1. What Is It?
What exactly is Dolby Atmos? We’re glad you asked! For quite some time, home theater sound has been classified as either stereo or surround -- depending on the speaker set up, of course.
Dolby Atmos adds another layer, literally. Instead of just having speakers around you, with Atmos you have speakers above you, or speakers set to simulate that same effect. It’s a whole new ballgame surround-sound wise.
2. Bye Bye Channels
By now you are used to talking about theater sound in channels -- 5.1, 7.1 and so on and so forth. Instead of channels, Atmos helps place sound in a three-dimensional space around you. If a plane flies overhead on screen, you’ll hear the sound of the rush of the engine fly over you in real space.
3. Is it Magic?
It may sound like magic, but it isn’t -- it’s sound science. Using up to 128 audio objects, Dolby Atmos works to better recreate the movie director’s original vision for what they want you to hear.
4. How Can I Get It?
Atmos can come in one of a few different ways -- overhead speakers, upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers, or even an Atmos sound bar. The latter is the easiest entry way to Atmos enhanced sound, with the former requiring the most leg work in the form of installing ceiling speakers -- but we can help you there!
5. What is Available in Atmos?
A lot! You can already find Blu-ray discs that support the new audio format, but that isn’t the only way to amp up your home theater. Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV 4K, Netflix, Roku, and the Xbox One all support the new format, as well. That’s just music to our ears!
As we’re sure you can tell, we’re quite excited about Dolby Atmos and what it means for the future of the industry. If you want more info -- or want help getting started with an Atmos sound system -- give us a call today! We’d be glad to help you take your home sound system to the next level.
Want to learn more about sound? Check out Dolby’s podcast series right here!