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Currently, 35mm release prints delivered for exhibition typically contain four soundtracks: Analog stereo, usually recorded with Dolby SR that can be matrix-decoded to play back in 4-channel surround, and three digital audio tracks — Dolby Digital, DTS and SDDS — which provide their respective 5.1-channel discrete mixes. Each system, although different in method of delivery, hardware and audio capabilities, shares the identical 5.1-channel printmaster mix as a source. Given the varied distribution of playback hardware throughout the world for the three digital audio systems, the major studios generally place all four sound formats on release prints, allowing individual movie theaters the choice of which format to use.
Once the post-production sound team completes the printmaster mix for a motion picture, the audio elements are given to the optical sound house to create the optical soundtrack negative, or OSTN. The OSTN is then sent to a film lab that aligns the OSTN with the corresponding picture negative and creates a composite print containing the combined picture and all soundtracks. Before release prints are made for theaters worldwide, the post-production sound team must approve all of the audio formats on the OSTN. Once the soundtracks have been checked, the OSTN is approved for printing and hundreds, or thousands, of release prints are made for local theaters.
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