuning in the radio. It totally blew my mind. I’ve been in care ever since getting fed through a hose up my backside.

[@MrDavey2010]

Oh dear. This is so elderly now. Fascinating.

[@Tomsonic41]

Is this clip with the NICAM TV audio or from Radio 1? The reason I ask is because it doesn't switch back to Tomorrow's World at the end but carries on with the Radio 1 audio over the "This Week" caption.

[@craigavonvideo]

It's from BBC Radio One FM as NICAM didn't go nationwide until September 1991.

[@seeyouinmist3924]

remember this and recording it off radio 1 !

[@chindleymuffin]

Weirdly 3D sound is still being used in cinemas, as Dolby Atmos, which apparently compliments 3D films and of course is pure digital.

[@PhirePhlame]

It also relies on dedicated speakers, much like quad or surround. What sets Dolby Atmos and DTS-X apart is the inclusion of dedicated speakers and at least one dedicated channel for sounds to come from _above_ the listener. High-end implementations have downward-facing speakers literally mounted to the ceiling, while lower-end setups have speakers that fire upwards to echo off of the ceiling.

[@duncanparsons]

..about eight years after Pink Floyd had used 'holophonics' on The Final Cut..

[@dharkknight4747]

So technically, there was no concept of consumer level left-right pan before the 90's!!! We subconsciously processed EVERY sonic frequency and thought in MONO! 😐

[@CrazyTobster]

To enable 3D audio on Linux go to the terminal, for Debian standard (e.g, Ubuntu) type apt-get install openal for Red Hat standard (e.g Fedora, SUSE) type: dnf install openal There are various software packages out there enabling you to render music you're making in 3D audio. There also plenty of games, music and films using 3D audio already out there...

[@Tacsmoker]

Toby Whaymand they dont work like my videos with real 3d sound from just two speakers

[@newtronix]

No Qsound is a different system. The Roland system was RSS

[@billyidiotsinproved]

yeah, but should try 2012!

[@lizichell2]

Just sounds out of phase

[@eoslensman]

In a way it is but a lot more sophisticated than your common and garden expander

[@workonesabs]

Quadraphonic and 3D stereo was a mess.

[@leepshin]

+tacsmoker I have to agree with you as I actually "have" one of the 100 cd's Howard Stapleford was holding. I bought it off eBay as it was listed as a keyboard sound sample cd for a couple of quid but didn't actually realise there were only 100 of them produced till I saw this. I do still have the cassette tape I recorded the whole thing on Radio One as well somewhere.

[@Tacsmoker]

Lee Sanderson be appreciated if you could post them on here mate, id love to hear it.

[@craigavonvideo]

I also have the CD shown above, but all the audio on this video is taken from the BBC Radio One simulcast in FM Stereo. Probably one of the most famous "3D Stereo" CD releases was Madonna's Greatest Hits Immaculate Collection in November 1990 on which virtually every track was remixed with the Roland Sound System in 3D Stereo.

[@stephenemmett9753]

@@craigavonvideo But they wouldn't have used that CD due to copyright reasons with Sire Records (which was part of Warner Music Group), I presume.

[@workonesabs]

Take DTS 9.1 EX back to then. Really Quadraphonic stereo was a fad and ruined the actual image, making you think it sounded good, but it didn't.