Netflix Says It's Not Testing Spatial Audio Support for AirPods

[spokenblurb]

You almost got me I was just about to spew all the apple crap I got but then my signature reminded me that we were taught (or supposed to have been taught anyway) as children not to compare belongings and make fun of other less privileged people

I’m allowed to dislike a product and you’re just gonna have to deal with that ❤️🥰🎉

I’m all for personal choice but let’s be clear spatial audio is not a gimmick by any means it’s literally amazing. And yes you are allowed to dislike it I’m just curious as to why?,do you hate Atmos style sound in general?

 

[mpkossen]

Whats up with Netflix disdain for Apple features? I'm glad I don't pay for this service anymore.

Netflix just hates users. They always seem to do the exact opposite of what people want.

 

[4jasontv]

I still don't think I quite get spatial audio. My understanding is that is creates the illusion the sound is coming from the screen so if I move my head the sound feels like it's still coming from one spot. Does it get quieter as I move away from the screen? What if I want to go get snacks?

 

[Suckfest 9001]

I’m all for personal choice but let’s be clear spatial audio is not a gimmick by any means it’s literally amazing. And yes you are allowed to dislike it I’m just curious as to why?,do you hate Atmos style sound in general?

Because it absolutely messes with the sound signature/design that was intended by the audio engineers? I like getting my content in as close to reference as possible, without any automatic pan correction which is really all this is

 

[4jasontv]

Ok, Im done! Netflix content is bad enough to still supporting them. Nowadays are much better streaming options, so bye bye Netflix!

I feel that way every time I realize Netflix isn't content adding to Up Next. Since I signed up for D+ and HBO Max we have mostly forgotten that we have Netflix.

 

[MecPro]

Spatial Audio Probably affects less than 1 percent of their customer base and literally doesn’t affect a large, the majority even of their paying customers.

Also it won’t drive new subscription to their service, so this is the only logical choice.

 

[NorthernSkyLights]

I take it Amazon Prime video for the iphone is no better in terms of not offering any features for the airbuds pro. Just like no PIP. At least base from last time I tried the app on my iphone.

 

[joshseibert]

Ok, Im done! Netflix content is bad enough to still supporting them. Nowadays are much better streaming options, so bye bye Netflix!

Honestly, same. I used to put Netflix at the top of their game but they feel like the budget option lately.

Growing up, I never had HBO so I didn’t know the quality difference in premium content versus network. Even the newest series on Netflix that get rave reviews feel budget in contrast to what’s offered by HBOMax and Disney+. (Apple TV+, too, but their library just isn’t there yet.)

Netflix now often feels like stale “cable” to me — which is exactly what I was trying to escape when the streaming boom happened.

Spatial audio is a nice gimmick but use cases are severely limited. How often are people watching movies on their headphones and on their iPads, by themselves?

This is my primary way of watching content. We have two TVs — one in the living room and one in the bedroom — but they are a few years old and not top of the line. Even though the iPad screen is smaller, the color and resolution are far better than the TVs.

Plus, I purposely watch with my AirPods Pro because I enjoy being able to listen in high definition and “feel the movie” without being rude to my apartment neighbors and shaking the walls.

 

[mariusignorello]

This is corporate speak for “yeah we tried it but then the bean counters got wind of it, ran some analysis and realized we couldn’t squeeze any money out of it because it’s a niche feature, so management shut it down”.

 

[macfacts]

Any content in the Apple TV app works great with Spatial Audio—even your ripped or torrent movies. Disney+ also supports it, and I believe even HBO Max and Hulu.

I don’t know what you’re talking about. Lol

Wouldn't Apple be able to do this system-wide? Let the device be a Dolby/DTS surround compatible device, if only virtually, and transcode that to their Spatial Audio pipeline?

That's like trying to take a mono soundtrack and trying to convert it to a stereo soundtrack.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Why would they? They are anti-any Apple feature.

My question is also why would they? But not because I think they are anti Apple. Is spatial audio a widely used feature among their customers? It’s an Apple feature and if it was on a few more products, maybe it would be worthwhile.

 

[Wildkraut]

Good that Netflix is not gonna support something that is not an official standard.

 

[Tapoma]

Wouldn't Apple be able to do this system-wide? Let the device be a Dolby/DTS surround compatible device, if only virtually, and transcode that to their Spatial Audio pipeline?

This is what really confuses me. How is this even something that an app can control? I though Spatial Audio was just a conversion from surround sound to simulated surround sound in your headphones. Unless they’ve just disabled dolby atmos, 5.1 etc. on iOS

 

[SDJim]

I don't get it. Netflix seems unduly antagonistic toward Apple users, and I don't understand why. Even before TV+, they behave as if Timmy said something mean to their CEO or something.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I don't get it. Netflix seems unduly antagonistic toward Apple users, and I don't understand why. Even before TV+, they behave as if Timmy said something mean to their CEO or something.

