Rant It's 2021, why don't we have Multi-Channel Audio with TV/DVD/BR/Streaming video?

[sdifox]

The center channel is 90% dialogue. I’ve experimented with other center channel speakers, but they don’t match my left and right channels. I’m on the fence when it comes to buying the center I need.

You need matching timbre one.

 

[olds]

So what do you have now?

TV speakers.
Once we close on our house and move in, I'll get a 5.1 or 7.1 system.

 

[blackangst1]

In multichannel audio, is the center channel actually stereo? Or is it a mono summation of the left+right channels?
( ok, that's more of an encoding question)

Guess what I really mean is, does the center channel speaker have a stereo input jack?
i.e. Could get a regular stereo soundstage through the center speaker only, if I wanted to repurpose it . . . for a shelf stereo system?

no the center is not stereo, and its also not a mono summation l/r. Center is its own viable channel in a 5.1 setup.

Record Surround Sound (filmmakingstuff.com)

The bottom line is the sound designers on a film, organize all the tracks (voices, SFX, ambiance, et al…) In fact, depending on the movie, this can be as many as a hundred tracks! From there each recorded sound is pushed towards the front, side, back, or below, to a final output of six tracks (5.1).