Netflix now supports Dolby Atmos

Sound is important. And I don’t mean that in the obvious way where being hearing impaired would make doing thinks a little trickier – rather than just sound is vital to the proper enjoyment of entertainment like TV movies and games. It’s why some people will spend hundreds, if not thousands of Rands on a shiny new headset, Soundbar or surround sound speakers.

One of the newest ways for audio to improve your watching or gaming experience is through Dolby’s Atmos – which adds more spatial sound with a dash of verticality. Instead of the traditional 7.1 system, you might get a 7.1.4 system, which includes four overhead speakers to produces a more encompassing, dimensional audio punch. It sounds like a gimmick – but the results have to be heard to be appreciated. While it’s not used very much right now beyond in the biggest and best cinemas, its adoption in the home is going to be a steady march.

And now, Netflix has rolled out support for it. The online streaming service has enabled Dolby Atmos support for those with the very best in home theatre equipment. There’s only one movie that supports the feature now, but there is a lot more content planned.

For those interested, that movie happens to be Okja, Bong Joon Ho’s thrilling tale of a girl and her relationship with a super pig.

As of now, hardware support is also on the thin side, and you’ll need to be running the Netflix Apps present on either a 2017 LG OLED TV, or the Xbox One, which recently added support. For AV enthusiasts, Microsoft’s consoles are quickly becoming favoured thanks to their support for audio technologies like Atmos, and 4K Blu-Ray discs. Sony’s own 4K console has shunned the physical format in favour of streaming – perhaps to its detriment.

Last Updated: July 4, 2017