WHAT IS A SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM?
A multi-channel audio system that requires more than two speakers for playback. The most common surround sound speaker configuration is 5.1.

HOW IS SURROUND SOUND ACHIEVED?
There are two basic ways of achieving surround sound: discrete and matrix.

In a discrete surround sound, there are a number of individual channels each containing unique audio information and each devoted to a particular speaker (or group of speakers). A matrixed system encodes extra channel audio information into a stereo signal and then recovers those channels through a mirror-image decoding process.

WHAT IS ELS SURROUND?
ELS Surround is a car audio system developed by Panasonic and Grammy award winning music producer/engineer Elliot Scheiner. ELS offers a major advance in audio performance by providing true studio sound quality when listening to multi-channel (e.g. 5.1 surround sound) formats.

The ELS Surround sound system uses six independent, discrete channels of audio source material. This is a dramatic advancement over previous automotive audio systems where only two channels (left and right) were available. For the first time it is possible to enjoy separate dedicated channels of music from the center, left front, right front, left rear, right rear and subwoofer. These six-channels, working together, create an audio experience that can only be compared to being in the studio.

WHAT FORMATS CAN BE PLAYED ON ELS SURROUND?
The ELS Surround audio system features the world's first in-dash radio with a built-in six-disc DVD-Audio/CD changer that plays DVD-Audio discs, DTS CD's as well as standard CD's. This unique unit plays the six discrete channels of DVD-Audio in high-resolution 24 bit, 96 kHz and can also play DVD-Audio 2-channel recordings at 24 bit, 192 kHz. The ELS Surround audio system's eight-speaker package was developed specifically to reproduce the extended frequency range and dynamics captured in today's recordings, and includes dedicated speakers to reproduce the center and subwoofer channels.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MULTI CHANNEL FORMATS AND CDs?
Multi channel formats can provide dramatically higher quality listening experience than CDs by using separate channels to reproduce music. And unlike CDs, multi channel formats can present the music in 5.1 surround sound, much like DVD movies can play back soundtracks in surround. Multi channel recordings can deliver up to 24 bits of resolution (compared to 16 bits for CD). This means that the listening experience of a DVD-Audio disc, for example, far surpasses that of a regular CD. Artists and producers can offer listeners a playback experience that is identical to the master recording - a feat never before possible in vehicle audio systems.

CAN I LISTEN TO CDs ON ELS SURROUND?
Yes, CDs and other stereo formats will play on ELS Surround just as they do on practically all DVD players. Listeners can continue to enjoy their compact discs while adding multi channel formats to their music collection.

WHAT KINDS OF MUSIC ARE AVAILABLE IN MULTI CHANNEL FORMATS?
All genres of music are available, including remixed popular catalog titles, and jazz and classical music, which have been reasserted to bring the listener closer than ever to the master recording. Brand-new titles continue to emerge that have been recorded with multi channel surround sound in mind.

WHAT OTHER FEATURES ARE POSSIBLE WITH ELS SURROUND?
ELS Surround allows for a variety of playback options. The user may simply push the play button to go right to music playback just like a CD. Users may also choose the on-screen menus to navigate to such options as artist biographies, lyrics, photo galleries, catalog or discographies and video clips. Some titles also link to related web sites when used on a DVD-ROM drive.