Demand Dolby issue a new name of "ATMOS LITE" for sound bars that are 50% of true atmos at best.

[FJ40Dan]

The consumer is being miss led by manufacturers that market Dolby Atmos sound bars that are not Atmos with no rear or ceiling speakers. The media supports this in their reviews of fake atmos with barely a mention of the shortcomings.

My buddy said he got a new Atmos soundbar but was pissed it sounded nothing like my true atmos system with ceiling speakers when we watched Blade Runner together at my house. "Why does Dolby allow them to use their brand name Atmos when it is nothing like it?" "How can I tell if it is".

Please fill out the comment form at https://www.dolby.com/about/support/ and ask them to label anything short of true Atmos as "Atmos Lite" to protect consumers.

If this does not happen there is no way for Denon, etc. to differentiate their products. "Why buy that expensive receiver and add those ceiling speakers I already have Atmos for much less with this sound bar?" If the consumer has never experienced a home Atmos system they won't know what they are missing or even that it is different with the same product name.

How would you feel if your car had V8 stamped on the side and when you got home from the dealer and looked under the hood it was a V6 missing two pistons?

Thank you for your support!

 

[Trebdp83]

Don’t confuse Dolby Atmos support with Dolby Atmos speaker arrangements. Is the guy with a Denon 7.1 receiver using Atmos lite when compared to a 9.1 or 11.1 receiver? What about those using up firing speakers compared to ceiling mounted speakers?

No, soundbar systems do not compare to receiver based systems with more robust speakers that are properly placed. Some say receiver based systems don’t compare to separate component based systems and should not be used. They all can support Atmos metadata and output it to varying degrees of success.

If receiver manufacturers were at all concerned with it, they would not allow for up firing modules in their speaker assignments or include Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization for systems without ceiling mounted or up firing speakers at all. Supporting Dolby Atmos is one thing and a proper speaker arrangement is another. Many have to make concessions with speaker placement even when using quality components. But, yes, Soundbar systems are the least capable when attempting to get the most out of an Atmos presentation.

 

[lovinthehd]

How about Atmos in my phone? Atmos is too general a term, tho.

 

[Trebdp83]

Atmos is about object placement in various speaker arrangements. The more speakers, the better. Apple’s implementation of Atmos over headphones was a counter to Sony’s Reality 360 for headphones. That’s why they came up with “Spatial Audio.” It refers to any process used for a sense of immersion using various speaker arrangements. The Atmos metadata is in the Dolby signal. How you get it is up to you.

 

[lovinthehd]

Atmos is about object placement in various speaker arrangements. The more speakers, the better. Apple’s implementation of Atmos over headphones was a counter to Sony’s Reality 360 for headphones. That’s why they came up with “Spatial Audio.” It refers to any process used for a sense of immersion using various speaker arrangements. The Atmos metadata is in the Dolby signal. How you get it is up to you.

Let alone like my phone where it's more like a surround enhancement thing like old Creative Audio stuff for 2ch. Has nothing to do with anything in the signal....

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

How about Atmos in my phone? Atmos is too general a term, tho.

The phone Atmos. Dumbest Fukkin thing I’ve ever heard.
Atmos may have become too general a term, and that sucks.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Let alone like my phone where it's more like a surround enhancement thing like old Creative Audio stuff for 2ch. Has nothing to do with anything in the signal....

Exactly. Total rip off.

 

[lovinthehd]

Exactly. Total rip off.

Branding Consumer cattle consumption thereof....

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Branding Consumer cattle consumption thereof....

Right?!?!
Like drinking piss and thinking it’s great beer!

 

[lovinthehd]

Right?!?!
Like drinking piss and thinking it’s great beer!

Reminds me of the old don't pee on my back and tell me it's just raining! Some probably can't tell the difference, tho )

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Reminds me of the old don't pee on my back and tell me it's just raining! Some probably can't tell the difference, tho )

This is truth.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yeah, I don’t ca

Reminds me of the old don't pee on my back and tell me it's just raining! Some probably can't tell the difference, tho )

Well, if it's warm, it's probably...

 

[FJ40Dan]

All great points thank you. Just hard to see my buddy feeling ripped off. That said, still think there needs to be some kind of less general Atmos branding. Is 5.1.2 the minimum for Atmos and anything less is Lite?

THX has... THX Certified Compact, THX Certified Select, THX Certified Ultra, THX Certified Dominus.

What's a soundbar with a few up-firing speakers then? Atmos 2.2 or Compact? All kidding aside think it is too generic and only they can fix it like THX.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

All great points thank you. Just hard to see my buddy feeling ripped off. That said, still think there needs to be some kind of less general Atmos branding. Is 5.1.2 the minimum for Atmos and anything less is Lite?

