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Spatial Audio with Apple TV 4K

JeffPerrin said:
What do you mean by "standard content"?

*It is entirely possible Apple could switch to another object-based audio format, or even design their own. Hence the "spatial audio" label vs calling it Dolby Atmos.
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archi penko said:
Spatial Audio is Apple’s headphone based Atmos presentation or surround sound virtualisation. If it’s not on a head phone, it’s not known as spatial audio.

The sound coming out of home theatre speakers is just known as Dolby Atmos, or surround sound.
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By "standard content", I mean comparing the 2-channel stereo version to the Multi-channel Spatial Audio, or Dolby Atmos, version. On my processor, I can isolate the sound coming from individual speakers, and the sound I hear coming from the surround speakers is very subtle, like ambient sound. I can get the same ambient sound using the Dolby Surround upmixer, so I don't perceive much improvement, if any, listening to the Spatial Audio version.
 
Does "Spatial Audio" work with two Airpods (Max and 3) connected at the same time? I feel that it doesn't. Also saw at the setting that "this is not supported when sharing audio". Am I doing something wrong or "Spatial Audio" only works with one Airpod connected?

Thanks
 
AustinJerry said:
By "standard content", I mean comparing the 2-channel stereo version to the Multi-channel Spatial Audio, or Dolby Atmos, version. On my processor, I can isolate the sound coming from individual speakers, and the sound I hear coming from the surround speakers is very subtle, like ambient sound. I can get the same ambient sound using the Dolby Surround upmixer, so I don't perceive much improvement, if any, listening to the Spatial Audio version.
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Assuming your spatial audio is working correctly, what you hear in those extra speakers depends entirely on the individual mix. Some tracks (or movies) are amazing, and others don't sound much different than when played in stereo 2.0. ?‍♂️
 
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JeffPerrin said:
Apple doesn't like to rely on 3rd-party suppliers for essential technology.
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Since they want to grow their services business I don't see it in their best interest to develop a proprietary spatial format. They want to get as many customers, on as many platforms, as they can on Apple music.
 
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That's a good point. I predict they'll stick with Atmos for movies & music and use a proprietary format for their rumored VR/AR glasses and related products...

However, if anyone can push a new format forward, it'd be Apple. Especially if they make it an open standard! (ie. Webkit, Swift, HLS streaming, etc.)
 
JeffPerrin said:
That's a good point. I predict they'll stick with Atmos for movies & music and use a proprietary format for their rumored VR/AR glasses and related products...

However, if anyone can push a new format forward, it'd be Apple. Especially if they make it an open standard! (ie. Webkit, Swift, HLS streaming, etc.)
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Atmos is also a proprietary format, licensed at that, and the creation tools are not exactly "freely accessible" to wide audiences.
With an open standard, Apple could change this.
 
We all know that when a sound engineer develops Atmos content for movies, discrete sounds are directed to all available speakers. The enhanced effects can be dramatic and add to the listening enjoyment.

But what is the purpose of engineering music content in Atmos or Spatial Audio? Surely we don't expect a guitar sound from overhead, or a snare drum from behind us. IMO, Spatial Audio adds ambient sounds to the surround and overhead speakers, thus enhancing the feeling of being in the middle of the recording. But other up-mixers like Dolby Surround or Auro can do essentially the same thing. Whether the ambience sounds better with Spatial Audio or an up-mixer is the question.

I am suggesting that one might select a song that is available in both a 2-channel version and a Spatial Audio version, compare the two, and decide whether Spatial Audio is really adding something significant to the experience. IME, the 2-channel version using an up-mixer sounds just as good.

This opinion is reached using my audio system, not Spatial Audio with earphones, which doesn't interest me in the least.
 
AustinJerry said:
We all know that when a sound engineer develops Atmos content for movies, discrete sounds are directed to all available speakers. The enhanced effects can be dramatic and add to the listening enjoyment.

But what is the purpose of engineering music content in Atmos or Spatial Audio? Surely we don't expect a guitar sound from overhead, or a snare drum from behind us. IMO, Spatial Audio adds ambient sounds to the surround and overhead speakers, thus enhancing the feeling of being in the middle of the recording. But other up-mixers like Dolby Surround or Auro can do essentially the same thing. Whether the ambience sounds better with Spatial Audio or an up-mixer is the question.

I am suggesting that one might select a song that is available in both a 2-channel version and a Spatial Audio version, compare the two, and decide whether Spatial Audio is really adding something significant to the experience. IME, the 2-channel version using an up-mixer sounds just as good.

