Dolby Atmos support is coming to Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs in 2017.
Promising a more immersive 360-degree 3D audio experience, the object-based sound format has so far been limited to a few major PC games, including those from EA. Star Wars: Battlefront and Blizzard’s overwatch (albeit in a bland, pseudo-surround headphone mix for the latter), as well as certain Blu-ray players.
The announcement makes the Xbox One and Xbox One S the first consoles to support Atmos in games, although – as it stands – only Blizzard has actually committed to bringing an Atmos-compatible game to the console in the form of its multiplayer shooter. overwatch. As part of Atmos support, the Xbox One and Xbox One S will finally also feature Dolby Bitstream pass-through, which sends audio data untouched over HDMI to a TV or receiver for decoding.
Sony’s PlayStation 4 has had Dolby Bitstream pass-through for some time, despite the lack of a 4K Blu-ray drive in the consoles. That Microsoft has taken so long to add Bitstream support to the Xbox, especially since the Xbox One S has a 4K Blu-ray drive, is a disappointment, but the feature is finally coming.
Xbox Preview members can use the Bitstream feature right away before it rolls out to the general public next year. Microsoft has provided the following instructions:
- Make sure your console is connected via HDMI to a device that supports Blu-ray audio format decoding.
- Make sure you have the latest Blu-ray player by checking the ‘Updates’ tab under ‘My games & apps’.
- Enable “Let my receiver decode audio (beta)” on the “Disc and Blu-ray” settings page.
- Insert your favorite DVD or Blu-ray disc.
- Sit back and enjoy the highest quality audio from your movies and TV shows.
Dolby has been working hard to get Atmos home after the cinema rollout that started with Pixar’s brave in 2012. The object-based format differs from a traditional 5.1/7.1 Dolby Digital mix in that sounds are not mapped to a specific channel, but are mapped to an XYZ position in a 3D virtual space. The decoder (ie an AV receiver) then takes that data and fires it out across the number of speakers connected to it, from two for a stereo mix to 64 in large movie theaters.
Ars has a full rundown on Dolby Atmos technology and how you’ll soon be able to set it up in your own home. In the meantime, check out the time your correspondent visited Britain’s Ministry of Sound nightclub and took to the turntables for some Atmos DJs.