THX has... THX Certified Compact, THX Certified Select, THX Certified Ultra, THX Certified Dominus.

What's a soundbar with a few up-firing speakers then? Atmos 2.2 or Compact? All kidding aside think it is too generic and only they can fix it like THX.

These are all good points. The marketing is Fukkin stupid. Should NOT be allowed to be advertised on things like soundbars(gross) and phones and whatever stoopid POS device can fit the word “Atmos” on its face. It’s total bullshitt.
It’s like putting a “sport” sticker on a minivan.

 

[Mpsafranski]

Question about atmos: when 2 height speakers are used in a system with no rear surrounds just a traditional lcr front and two side surrounds…are my discs actually going to use the Atmos track? As in will the “objects” that would be placed in the rear surrounds get routed to the side surrounds? I’ve been curious about it. Building a new house and have the 5.1.2 system with in wall surrounds and height but those rear channels are likely not gonna fly. There’s an arch separating the great room from the kitchen so any speakers would need to be in wall up there 4 feet up from LP which to me feels like they’ll just get confused with the height channel.

could have probably stopped at “will 5.1.2 actually play the object based track”

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Question about atmos: when 2 height speakers are used in a system with no rear surrounds just a traditional lcr front and two side surrounds…are my discs actually going to use the Atmos track? As in will the “objects” that would be placed in the rear surrounds get routed to the side surrounds? I’ve been curious about it. Building a new house and have the 5.1.2 system with in wall surrounds and height but those rear channels are likely not gonna fly. There’s an arch separating the great room from the kitchen so any speakers would need to be in wall up there 4 feet up from LP which to me feels like they’ll just get confused with the height channel.

could have probably stopped at “will 5.1.2 actually play the object based track”

Yes it will play the Atmos track. The sounds meant for the rear surrounds get folded into the surrounds. What that does for imaging is a guess based on the exact placement of the speakers but it will be fine. I would recommend, especially since this is a new house that you do 5.1.4 if you can. It will be more immersive than 5.1.2 and 7.1.2 as well.

 

[slipperybidness]

I love when people on a FB retro gaming group get on there to tell everyone how fantastic their Atmos Soundbars sound

And, it is very difficult to educate the masses.

 

[Mpsafranski]

Yes it will play the Atmos track. The sounds meant for the rear surrounds get folded into the surrounds. What that does for imaging is a guess based on the exact placement of the speakers but it will be fine. I would recommend, especially since this is a new house that you do 5.1.4 if you can. It will be more immersive than 5.1.2 and 7.1.2 as well.

Thanks! Not to hijack this thread…but follow up question there. That room will have obviously only 1 “row” with the row being near the back. Wondering where the 4 would go? 2 fore and 2 aft? The 2 aft atmos speakers would need to go basically right up against the arch separating the rooms. The room will look similar to this (best I could find that looks like it). Wouldn’t theproximity To that boundary create more issues than anything else? Was planning to just have the 2 directly above the couch position.

 

[FJ40Dan]

Thanks! Not to hijack this thread…but follow up question there. That room will have obviously only 1 “row” with the row being near the back. Wondering where the 4 would go? 2 fore and 2 aft? The 2 aft atmos speakers would need to go basically right up against the arch separating the rooms. The room will look similar to this (best I could find that looks like it). Wouldn’t theproximity To that boundary create more issues than anything else? Was planning to just have the 2 directly above the couch position.
View attachment 52731

I had a simular issue in the last house. I put the rears on stands and plugs in the wall. For normal TV viewing didn't bother with the rears. For a movie pulled out the rears, put them in position, and plugged them in. 2nd wife and trying to keep this one, the subscription cancelation fees are brutal.

 

[panteragstk]

Here's the thing that is sort of being mentioned, but not fully.

Brand recognition is the MOST important thing to these companies. If they think you'll buy something that supports Atmos, then they'll market it this way. Also, they aren't misleading anyone. The soundbar does support Atmos, just not well or fully. For someone to think a true Atmos setup can be replicated by a soundbar...well? I can't believe they even expected it to. Supporting a specific audio codec in no way means that whatever device that supports it will do it justice.

It's sort of like the folks that buy Bose 5.1 cube systems and think they're fantastic...until they hear a real sound system. Bose still supports Dolby Digital/TrueHD and the DTS variants. Is it up to Dolby and DTS to force companies to make quality products? I wish it were, trust me, but this is marketing we're talking about, not actual performance.

No company in their right mind will advertise a soundbar and say "well, it's OK, but you really should go with a true Atmos install". Not happening. Doesn't matter how true it is.

Also, if you've ever sold A/V at any point, adding lite to the end of something will not make people think it's different. People would have to read in order to see it.