Forest Melodies, an Audio DVD
Listen to
Spring Song Birds in Surround Sound 5.1
The sounds of bird songs in 5.1 surround sound.
Experience nature sounds like never before, in Surround Sound 5.1. Explore
more about surround sound below.
Enjoy the incredible life-like sounds of Spring song birds in the forests of the
Eastern United States. These early morning bird choruses are mastered in
digital 5.1 surround sound, without background music. You will be
surrounded with the sounds of Warblers, Vireos, Orioles, Turkeys, Cuckoos,
Whip-poor-wills, Thrushes, Mockingbirds, Woodpeckers, and much more. Total
run time is 1.5 hours.
Departing from CDs to DVDs allows for surround sound encoding in Dolby®
Digital format, which is the most common surround sound format. This DVD
will play in most DVD players and computers. Your DVD system must support
DVD-R discs, have Dolby® Digital decoding, and be compatible with USA
standard NTSC video. In addition, at least a 5.1 surround speaker system
is required for surround sound. If you play the DVD on your computer, you
will need a DVD player such as Windows Media Player or
CyberLink Power DVD Player.
Forest Melodies is an audio DVD. There isn't much video except for a
simple menu system and photo of the front cover while it is playing.
Below, you will find two types of audio samples. Listen to the AC3 files
to experience samples in surround sound 5.1. You will need a player that
can play these files, such as
Creative Media Source Player. Windows Media Player may have trouble
playing the AC3 sample files. For a flattened stereo sample, MP3 files are
provided to give you an idea what is on the DVD, just in case you have no
way to hear or play the surround sound files on your computer.
Track List:
1. Kentucky Forest; 20:22 Min.
It’s a warm, mid-April morning in a remote valley of the Kentucky hills.
You are surrounded by Blue Jays, Cardinals, Crows, Titmice, Wood Thrush,
Chickadees, Flickers, Nuthatches, Juncos, and Chipmunks in this vibrant,
early spring chorus.
Short samples: MP3 Kentucky
Forest-- stereo
AC3Kentucky
Forest-- surround sound
 2.
Hidden Valley; 31:20 Min.
Deep in this forested river valley, on a foggy May morning, the dawn
chorus of birds overwhelms the murmur of the river and creeks. Wood
Thrush, Ovenbird, Veery, and Yellow-Shafted Flicker are abundant, and are
later joined by vireos, warblers, and more.
Short Samples: MP3Hidden
Valley-- stereo
AC3Hidden
Valley-- surround sound
3. Forest Magic; 15:31 Min.
This wooded creek valley, in Northern Pennsylvania, is rich with wildlife.
Listen to the gobbling of Turkeys and drumming of Ruffed Grouse on this
warm May morning. A chorus of Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-Breasted
Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, Pewee, Nuthatch, Yellow-Shafted Flicker,
Catbird, as well as Black-Throated Green, Canada, Hooded, and
Chestnut-Sided Warblers can be heard.
Short Samples: MP3Forest
Magic-- stereo (please note, when flattened to stereo, this sample
doesn't sound as it should.)
AC3Forest
Magic-- surround sound
 4.
First Light; 20:40 Min.
As the first rays of light illuminate the eastern hillside, the birds
burst into song. Whip-poor-wills are still heard calling as the darkness
fades away. The chorus consists of Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Towhee, Wood
Thrush, Robin, Catbird, Northern Mocking Bird, Pewee, and more. As the sun
further warms the hilltop, Hooded Warblers, Solitary and other Vireos also
begin to sing.
Short Sample: MP3First
Light-- stereo
AC3First
Light-- surround sound
Buy a copy, of Forest Melodies, now. Visit the
nature cd ordering page by
clicking here.
Originally, surround sound was developed for movie theaters to allow the
viewer to hear sound from the front, side, and rear. This created more of
a real-life effect so that the viewer felt like being absorbed into the
movie action and plot. Surround sound is now common place on DVD's, game
consoles, and computer applications. Surround sound comes in different
versions, there is 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, and 8.1, each denoting the number of
speakers. Forest Melodies is in surround sound 5.1
 format. This means that
there are three forward speakers, two rearward speakers, and one low
frequency effects speaker. Of course, any 5.1 format can be played if you
have a 6.1, 7.1, or 8.1 system.
Is it only available on DVD?
Surround sound is typically only available on DVD because DVD players have
Dolby® Digital decoding circuits.
There is a format developed by Sony called SACD, or super audio CD that
can be surround sound. SACD is a becoming defunct with the popularity of
Dolby® Digital's format, and a limited number of players support SACD.
Dolby® Digital surround sound is popular because it has been the standard
audio source in the DVD specification.
What is the big advantage of surround sound?
In a movie, sound of something behind you and moving towards the front of
you will make you
more part of the movie experience. This is why many people have set up
what is called home theater systems in their home. This is essentially
equipment to play surround sound. Listening to nature sounds in surround
sound is almost like being there in person. You will hear a stereo scene
in front of you as well as behind you, just like you do in real life. The
only thing missing are sounds directly overhead, but there isn't much to
miss there. Surround sound is the best thing next to being there yourself.
What do I need to hear surround sound?
Specialized speaker set-ups are needed to take advantages of
surround sound. I am not going to go into all the details here as there
are many options and it depends on what you currently own. Simply, what
you need is a DVD player or computer that supports some type of surround
sound output, whether it be an analog or digital output. Analog outputs
are the most common. Then you need to add powered surround sound speakers.
There are many speaker choices available at your favorite electronics
retailer. One suggestion is to look at the ANV-318 speakers from
Jaton Corp. Jaton makes some high
quality, low cost speakers, that sound great. It's finding speakers that
actually sound good that is the hard part. You will need at a minimum 5.1
speakers. Your system can support more, like 6.1, or 7.1 speakers and
still play 5.1 sound. If you are using a computer, it is important that
you tell your player and sound card software that you want to use your
5,6, or 7 speakers instead of just two front ones. That is about it. You
are ready to experience surround sound!
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