Netflix has announced the expansion of spatial audio to all platform subscribers – beyond Dolby Atmos. Through a publication in official Web from Sennheiser, the company confirms its collaboration with the streaming service. They ensure that those Netflix members who usually receive stereo audio, now they can enjoy an enhanced audio experience.
The technology to make it possible is AMBEO 2-Channel Spatial Audio. It has arrived to complement the stereo sound that until now we used to listen to on the platform.
Sennheiser comments that “Leveraging Sennheiser’s decades of research and innovation, AMBEO 2-Channel Spatial Audio provides an immersive experience far beyond what is normally offered by standard two-channel systems.” In addition, they add that it is “compatible with any stereo system“.
Apparently, this feature will be coming to movies and series alike, although it seems to be targeting Netflix originals. To start your deployment, Netflix and Sennheiser have selected Stranger Things 4the last season of the most watched series today.
Netflix Spatial Audio helps bring the cinematic experience of immersive audio to any stereo, so the work creators do to draw you into the story happens regardless of the device you use to watch Netflix.
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What devices will support Netflix spatial audio
The good news is that, according to Netflix, all devices with stereo sound will support spatial audio. No matter where you are watching it, or what transmission plan you have contracted. In addition, you will not require any extra device to enjoy a good audio experience because everything is achieved through a software solution.
Netflix want to bring your movie experience to as many devices as possible. Thus, they plan to create a greater immersion for the viewer, without the need for them to resort to more equipment than they currently have.
By posting on your official blog, Netflix has also added some things regarding spatial audio. They explain that spatial audio comes to complement other functions that already exist on the platform, such as 4K, HDR, Dolby Atmos and Netflix Calibrated Mode.
How to see what content is compatible with spatial audio
Netflix has made it pretty straightforward, actually. To find out which original movies and series are compatible with this new feature, you just have to write “spatial audio” in the search bar. In this way, you will be able to see the 27 contents that, for now, have already been translated into this new auditory format.
Among the selection are The Witcher, Red alert Y Stranger Things 4. It is of course expected that more and more productions will continue to be added to this group in the future.
Sennheiser has designed a spatial audio compatible with everyone, how?
The whole procedure has been achieved by software, says the people of Sennheiser. Thus, the stereo audio outputs they will now be replaced with its Ambeo 2-Channel Spatial Audio technology. How does it work?
According to comments from the official website, Ambeo takes any surround sound or Dolby Atmos. Later, it mixes it into stereo profiles that are more immersive than those already mentioned. Likewise, the original sound mix is preserved and the creative intentions behind it are respected.
Although Ambeo 2-Channel Spatial Audio is not a stand-alone mix, creators still have granular control over spatialization. Mixers can define the amount of Ambeo processing for each group separately. Re-recording mixers can dial in the desired amount of processing, from the standard stereo mix to the full Ambeo effect and anywhere in between. Dialogue can be left untouched, while maximum spatialization can be applied to ambiences and sound effects.
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Netflix is not the first to integrate spatial audio into its features. Apple already did it a while ago in Apple Music, offering superior sound quality over much of the competition. Without a doubt, we consider that sound is one of the most important points when it comes to selling an audiovisual work, so this is a big step for today’s most relevant series and movie streaming service.
Of course, let’s hope that Netflix does not leave it in oblivion. technology seems easy enough to use that it’s still included in the future. Plus, we may even get to see non-original content within this category at some point. If Apple managed to transform its entire catalog to lossless format and with spatial audio, Netflix surely can too.