Netflix Gains High-Quality Audio

[OlliFlamme]

Eye of the beholder my friend. I can find a ton to watch on netflix with atmos.

I don’t like searching for a needle in a haystack, takes too much time, and makes me fee I pay for too many things that I don’t want - I flush money down the Netflix drain.
Sorry, my eyes told me to get off of Netflix, I mainly had it for the kids. They told me they have a similar issue with it as me, so daddy threw it out.

 

[photograft]

Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I’m excited for 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, but I’d rather see higher bit rates of 4K content. Netflix compresses the bajesus out of video.

I would do some research into VMAF if I were you. Netflix actually has done a ton of research into video compression and employs scene by scene optimization of encoding parameters to minimize degradation of the original video.

 

[enigmatut]

Now Hulu just needs to pull their heads out of their rears and give Apple TV even basic surround sound support.

One-****ing-million times Y.E.S.

 

[az431]

Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I’m excited for 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, but I’d rather see higher bit rates of 4K content. Netflix compresses the bajesus out of video.

They’re the same people who complain that Macs aren’t pro not enough for their pro needs.
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I would do some research into VMAF if I were you. Netflix actually has done a ton of research into video compression and employs scene by scene optimization of encoding parameters to minimize degradation of the original video.

VMAF is a method for video analysis, not a compression algorithm.

 

[cast128]

Being 100% honest with you, i'm not interested in having that opportunity. I'm a million times more interested in seeing nature and sports.
I 'did' the hifi thing years ago and it didn't make me happy compared to my interests of today. Just look at the miserable 'buggers' on AV forums - their higher quality sound systems don't make them happy I'm grateful for iTunes and streaming and i'm very very grateful that I get out there and see what the world and cultures offer. No i'm not interested in discs from the last century but from my travels, I am interested the it's the countries and areas were people have nothing in life except for the sunshine, that are the happiest and most appreciative - the ones with the least interest in materialism seem to be the most content, happiest and seem to have a better health into a very old age!

My “high quality sound system” makes me pretty happy. To each his own...

 

[iReality85]

The Xbox and Apple TV offer Atmos support but it was never available from the Netflix app on either device

Atmos has been available on the Netflix ATV app for awhile now. I don’t know what subscription tier you need — probably premium (my sub is 4K/premium) — but it’s there. I’ve used it on a number of shows and movies.

All this does is increase the bitrate of 5.1 and Atmos encoding on Netflix.

The announcement is just because they are increasing the audio bitrate, not because they're adding atmos.

You need the 4k plan to get atmos. I believe you said you already had this. ATV4k plugged in to your receiver? Audio settings correct?

I believe your AV system also needs to support Atmos. In other words, either your TV or receiver. If Netflix finds neither, it will default to 5.1 and you’ll see the “5.1” badge instead of the “Atmos” badge. Regardless, both are actually encoded with Dolby Digital Plus.

I find that Netflix’ audio and video quality are a step above almost all other streaming apps out there, with the exception of Apple’s iTunes Movie Store.

 

[x-evil-x]

Most of the stuff I've watched in Atmos on Netflix has too subtle height channel effects. There was one show that had more enhanced heights I forgot the name of it. Hopefully this improves things a lot I actually prefer a 5.1 upmixer with neural x or dsu over most of the atmos tracks on Netflix.

 

[aevan]

Still not lossless but a step in the right direction. Bluray or bluray rip only for me though.

Convenience vs quality will always be a thing, only the technology will change and improve.

 

[StellarVixen]

Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I’m excited for 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, but I’d rather see higher bit rates of 4K content. Netflix compresses the bajesus out of video.

"No one"? That's a blatant lie, but since this is internet, people like you can say whatever they want, without anyone holding them accountable for what they said.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

And what advantages are there with excellent audio, if the content offered is junk?

Don't get me wrong, I have found some good stuff on Netflix. But any time I go and search for a movie I want to see, they never have it. They clearly know it exists, because the search results are always very, very related.

They also need to integrate with the Apple TV app.

 

[archer75]

Most of the stuff I've watched in Atmos on Netflix has too subtle height channel effects. There was one show that had more enhanced heights I forgot the name of it. Hopefully this improves things a lot I actually prefer a 5.1 upmixer with neural x or dsu over most of the atmos tracks on Netflix.

I find that true of atmos in general, not just Netflix. Very few movies seem to take advantage of the heights. And in many cases I prefer the upmix as well.
I'm also of the unpopular opinion that atmos is overrated and DTS:X is the better technology.

