Key Takeaways
- Dolby Atmos creates 3D audio objects with precision for immersive experiences.
- Dolby Atmos is available for theaters, home theaters, and mobile devices with varying quality.
- Lossless and Dolby Atmos are different; lossless focuses more on overall consistent quality, while Atmos deals with surround sound.
There was a time when the only way to make movies sound better was to turn up the volume. These days, audio engineering has given us the gift of immersive entertainment. Sound technology has evolved to make you feel as if you are right where the action is.
Have you ever sat in a movie theater, heard the signature Dolby Atmos tag, and thought, what is Dolby Atmos?
If yes, you’re about to find out what this surround sound technology is all about.
What Is Dolby Atmos?
Developed by Dolby Laboratories, Dolby Atmos is a type of surround sound technology that creates the illusion of three-dimensional objects. Using height channels and precisely placed sounds, it helps give an accurate representation of its intended environment. You’ll even find some apps that use spatial audio to promote well-being.
How Does Dolby Atmos Work?
Unlike other forms of surround sound, Dolby Atmos configures audio as objects. With this, audio isn’t just limited to the basic channels anymore. Instead of a vertical or horizontal movement, the audio is an object within a space.
Dolby Atmos has 128 available tracks. Ten create ambient stems, while the remaining 118 create various audio objects. Each object contains metadata that helps compatible devices understand how to process it into audio.
Where Can Dolby Atmos Be Used?
Dolby Atmos sounds best when as many compatible speakers are used as possible. A movie theater is one of the most notable uses for the full Dolby Atmos experience, as most commercial movie theaters typically utilize all 64 speakers.
Thankfully, it is still possible to experience Dolby Atmos with less complicated systems at home. Dolby Atmos at home requires an audio-visual receiver (AVR). The AVR automatically knows information about the nearby speakers, such as their type and location.
Currently, Dolby Atmos for home theaters is limited to a maximum of 34 speakers. This means that the placement of sounds is not entirely as precise as it would be in a commercial theater. However, this doesn’t mean you need all 34 speakers to enjoy a movie. In fact, Dolby Technologies often recommends at least four speakers to get the minimal home theater experience. There are also endless options for Dolby Atmos-compatible soundbars that can do the same job for less.
On the other hand, Dolby Atmos is also available on mobile devices but in a different way. From smartphones to headphones, you can have a similar experience in the palm of your hand. Mobile speakers and headphones can create a 360-degree listening experience by rendering the channels into a virtual binaural output.
How Is Dolby Atmos Different From Lossless Audio?
Lossless audio focuses on overall sound quality and isn’t only usable with surround sounds. When listening to audio, you should get crisp quality every time. It often consumes more data if you’re streaming than other sound forms, and it’ll also take up more space on your device when downloading tracks.
Whereas lossless audio always maintains the highest possible quality, Dolby Atmos focuses more on surround sound, making it more adaptable. But audio can be both lossless and Dolby Atmos compatible, so you don’t always have to choose between the two.
Where to Find Dolby Atmos-Compatible Content
These days, you can stream Dolby Atmos-compatible content on platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Vudu, Tidal, and Apple Music. It’s also available in some video games and on Blu-ray discs.
A good rule of thumb is that movies available in 4K will likely be compatible with Dolby Atmos. However, it may be limited to certain releases or subscription models. For example, the same movie available on different streaming sites may have varying support for Dolby Atmos.
On the other hand, the quality of Dolby Atmos sound also depends on the mixing quality. While many platforms already integrate Dolby Atmos audio into their Ultra HD streaming plans, the quality of mixing varies across titles. Different movies or music soundtracks will utilize different technologies to enhance the listening experience.
We’ve got a full guide on how to enable Dolby Atmos and spatial audio in Apple Music if that’s what you’re trying to do.
What Are the Negatives of Dolby Atmos?
While Dolby Atmo changed the game for commercial entertainment, Dolby Atmos for home theater and mobile is where the contention comes in. As with all types of Hi-Fi sound systems, the success of Dolby Atmos is very much dependent on how it is implemented (the channels, placement, and overall quality of the speakers). Without a dedicated sound engineer, setting up the eleven channels necessary to get the full experience may be too much for the ordinary home theater owner.
Mobile phone technology is not as sophisticated as that found in full theater systems. Recently, mobile devices have been using Dolby Atmos Headphones, which simulate the Atmos theater experience but use stereo instead of the full channels.
Why Dolby Atmos Doesn’t Always Promise Quality
In 2020, The Guardian reported the growing need to use subtitles because of clarity issues for home theater viewers, citing several key reasons.
First, many directors watch the final cut of their movies from theaters that are inconsistent with how many people will watch them. The final screening room will often be different in size and have varying numbers of speakers, and overall, it will give a different experience versus large commercial theaters.
Second, many cinemas fail to play movies at the correct volume. Most cinemas will play movies at a significantly lower Dolby Atmos level if it is too loud for the general population.
Lastly, unlike theaters, most home theaters don’t have the same capacity for dynamic sound. As a result, the quality and placement of speakers matter a lot in terms of the outcome. For this reason, many home theater systems still use its predecessor, Dolby Digital, instead.
Despite Dolby Atmos’s shortcomings, its widespread adoption continually incentivizes manufacturers to develop better, more affordable surround sound experiences. It’s already prominent on platforms like Apple Music, and over the coming years, it’ll likely become even more widespread.
