Dolby Atmos technology takes surround sound to the next level by delivering a true 3D sound experience. Think of it as 4K to your ears. Available in speakers, game consoles, and TVs, as well as smaller devices like laptops, phones, and headphones, Dolby Atmos has become a must-have for serious movie fans.
But how does Dolby Atmos work? Where can you buy it? What kind of content supports this technology? These FAQs are here to answer all your questions.
What is Dolby Atmos?
In short, Dolby Atmos is a proprietary audio format designed to bring the same immersive 360-degree sound you get in the living room cinema or mobile device. The format has been around since 2012 and debuted Disney’s Brave in movie theaters. The format has gradually found its way into homes via custom installations, and has recently been featured on consumer audio products such as the best AV receivers and best soundbars.
Dolby Atmos offers home theater enthusiasts another dimension of surround sound by adding height elements to an audio theater. This gives a more realistic impression of overhead motion effects as well as subtle atmospheric and object-based positional effects that put the listener in a “bubble” of sound for a more realistic feel of the sonic space matching the onscreen environments.
How it works?
Dolby Atmos is all about the details. In order to achieve this realistic sound, the technology uses a 9.1-bed channel (consisting of static sounds such as background sound and music), 128 tracks and up to 118 simultaneous audio objects to create an immersive audio scene.
The sound object can be anything from the sound of footsteps or the bounce of a basketball and has a specific location in the scene. Atmos allows creators to place these sounds in a specific location and map any movement (think of someone running away from you in the hallway) in a 3D space.
Once the audio mixing is complete, Atmos can bring theater-quality sound into your living room — provided you have Dolby Atmos-compatible equipment, like one of our top speakers or a home theater system with one of the best AV receivers in partnership with your speaker package. Peripheral.
Enhanced Atmos technology analyzes all audio data and, based on the number and position of your speakers, determines optimal playback in real time. This means that when a plane is flying over you in your favorite movie, it will appear that there is a real plane moving above you. The more speakers you have, the better the sound mode as well as the overall detail, richness and depth of the sound.
How does Atmos compare to ambient sound?
The biggest difference between Dolby Atmos and traditional surround sound is the use of channels. Sound above conventional surround sound is referred to as 5.1 (five speakers, one subwoofer) or 7.1 (seven speakers, one subwoofer). In this type of setup, you can hear a helicopter moving from right to left or vice versa, but the system cannot reproduce the sound of something flying over you. This missing location information can be taken from the surround sound total immersion factor.
Dolby Atmos customizes audio and space around objects in a location. This means that if the sound occurs in the upper right corner of the room, the sound will have better spatial resolution rather than being fixed to the correct speaker. And since Atmos-compatible speakers have integrated progressive drivers, you have the added advantage of loudness. This is achieved by bouncing sound off the ceiling like those found in the latest Klipsch Reference and Reference Premiere speaker series. It won’t be as powerful as the height of an actual speaker, but it is an effective alternative.
Dolby Atmos at home
Not everyone has the space to accommodate multiple speakers scattered throughout the TV room, or actually the finances to splurge on lavish and often upscale home speaker packages. Fortunately, for greater awareness of the space between us, the format has recently begun incorporating several high-end speakers, including the Bose Smart Soundbar 900, Sonos Beam, Sonos Arc and Bowers & Wilkins Panorama 3.
While it’s still a big financial expense for the best soundbars, powered speaker systems achieve an all-around surround sound experience without the need for any speakers or additional components. Many speaker models can also be shared with optional wireless rear speakers and subwoofers if you want to expand your home cinema sound system beyond your under-TV soundbar system.
Do I really need Dolby Atmos?
Right now, Dolby Atmos is more of a need than a need. AV enthusiasts who already own 4K or even 8K TVs will want to consider investing in Atmos-compatible home theater systems or soundbars. Everyone else can wait until the technology becomes more widespread and the price becomes more affordable. Also, remember that this device delivers better TV sound than many soundbars.
But if you want to feel like you’re in the middle of your favorite action movie or sitting in the front row, or center stage at your favorite artist’s concert that has been completely out for months, this is well worth the investment. The easiest way is to stop by a large retail store and see if they have a Dolby Atmos home theater display setup.
How easy is it to set up Dolby Atmos?
It really depends on what you buy. If you’re fully functional and get a home theater system with ceiling-mounted speakers, you may want to call in a professional to get everything up and running. Installing the amplifier is as simple as plugging it into a USB port or the optical port along the back of the TV.
Where can I find Dolby Atmos content?
Just as consumer products often hit the market with capabilities before a new format became available (think TV screens capable of handling 8K images while content availability remains scarce), Dolby Atmos support seems readily available while content is hard to find and accessible.
You can currently experience Dolby Atmos with Blu-rays and through a range of streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, and Netflix. In some cases, you’ll need to make sure you have the correct subscription for a particular platform, such as a plan that supports UHD streaming, which in the case of Netflix takes the monthly subscription fee to $19.99.
We won’t list the content availability for each of the streaming platforms here, but one of the best we’ve found to provide Dolby Atmos content without having to pay extra is through Amazon Prime. You can easily find Dolby Atmos content on Prime by entering the term in the search bar to view all movies and TV series available in audio format in the free Prime tier; Plus there’s plenty of additional Dolby Atmos content to rent or buy if you want to publish it.
Moreover, Dolby Atmos can also be found on a number of music streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Tidal HiFi, and Amazon Music. All offer a selection of songs and playlists in audio format, which can be played through compatible speakers or headphones.
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