 

[truthertech]

In need of a proper home theater setup. Homepods were never designed with that use case in mind, even though at least a few people here shoehorned them into that application.

Actually, the Homepod scenario is ideal for 99% of folks. No more wiring and other headaches with home theater. As someone who has both a very nice 5.1 and Homepods, the ability to simply take the Homepods out of their boxes and five minutes later have fantastic sound as the two speakers integrate via the A8, is simply wonderful. Combine that with the ability to move them to another room for special occasions, etc., and have a now one minute set up for a fantastic surround sound experience, and you can't beat the Homepods.

 

[Unity451]

Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I’m excited for 5.1 and Dolby Atmos, but I’d rather see higher bit rates of 4K content. Netflix compresses the bajesus out of video.

It's because everyone is listening through AirPods.

 

[vipergts2207]

Actually, the Homepod scenario is ideal for 99% of folks. No more wiring and other headaches with home theater. As someone who has both a very nice 5.1 and Homepods, the ability to simply take the Homepods out of their boxes and five minutes later have fantastic sound as the two speakers integrate via the A8, is simply wonderful. Combine that with the ability to move them to another room for special occasions, etc., and have a now one minute set up for a fantastic surround sound experience, and you can't beat the Homepods.

How is it ideal for 99% of folks? I'm guessing the number of people who use more than just an Apple TV with their television is far greater than 1%. In which case, a HomePod isn't ideal by default since you can't use it with your PS4, Xbox, cable TV, etc. Then of course there's also the widely reported phenomenon of video-related audio being quiet on HomePods and the common issue of having to reconnect the HomePods to the ATV. Like I said, the HomePod was obviously never designed around a home theater use case, even though it's technically possible to use it that way with AirPlay.

From your very own situation, it should be obvious that nothing precludes someone from having a home theater setup and one of more HomePods. I've got 5.1.2 in the living room and 2.0 in the bedroom, both setups connected to ATV 4Ks. With AirPlay 2, I could have music playing in both places along with one or more HomePods placed in/moved to another room for those 'special occasions'. And as it relates to the article, since HomePods aren't Atmos or even surround sound capable, they may not even get the increased streaming bitrate. Depends if Netflix just sees an ATV and says 'ok, this is capable of 5.1, so we'll stream the higher bitrate audio, even if it's only outputting stereo'.

 

[x-evil-x]

I find that true of atmos in general, not just Netflix. Very few movies seem to take advantage of the heights. And in many cases I prefer the upmix as well.
I'm also of the unpopular opinion that atmos is overrated and DTS:X is the better technology.

Which upmixer do you use more? I’m more on the neural x side of things.
I do love the Atmos soundtrack on reader player one though. One of my favs. DtsX on Jurassic world was way too much bass and just sounded like way too much of a mess. But that’s one movie.
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How is it ideal for 99% of folks? I'm guessing the number of people who use more than just an Apple TV with their television is far greater than 1%. In which case, a HomePod isn't ideal by default since you can't use it with your PS4, Xbox, cable TV, etc. Then of course there's also the widely reported phenomenon of video-related audio being quiet on HomePods and the common issue of having to reconnect the HomePods to the ATV. Like I said, the HomePod was obviously never designed around a home theater use case, even though it's technically possible to use it that way with AirPlay.

From your very own situation, it should be obvious that nothing precludes someone from having a home theater setup and one of more HomePods. I've got 5.1.2 in the living room and 2.0 in the bedroom, both setups connected to ATV 4Ks. With AirPlay 2, I could have music playing in both places along with one or more HomePods placed in/moved to another room for those 'special occasions'. And as it relates to the article, since HomePods aren't Atmos or even surround sound capable, they may not even get the increased streaming bitrate. Depends if Netflix just sees an ATV and says 'ok, this is capable of 5.1, so we'll stream the higher bitrate audio, even if it's only outputting stereo'.

I think he’s putting the HomePod in the general public population because people are lazy and spend too much money on simple when they can wire up a full system and have much better quality for the same price.
That’s how I feel about soundbars too. It’s for the majority of people that are too lazy to care.
Audio isn’t difficult. Setting up a 5.1 system is fun and simple. But I see things differently than most. I have a 5.2.4 setup in my studio apartment and another 5.1 setup right in back of that room with all ceiling speakers(for my bedroom).

Homepods weren’t meant to replace an audio system. They are decent at best for anything two channel but ehh.