This opinion is reached using my audio system, not Spatial Audio with earphones, which doesn't interest me in the least.
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To be fair, it's got to be super hard to try and one-up a classic recording with a surround "up-mix." The phrase "trying to un-bake a cake" comes to mind... However, with newer releases, engineers are learning to utilize extra channels in Atmos via audio "objects" in cool and interesting ways. Specifically in regards to you question of what is the purpose of engineering music content in Atmos or Spatial Audio?; I will offer that when producing my experimental app-album Surround Sound Ear Candy, I had a blast putting extra guitars in the rears, playing with echo effects, and yes - in one case even having drums appearing behind you. Moving beyond stereo production can be very exciting when used creatively and appropriate to the genre and song material. I do agree that simply adding "ambience" to the rear and overheads does not really sell the format. As you said, people have had the option to apply similar-sounding DSP effects to stereo music for years (decades even!). Picking through Apple Music's spatial audio playlists is a good place to go audition material. Again, the re-mixed classics can sound, to my ears anyway, a little...awkward? But some of the newer releases produced with spatial audio in mind sound pretty cool.

In regards to actual ceiling speaker usage, I'd fathom that everyone in the music industry is tackling the "Atmos" learning curve in regards to how to handle this. Looking at the big picture, a very small percentage of consumers actually have ceiling speakers, so the music mix needs to be produced for broader compatibility. Why? Any music appearing in the ceiling speakers will get added to the mains and surrounds when down-mixed to 5.1, so engineers need to be on the lookout for possible phase and eq issues. So if the majority of Atmos listeners are going to be on Atmos sound bars with (maybe) up-firing drivers and (hopefully) rear surrounds, then I suspect we'll see the ceiling speakers utilized primarily as very light "ambience" effect in music. I don't see that as a problem though, as Atmos / spatial audio itself is primarily about creating a more immersive audio environment with the speakers you have available.
 
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AustinJerry said:
We all know that when a sound engineer develops Atmos content for movies, discrete sounds are directed to all available speakers. The enhanced effects can be dramatic and add to the listening enjoyment.

But what is the purpose of engineering music content in Atmos or Spatial Audio? Surely we don't expect a guitar sound from overhead, or a snare drum from behind us. IMO, Spatial Audio adds ambient sounds to the surround and overhead speakers, thus enhancing the feeling of being in the middle of the recording. But other up-mixers like Dolby Surround or Auro can do essentially the same thing. Whether the ambience sounds better with Spatial Audio or an up-mixer is the question.

I am suggesting that one might select a song that is available in both a 2-channel version and a Spatial Audio version, compare the two, and decide whether Spatial Audio is really adding something significant to the experience. IME, the 2-channel version using an up-mixer sounds just as good.

This opinion is reached using my audio system, not Spatial Audio with earphones, which doesn't interest me in the least.
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I remember stereo and then when people in music made stereo sound better by better separation. I imagine it to be like the change from mono to stereo was a wowser stereo to Dolby Atmos will be a wowser and I'm about to pee myself from excitement I can't wait. Like everything else, some will be bad, mediocre, good to great depending on your flavor. I have not tried spatial audio with the AirPods pro yet with music but it's nice with movies.
 
An app that I used/use before Apple got into the music stuff is Boom. It has 3D audio, Spatial etc...in fact I'm using it now. I'm happy that Apple has caught up.
 
AL2TEACH said:
An app that I used/use before Apple got into the music stuff is Boom. It has 3D audio, Spatial etc...in fact I'm using it now. I'm happy that Apple has caught up.
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I am not familiar with Boom. Does it synthesize the 3D and Spatial effects, or do you have a source for audio that is actually engineered in multi-channel?
 
AustinJerry said:
I am not familiar with Boom. Does it synthesize the 3D and Spatial effects, or do you have a source for audio that is actually engineered in multi-channel?
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the regular old sound sticks and it does a good job with headphones.
it's a virtual surround sound and I have no special audio equipment.
the spatial audio in boom is airy and the spatial audio with AirPods Pro is like having 3 speakers to me and much better.
 
Is it too much to have wished for everything to link and work together as his Steveness originally hoped? Homepods across the front. HomePod Minis for rears and maybe sides. AppleTV managing. Atmos/Spatial as required and available.THIS is the home theater and music surround system I've wanted for YEARS, for a modest size system. I knew this the minute I installed my first pair of HomePods years ago.FWIW I've had huge 6.2 surround systems before, so I am defining only a system that would match with these components, and a suitable sized room, not making them fill a stadium.
 
Poindexter333 said:
Is it too much to have wished for everything to link and work together as his Steveness originally hoped? Homepods across the front. HomePod Minis for rears and maybe sides. AppleTV managing. Atmos/Spatial as required and available...
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you know Apple is sort of working on it and as soon as they somewhat get it, an upgrade will be needed because the old stuff will not have the "new" chip, lol.
 
On my phone, I use the Copy button to copy the link directly into the clipboard:
IMG_2931.jpeg
 
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