Disney+ First to Stream in DTS:X

[gene]

As of May 15th, 2024, Disney+ subscribers with select AV hardware will be able to experience Queen Rock Montreal alongside 18 Marvel movies with IMAX Enhanced sound. This marks the first time that the DTS:X immersive audio format will be available via a major streaming service. At launch, only select Smart TVs can pass the DTS:X Audio to an AV receiver or soundbar. Will this limitation make DTS:X irrelevant in the Dolby Atmos era?

Not so fast. I just tested the Queen Montreal concert streaming on Disney+ using his Marantz AV 10 processor, Sony Bravia 85" X90L and Apple TV Gen3 and was able to pass IMAX Enhanced but only the Dolby Atmos soundtrack. As of right now, Apple has not announced support for DTS:X on Gen3 streaming platforms. The only external streamer rumored to currently support DTS:X streaming is Nvidia Shield. 2023 Model year Sony TVs don't seem to support DTS:X and it's unclear which models on the market from other brands do.

Read: Disney+ And IMAX Bring DTS:X Into The Streaming Era

 

[Trebdp83]

I’ve been posting about Disney+ and IMAX Enhanced Sound by DTS in another thread for a bit. Here is a helpful article on the matter.

DTS:X with IMAX Enhanced on Disney+ How it Works (Deep Dive)

A/V aficionados will be happy to hear that DTS:X immersive sound has arrived on Disney+ with the "Queen Rock Montreal" live concert film and 18 movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

www.ecoustics.com

Apple TV 4K, all generations, do not support DTS at all so it is a no go there. The Fire Cube Gen 3 does not support DTS streams at all either but can passthrough DTS from an externally connected device via its HDMI IN port. Nvidia Shield TV Pro supports DTS and DTS HD MA streams as does Roku Ultra 4800X. But, Disney+ is currently blocking IMAX Enhanced audio output to them. My Shield seemed to try to work and then the Disney+ app not only stopped working, it shut the Shield down and I had to reboot. Later, it only passed Dolby Atmos. There are other issues with Disney+ and the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, but that is for another thread.

Anyone with an XBOX Series X/S knows that it supports Dolby Atmos using Dolby MAT 2.0 like the Apple TV 4K or Amazon Fire Cube. But, must download the Dolby Access app from the Microsoft store. They can also output everything as DTS:X after downloading the DTS app from the Microsoft store. But, the Disney+ app for XBOX does not currently support IMAX Enhanced Sound By DTS( lossy DTS:X ) and setting the XBOX audio output to DTS:X means Disney+ will give you a DD 5.1 signal that the XBOX will output as DTS:X. It will not be the actual IMAX Enhanced DTS signal.

All but three of the IMAX Enhanced titles from Disney+ feature DTS:X. “Iron Man,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1” and “Lightyear” do not currently have a DTS:X track. Curious what deals were signed with whom and when to botch such a long awaited roll out. But, Disney isn’t doing many things right these days.

 

[Trebdp83]

I know many run Kodi on their android devices. My experience is with a “stock” Nvidia Shield TV Pro and Amazon Fire TV Cube Gen 3. Though, both were in Developer Mode. Results will cary of course.

 

[TLS Guy]

As of May 15th, 2024, Disney+ subscribers with select AV hardware will be able to experience Queen Rock Montreal alongside 18 Marvel movies with IMAX Enhanced sound. This marks the first time that the DTS:X immersive audio format will be available via a major streaming service. At launch, only select Smart TVs can pass the DTS:X Audio to an AV receiver or soundbar. Will this limitation make DTS:X irrelevant in the Dolby Atmos era?

View attachment 67537

Not so fast. I just tested the Queen Montreal concert streaming on Disney+ using his Marantz AV 10 processor, Sony Bravia 85" X90L and Apple TV Gen3 and was able to pass IMAX Enhanced but only the Dolby Atmos soundtrack. As of right now, Apple has not announced support for DTS:X on Gen3 streaming platforms. The only external streamer rumored to currently support DTS:X streaming is Nvidia Shield. 2023 Model year Sony TVs don't seem to support DTS:X and it's unclear which models on the market from other brands do.

