April 17 - NBC is sparing no expense in terms of their Olympic coverage this year, and they are actually going to give surround sound enthusiasts some additional incentive to watch.

NBC is planning on broadcasting a small portion of the 3,000 hours of Olympic footage with both stereo and 5.1 channel surround sound in the same signal.

Essentially these broadcasts will be sent with both signals available, with 5.1 channel surround sound as the default.

People without surround sound will have the audio downmixed automatically to regular stereo.

This coding will apply to both the opening and closing ceremonies, beach volleyball, gymnastics, and trampoline events.

While this isn’t a huge breakthrough, it is nice to see the major networks giving surround sound some more treatment for major offerings, and we can hope for more in the future. 

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[Via EngadgetHD]