Did they just… forget to mention it, or did they seriously just release an Apple TV without their feature that makes the AirPod Pro/Max incredible? This seems pretty… I don’t know… Stupid?
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No spatial audio on the new Apple TV?
- Thread starter bbplayer5
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Biggest feature? I’ll stick to my home avr setup with atmos and 4 subs.
but sounds nice if you dont want to bother anybody.
Apple TV ALREADY supports Atmos. So it is NOT a missing feature that is being added.
My most wanted feature is adding passthrough audio. That’s huge to me
It’s a software update... maybe that the new tvOS that will be announced at WWDC will integrate Spatial Audio.
But yes... big miss
But yes... big miss
Me too but I don’t see it happening, most streaming boxes don’t except for some Chinese boxes and the Shield, I think it’s an anti-piracy thing that probably isn’t necessary anymore but they just don’t realize it.
The problem with spatial audio on the Apple TV is a location issue. Unless you have it directly centred underneath your screen, it won’t work properly.
There is no way you can guarantee that so there is no point.
What if you have your equipment to the side of the room, or the back, or off to the side on the same wall. Spatial audio is then completely screwed.
Jason
There is no way you can guarantee that so there is no point.
What if you have your equipment to the side of the room, or the back, or off to the side on the same wall. Spatial audio is then completely screwed.
Jason
They could solve this easily by making it a "home theater mode" instead of "spatial audio" for the Apple TV, whereby you get the great immersive sound without the gimmicky head-tracking. It would not be difficult for them to implement.
All it would take is a quick "look straight at the center of the screen" calibration so it knows what direction that is. I agree completely that this is a really strange omission, and was the #1 reason I was interested in a new Apple TV.
HDMI 2.1 isn't necessary for anything I care about. WiFi 6 is pointless when my setup uses Ethernet. The new remote is vaguely interesting but I can buy it separately if necessary - and I mostly rely on a universal remote anyway, so it's not that big a deal.
So basically just stereo headphones like they are standard. So what would he different then? If it is not tracking your head how can it act as a home theatre setup. It would turn it into a standard two channel stereo setup.
You have clearly not used or experienced spatial audio on AirPods Pro or Max. It creates a sound field giving the impression that the audio is in the room surrounding you. When you watch a film do you keep turning your head to your rear speakers etc or do you let’s the sound envelop you whilst you look straight ahead at the screen?
Well Ive never used earbuds at Home so I don’t know it would be implemented. It seems interesting on your phone but I’ve never had the need since I have surround sound in both my living spaces.
IMHO none of those virtual surround systems come even close to a real 5.1.x or 7.1.x setups with physical speakers around you.
I've tried both Apple Spatial audio and DTS:X Headphone with my other pair of cans.
Would not sit through a movie with either of those.
That is also why I use my AirPods only for music.
I have surround sound too, but still want spatial audio. It would be extremely useful for times when I want to watch something and not disturb anyone, but still get surround sound.
Same here. Many folks want to watch things without disturbing others. I don't think of spatial audio with head phones as replacing sound systems but as a nice alternative in many situations.
Add me to the list of people who would like to see surround/spatial audio for Apple TV. I have a great 5.1 home theater system, but the other tenants in my apartment building don't appreciate it if I use it before noon or after 11 p.m. Having the same expanded soundstage for Apple TV that I can get from an iPhone or iPad when wearing Apple-branded headphones should be a no-brainer.
Or couldn’t they just do a calibration for when you turn on Spatial Audio?
Its such a breakthrough feature and its optional so it’s a real shame that it was left off a device for some strange excuse like “what about people who dont put their AppleTV near their TV”.
Exactly. It's really about uncorking the audio channels for headphones, similar to "Atmos for Headphones" on Xbox or really anything else. ATV4k just outputs stereo to Airplaying headphones, despite supporting Atmos already. The difference between Spatial Audio and Stereo is pretty dramatic on iPhone... sure would be nice to have that same thing on my biggest screen. (Relational positioning not required.)
I totally foresee Apple adding spatial audio to tvOS/Apple TV in the near future! Dolby 5.1 and Atmos soundtracks translate well I can't believe they'd ignore this opportunity for too long.
Head tracking can actually be turned off in Settings/Accessibility, so I just believe Apple will simply disable that feature for Apple TV spacial audio. (or not?)
Head tracking can actually be turned off in Settings/Accessibility, so I just believe Apple will simply disable that feature for Apple TV spacial audio. (or not?)
Spatial audio already fully supports the concept of the device not being located directly in the center of your eyeline, so I am really surprised the new TV isn't shipping with this turned on.
If you want to see what I mean, turn Spatial Audio on on your iPad, start a movie that supports it, and then turn 90º to the side. Stay there and after a minute or so, you'll notice the sound field slides over and re-centers in front of you, even though the iPad is off to the side. Move your head side to side and the sound field performs as you'd expect.
Only if you shift your head and keep it in the new location for a minute does the sound field "move" to re-align. There doesn't seem to be any reason they couldn't do this for Apple TV. Just center it based on where your head is pointed when the video starts, and auto-realign like it already does now if you shift.
If you want to see what I mean, turn Spatial Audio on on your iPad, start a movie that supports it, and then turn 90º to the side. Stay there and after a minute or so, you'll notice the sound field slides over and re-centers in front of you, even though the iPad is off to the side. Move your head side to side and the sound field performs as you'd expect.
Only if you shift your head and keep it in the new location for a minute does the sound field "move" to re-align. There doesn't seem to be any reason they couldn't do this for Apple TV. Just center it based on where your head is pointed when the video starts, and auto-realign like it already does now if you shift.
My guess, the feature will be exclusive to Apple TV Pro. Why? Because Apple. There's no reason why it's not supported on the 2021 model. There was an excuse that BT 4.0 in 2017 Apple TV 4k is the reason, but now it's upgraded to 5.0. And spatial audio works with iPhone 7 (BT 4.2) where device position doesn't have any effect on the sound field. The only thing that rotates it is head movements, and the sensors used for that are isolated to APP / APM. What exactly prevents ATV from doing the same?
Moreover, sound field re-centers immediately if you toggle pause / play. That way it's more obvious if you want to compare quickly.