 

[archer75]

Which upmixer do you use more? I’m more on the neural x side of things.
I do love the Atmos soundtrack on reader player one though. One of my favs. DtsX on Jurassic world was way too much bass and just sounded like way too much of a mess. But that’s one movie.

Neural X. I found a description somewhere of what it and the dolby upmix did and it was clear Neural X was better for movies. I need to bookmark these things, I forget way too much in my old age

The atmos on Kong Skull Island is a good example of atmos being done right. The later seasons of game of thrones on bluray as well. Unfortunately there's not a lot of good examples IMO.

 

[Nunyabinez]

This sounds great (pun intended)! However, I have hesitated to move to Atmos as it would require a new receiver and adding the vertical speakers which would either require a fairly invasive ceiling modification or expensive angled speakers. It seems like a lot of expense for a very small improvement in sound.

The last time I checked, the list of Atmos enabled movies was fairly small, but today I saw the list on Dolby's website and it is quite a bit bigger. I might have to reconsider...

 

[archer75]

This sounds great (pun intended)! However, I have hesitated to move to Atmos as it would require a new receiver and adding the vertical speakers which would either require a fairly invasive ceiling modification or expensive angled speakers. It seems like a lot of expense for a very small improvement in sound.

The last time I checked, the list of Atmos enabled movies was fairly small, but today I saw the list on Dolby's website and it is quite a bit bigger. I might have to reconsider...

Another reason to go for atmos is that without the heights you can't enable atmos on the receiver and atmos from streaming services often times has a higher bitrate. So that alone will make it sound better. And the object based audio.

But there's a lot of ways to go atmos that don't have to cost much. DTS:X is more forgiving in speaker placement than atmos is. But some upfiring speakers you place on top of the fronts don't have to cost much.

When our house was built I had them run wires in the ceiling and I mounted 4 large bookshelf speakers on ceiling mounts as surrounds for a 7.1 setup. This was long before atmos was ever a thing but now it works out perfectly. So they don't have to be special in ceiling speakers. You can do some drilling and fish the cables up there or there's ways to make them look less obvious if you just run the wire up the wall.

 

[OddyOh]

I would sure love an option to disable auto-play video previews on the AppleTV app. Sometimes I browse on my iPhone, then play it on AppleTV to avoid all the annoying auto playing.

Couldn’t agree more, they’ve gone mad with their previews auto-playing. Makes it tough to concentrate and pick what to watch!

 

[videosoul]

Loving all the demands for “lossless” in the comments even though basically no one could tell the difference between an mp3 and a wav or flac lossless in a double blind test.

I can definitely tell the difference between a 256kbps mp3 and Lossless/Wav. But I'm not sure I can tell the difference if it's a 320kbps mp3. That small increase amazingly seems to make a difference.

 

[x-evil-x]

Neural X. I found a description somewhere of what it and the dolby upmix did and it was clear Neural X was better for movies. I need to bookmark these things, I forget way too much in my old age

The atmos on Kong Skull Island is a good example of atmos being done right. The later seasons of game of thrones on bluray as well. Unfortunately there's not a lot of good examples IMO.

have you found any good representations of dts-x blu rays? If you find that description let me know.
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This sounds great (pun intended)! However, I have hesitated to move to Atmos as it would require a new receiver and adding the vertical speakers which would either require a fairly invasive ceiling modification or expensive angled speakers. It seems like a lot of expense for a very small improvement in sound.

The last time I checked, the list of Atmos enabled movies was fairly small, but today I saw the list on Dolby's website and it is quite a bit bigger. I might have to reconsider...

The upmixers with current 5.1 streaming sounds super good imo.An actual blu ray with 7.1 soundtracks sound amazing. Ceiling speakers arent too hard to do depending on your setup. Those small cable management channels are easy to do and dont distract much if you cant go through the ceiling. The cable management channels in the corner of the wall are even better just blends right in. Its the way I did all my ceiling speakers in my apartment.
5.1 to 5.1.4 is a huge change in sound I was skeptical with it all but having it setup now I would never go back

 

[archer75]

have you found any good representations of dts-x blu rays? If you find that description let me know.

I don't have a specific example. I've thought they have all been edited well in general. At least for what I've watched. If I come across some i'll let you know.

 

[YouKnow760]

Anyone noticing a difference? I don’t on my Apple TV 4K

 

[vipergts2207]

Anyone noticing a difference? I don’t on my Apple TV 4K

What kind of audio setup do you have?

 

[YouKnow760]

What kind of audio setup do you have?

I have the Samsung HW-K950 with Atmos sound bar system.