Dolby Atmos is an excellent audio format if you have it set up properly. The problem is that it’s very easy to find yourself in a less-than-optimal position. What I mean is that while your TV might show you are listening to a Dolby Atmos track, it doesn’t sound as good as it could. There are a variety of reasons why this might be the case, but the biggest one might be what you’re listening to.
Many streaming services offer Dolby Atmos at their highest tiers, and while that’s something that’ll use your entire setup, it’s just very limited compared to what it could be. This is because streaming is inherently lower quality than what you get from a disc, and you’re often listening to a compressed soundtrack when streaming from Netflix. Some streamers do a better job at passing along a higher bitrate than others, but none of them compare to a disc.
Physical media is what you need to get the most out of your Dolby Atmos setup. You’ll find that shifting over to a physical disc sounds much better on your Atmos setup than streaming does, and that’s without changing a single setting. In many ways, it’ll feel like a free upgrade since you don’t have to tweak any of your speakers or your receiver.
QuizDolby sound engineering
Trivia challenge
From noise reduction to immersive audio — how well do you really know the science behind Dolby sound?
HistoryTechnologyFormatsCinemaInnovation
In what year did Ray Dolby found Dolby Laboratories?
Correct! Ray Dolby founded Dolby Laboratories in 1965 in London, England. The company initially focused on professional recording studio equipment before expanding into consumer and cinema audio.
Not quite. Dolby Laboratories was founded in 1965 by Ray Dolby in London. He had previously worked at Ampex and developed his noise reduction ideas while studying at Cambridge University.
What was the primary purpose of the original Dolby A noise reduction system introduced in 1965?
Correct! Dolby A was designed to reduce the audible tape hiss that plagued professional studio recordings. It worked by encoding audio during recording and decoding it on playback, effectively masking the noise floor of magnetic tape.
Not quite. Dolby A was a noise reduction system aimed squarely at reducing tape hiss in professional studio environments. It used a compander approach — compressing audio on the way in and expanding it on the way out — to suppress background noise.
Which 1975 film was the first to be released with a Dolby-encoded stereo optical soundtrack?
Correct! Lisztomania (1975), directed by Ken Russell, was the first film released with a Dolby-encoded stereo optical soundtrack. This marked a major turning point in bringing high-quality stereo audio to cinema audiences.
Not quite. The first film with a Dolby-encoded stereo optical soundtrack was actually Lisztomania in 1975. While Star Wars (1977) and A Star Is Born (1976) were landmark Dolby films, Lisztomania holds the historical first.
Dolby Digital is also known by which technical designation used in industry documentation?
Correct! Dolby Digital is technically designated AC-3, which stands for Audio Codec 3. It was developed in the early 1990s and became the standard audio format for DVD video, digital broadcast, and cinema releases.
Not quite. Dolby Digital’s technical designation is AC-3. The AC stands for Audio Codec, and it was the third generation of Dolby’s perceptual audio coding technology, succeeding AC-1 and AC-2.
What audio object-based feature distinguishes Dolby Atmos from earlier surround sound formats like Dolby 7.1?
Correct! Dolby Atmos uses audio objects — individual sounds with positional metadata — rather than fixed channel assignments. This allows a renderer to place sounds anywhere in three-dimensional space and adapt the mix to any speaker configuration, from a home soundbar to a 64-speaker cinema.
Not quite. The key innovation in Dolby Atmos is object-based audio. Instead of assigning sounds to fixed channels, each sound element carries metadata describing its position, allowing the system to dynamically render it for whatever speaker layout is available.
Dolby Vision is a proprietary HDR format that competes directly with which open HDR standard commonly found on televisions and streaming services?
Correct! Dolby Vision competes most directly with HDR10 and its dynamic metadata extension HDR10+. While HDR10 is an open, royalty-free standard, Dolby Vision requires licensing and supports dynamic metadata for scene-by-scene brightness optimisation, often delivering superior results.
Not quite. Dolby Vision’s main competitors are HDR10 and HDR10+. HDR10 is the baseline open standard, while HDR10+ adds dynamic metadata — a feature Dolby Vision pioneered. Dolby Vision supports up to 12-bit color depth and 10,000 nits peak brightness in its specification.