Not really as this feature is Apple only and used by a small fraction of Apple users on the whole anyway. Until it becomes cross platform and used by a significant percentage of their customer-base, it would be a waste of their time.

 

[urmaster]

This is what really confuses me. How is this even something that an app can control? I though Spatial Audio was just a conversion from surround sound to simulated surround sound in your headphones. Unless they’ve just disabled dolby atmos, 5.1 etc. on iOS

This is because the audio APIs exposed to developers were designed and documented to work in a particular way. You don’t change those behaviours in such a sweeping fashion as this will break apps not expecting to inherit the new behaviour.

Not that Apple hasn’t done something like this before but it certainly is bad practice. (The change to HEVC springs to mind).

 

[Student of Life]

Spatial Audio Probably affects less than 1 percent of their customer base and literally doesn’t affect a large, the majority even of their paying customers.

Also it won’t drive new subscription to their service, so this is the only logical choice.

i dont know. When your competitors are offering that feature it make you look bad. Also when you factor just how much ground Disney + is making….

 

[rjp1]

Apps with with Video players should be required to support system features like spatial audio and PiP. It’s crazy that apps like Netflix and YouTube stubbornly refuse to support them.

I wish it was as simple as Youtube refusing to support PiP. I could actually understand that.

They actually coded to break the functionality.

 

[svanstrom]

Is spatial audio a widely used feature among their customers? It’s an Apple feature and if it was on a few more products, maybe it would be worthwhile.

Spatial audio doesn't require special spatial audio; basically it just requires that the app uses the regular Apple way of playing the videos, and that the regular surround sound isn't stripped away before it reaches iDevices.

There are apps that haven't been updated since before spatial audio was announced that support it; simply because it's just regular audio.

 

[itsmeaustend]

When my partner is asleep in bed and I don't want to disturb them.

Yeah exactly. I do this all the time?

 

[reyesmac]

Spacial audio is just needed for the coming Apple VR glasses. If Apple cared about putting regular dolby surround in their headphones whey would have. But with the spacial audio they can call it some new fancy name and license it out to studios who want to use the glasses as a new way to view movies without a home theater. If I had to take a guess, your old movies will not be given the surround sound treatment, but movies you purchase through itunes and new releases will most likely allow you to listen to them using this new kind of surround sound. THEN after Apple starts making all the money will Netflix jump on the bandwagon and make some of their movies work with the Apple VR thing.

 

[larrylaffer]

Lame. Even Spectrum supports spatial audio in their app, which indicates to me that it's not very hard to do.

 

[svanstrom]

Spacial audio is just needed for the coming Apple VR glasses. If Apple cared about putting regular dolby surround in their headphones whey would have. But with the spacial audio they can call it some new fancy name and license it out to studios who want to use the glasses as a new way to view movies without a home theater. If I had to take a guess, your old movies will not be given the surround sound treatment, but movies you purchase through itunes and new releases will most likely allow you to listen to them using this new kind of surround sound. THEN after Apple starts making all the money will Netflix jump on the bandwagon and make some of their movies work with the Apple VR thing.

Wanna make something up about aliens while you're at it just writing whatever pops into your head?!

As a matter of fact, the first time that I noticed spatial audio it was while playing an old movie; I just happened to be on wifi and streamed it to my phone, so it came untouched from my media server at home.

Freaked me the duck out at first, because I thought the sound came from the iPhone and not my APPs; and I was in a fairly quiet public space.

 

[gnomeisland]

Because it absolutely messes with the sound signature/design that was intended by the audio engineers? I like getting my content in as close to reference as possible, without any automatic pan correction which is really all this is

I would argue that Spatial Audio gets me closer to the engineers reference since I don't have a true atmos setup at home or certainly when I'm traveling. Spatial audio is a pretty convincing (albeit imperfect) surround experience oriented around your viewing screen—as designers/engineers intended.

However, I don't want to get into a fight about it. If you've tried it and just don't like it, that's fine. To each his own opinion.

 

[svanstrom]

Because it absolutely messes with the sound signature/design that was intended by the audio engineers? I like getting my content in as close to reference as possible, without any automatic pan correction which is really all this is

Do you also stalk outside their homes and knock on their doors to find out exactly what equipment you need to use; because surely you must understand that you can't just use any old headphones, only the ones approved by the sound engineer?

But what do you do if they didn't design the sound for headphones, only regular speakers of a very particular setup?