I'm the one guy Tom knows with Front Wide speakers!
I'm not kidding. It really is me
I'll tell you the reason I'm a fan of Dolby Atmos, and it's what Tom wrote at the very beginning of this article: Dolby Atmos is a useful new tool for sound mixers.
Object-based mixing is easier than channel-based mixing - especially when we start getting into overhead sounds. 11, 13, or 22 channels just becomes an unweildy mess. I wouldn't want to try and keep all of those individual channels in mind, attempting to steer sounds and pan across that many channels. I seriously doubt most sound mixers want that either. Object-based mixing makes it so much easier.
Not only that, but once the object-based mix is completed, that soundtrack is done! That one mix can be used in any playback system. Still have just traditional 5.1 speaker placement? No problem, the object-based Atmos mix is backwards compatible with that. Have 5.1 plus two speakers somewhere overhead? Great! Go ahead and take advantage of some of those overhead sounds and pans. The mix doesn't need to change. Have 24 speakers all around you and 10 more overhead? Step on up. Yet again, the exact same mix can take advantage of ALL of those speakers. No channel-based mix can come close to that kind of flexibility, so that's the real advantage of Dolby Atmos, in my opinion. Dolby Atmos soundtracks and Blu-rays and streams with Dolby Atmos make all the sense in the world.
So if we end up agreeing that Dolby Atmos soundtracks make a lot of sense on the production and distribution side, it makes the whole effort to bring Dolby Atmos playback systems into our homes a lot easier to accept, in my view. Want to stick with the 5.1 speaker setup you already have? Go right ahead! Dolby Atmos Blu-rays, streams and downloads do not require you to change anything - they'll play just fine on your 5.1 setup. I think that's pretty cool.
But there's some extra information on that Blu-ray disc or in that audio/video stream now. Want to hear that extra info? Well, then you'll need at least 2 more speakers. And if you're willing and able, you could add up to 29 more speakers! But it's totally up to you.
So the issue, to me, isn't the value of Dolby Atmos - it's the way we're being told about it. It's being marketed as the new, better, "you must own this" feature. Of course it is; that's all marketing people know how to do. But I really wish they'd come at it differently.
"Here's a very cool, new tool for sound mixers. It let's them do things with sound that weren't possible before, and it let's them do things they were already doing, but quicker and more easily.
Once they've created their new mix, that one mix can be played back using almost any combination of speakers - from existing 5.1 setups to 34.1 speaker super systems.
And that one mix can be sent to you using existing Blu-ray players and internet streaming services, no updates needed!
You don't even have to buy a new decoder. Your existing Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus decoders will play back these new mixes just fine.
But if you'd like to hear some of the fancy new effects that have been made possible by these new tools for sound mixers, you'll need a new decoder and at least 2 new, overhead speaker positions.
Don't want to physically install speakers above you? No problem. We've created new speakers that can simulate having speakers overhead. Don't want to replace your existing speakers? No problem, we also have add-on Modules that simulate the overhead effect.
From there, the more speakers you add, the more precise the new effects can become, but it's all coming from one mix that can do it all.
Pretty cool, huh?
"
So I get that we don't like feeling as though something new is being shoved down our throats. I happen to enjoy 3D movies, but the marketing was so overly aggressive that a lot of people pushed back and rejected it. I understand that. And I'm saddened to see the same thing happening with Atmos.
There's no need to force Atmos down consumers' throats. Sound mixers love it, and being able to have a single mix that can take full advantage of almost ANY number of speakers makes a tremendous amount of sense. That's efficient and smart.
Dolby Atmos Home Theater systems need to be offered, not shoved. That's where the negative push-back is coming from, as far as I can tell. Me? I just want to hear the stuff that's getting sound mixers excited. If I need to slightly modify my playback system in order to do that, I've got no problem with that. And I'm happy that Dolby is trying to give me as many methods of modifying my playback system with the lowest additional cost possible.
Dolby's efforts are good. The marketing is bad. There shouldn't be any reason for people to be getting mad about Dolby Atmos at Home. No one should be calling it stupid. But we are. So the marketing people REALLY need to look at that. Something is getting majorly lost and twisted in the messaging. And that's a shame.
- Rob H.