What does Dolby MAT stand for, and what is its primary function in modern audio delivery?
Correct! Dolby MAT (Metadata-enhanced Audio Transport) is a lossless bitstream container that carries Dolby TrueHD audio along with Dolby Atmos object metadata over HDMI connections. It is what allows modern AV receivers and soundbars to receive full lossless Atmos signals from Blu-ray players and streaming devices.
Not quite. Dolby MAT stands for Metadata-enhanced Audio Transport. It is a lossless container format that wraps Dolby TrueHD audio and Dolby Atmos object metadata, enabling high-fidelity Atmos delivery over HDMI. Without MAT, devices can only receive a lossy Dolby Digital Plus version of an Atmos stream.
Which legendary rock concert film from 1978 is widely celebrated as a showcase for Dolby Stereo’s capabilities in cinema?
Correct! The Last Waltz (1978), Martin Scorsese’s documentary about The Band’s farewell concert, is frequently cited as a landmark demonstration of Dolby Stereo in cinemas. The film’s rich multi-track recording benefited enormously from the format’s improved dynamic range and channel separation.
Not quite. The Last Waltz (1978) is the celebrated Dolby Stereo showcase. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film captured The Band’s final concert with exceptional audio quality that highlighted what Dolby Stereo could achieve over conventional mono and optical formats of the era.
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A simple change helps your setup pop
Discs reign supreme
Physical media might be lagging far behind streaming, but it’s not because of its quality. Streaming is far more convenient, and you don’t have to make room on your shelves for a treasure trove of discs and their cases. I love that part of the process, and it’s always nice to look over at a stack of movies that grows more and more each month. It’s obviously not for everyone, but it’s how you’ll get the most out of your Dolby Atmos sound system.
The biggest thing I notice when I compare streaming to physical Atmos is the subwoofer activity. My subwoofer isn’t the greatest in the world, but it often sounds muted when I stream Atmos. You can tell it’s there and plugged in, but you don’t get any substantial rumbling when compared to a disc. A good subwoofer costs quite a bit, and it’s one of the most expensive parts of a setup, so that’s something that you want to hear shine instead of something that fades away into the background.
Keep in mind that the whole streaming versus physical comparison applies to all audio formats, not just Dolby Atmos. Streaming audio just doesn’t stack up, and that doesn’t change whether it’s DTS:X, Dolby Atmos, or DTS-HD. Physical always beats out streaming, and it’s something you should test with your setup before you decide it’s time to make an upgrade. I’d rather see you put money towards physical media instead of better speakers that result in marginal gains, because you’re listening to streaming Atmos thinking it’s the true experience.
But it’s better for your Dolby Atmos
While a disc gives you much better Atmos sound, getting those discs in the first place isn’t really cheap. If you set aside the price of discs for a second, you have to look at the cost of getting an appropriate player. If you want Dolby Vision, you need a dedicated 4K Blu-ray player that isn’t your PS5 or Xbox, and those prices just went up. Fortunately, Atmos is available on any player, and that includes your game consoles. No special hardware is needed there, but you do need something that plays your discs.
Once that’s out of the way, you need to start building up a disc library, and that’s gotten more expensive lately. There are a bunch of usual suspects on sale with each major sale, but once you start to get into the world of the Criterion Collection and other boutique sellers, you’ll find that this can become a very expensive hobby. The good news is that once you buy your discs, they’ll last a very long time. You don’t have to worry about following around your favorite movies to different streaming services if you know they’re just sitting on a bookcase in your house.
Discs can often go for $30+ a pop, so it’s important to pick up something you know you’ll enjoy. The good news is that most 4K Blu-ray discs come with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The bad news is that if you’re looking to save some money and opt for a Blu-ray disc over its 4K counterpart, you won’t always get an Atmos soundtrack included. Plenty of regular Blu-ray discs do have Atmos, especially the more recent releases, but it’s largely hit or miss the further you go back in the format’s lifespan. Remember, Atmos didn’t exist when Blu-ray launched. This means those discs that are a decade or so old are more likely to have an older audio format. However, that shouldn’t discourage you too much, because they still sound better than streaming.