Read: Disney+ And IMAX Bring DTS:X Into The Streaming Era

Sounds pretty much DOA to me as a domestic format. I certainly won't be persuaded to change my TV and AVP for that system.

I suspect Dolby Atmos will continue to be the object based standard. DTX are just too late in the day.

You know their hype is all bogus, as with all their hype about high standards, they want it put in sound bars! So that gives the lie to their high SQ BS.

I think the hardware manufacturers should resist. Between the added licensing fees, and added hardware complexity, this will up the purchase costs. That is the last thing we need since this gear is already out of reach for so many.

I would encourage the manufacturers to resist this nonsense.

 

[lovinthehd]

What sort of bandwidth does this require? I haven't even adopted 4k/Atmos yet, but maybe by the time, and if I get around to it, IMAX and Atmos and DTS:X will be as regularly available as their old lossy codecs were on dvd/tv?

 

[Trebdp83]

Streamed Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced DTS:X are both lossy. It's not a bandwidth issue as much as a licensing deal issue.

 

[Tankini]

Streamed Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced DTS:X are both lossy. It's not a bandwidth issue as much as a licensing deal issue.

Either way the cost is passed on to the consumer. Amazon passed the cost of streaming Atmos on to their customers $2.99. So what ever fee Amazon paid Dolby, Amazon passed the fee for Dolby, more than likely are also making a ton of money. Say Amazon pays Dolby $2.00 bucks for the rights to Atoms and Dolby Vision for each subscriber, than charge their customers .99 cents more. Just an analogy.

 

[TLS Guy]

Streamed Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced DTS:X are both lossy. It's not a bandwidth issue as much as a licensing deal issue.

That is exactly the point. Unless they recover their development cost they will lose. I would say that it had better be objectively and subjectively a lot better than Dolby Atmos they are headed for heavy losses.

Don't forget that the way things are now if a guy buys and AV system and only intends to use it for two channel he is stuck with all those licensing fees.

So there really needs to be an objective assessment of this system pronto. If it brings nothing new to the table, then that needs to be widely known, and adding the licensing fees needs to be a negative sales draw.

Back in the old days Dolby issued noise reduction B and then C consumer formats, and kept A pro. This was smart as Dolby especially, but also C was tolerant. dbx 1 was pro and they came out with dbx 2 as a consumer product, but it was nearly as tolerant as the domestic Dolby systems, and Dolby one out big time.

So, my point is that this DTS:X had better be significantly better than Dolby Atmos.

 

[Trebdp83]

I don't know yet that it is better than Dolby. I’m sure those with IMAX Enhanced gear would like to know sooner than later, though.

There are quite a few two channel receivers out there costing more than a middling receiver supporting Dolby and DTS. So, it is not so much the cost of licensing Dolby or DTS but the terms of those deals.

Disney can afford to f#%k around with a new format and hopefully get more subscribers to Disney+. Better or worse, nobody is offering it and it is being applied to some very big box office hits. Perhaps they had to wait for time to run out on a deal they made with Dolby before being able to offer DTS.

Maybe Sony and others ponied up some cash to lock others out for awhile concerning Disney+ IMAX Enhanced Sound by DTS. Currently, some Smart TVs from select manufacturers that can decode the signal are supported while other devices that can bitstream a DTS signal, like the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, were left out even though it runs android.

Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV 4K don’t support DTS decoding or bitstream at all. I’d bet they won’t support it in a firmware update but rather in new hardware yet to be announced.

It is what it is. If somebody can currently stream IMAX Enhanced Sound by DTS from their IMAX Enhanced TV’s Disney+ app to their IMAX Enhanced AVP/AVR, well, have fun doing it!