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Spatial audio
- Thread starter UBS28
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Watch the original Apple TV+ content like Greyhound or anything you purchased from the iTunes Store with Dolby Atmos. Disney+ supports Spatial Audio too.
I don't have subscriptions to either service, nor have I ever made a video purchase from the iTunes Store. I guess I have to wait until Netflix or Plex supports it. Apple really should have some sort of free demo for people who just want to try it out. I tried the free preview episode of Ted Lasso but it said spacial audio not supported, so apparently you gotta pay to get it right now.
If you’re just trying to experience the Spatial Audio part and not the Dolby Atmos part then just watch the “Time Flies” event on the Apple TV app. It’s free and Spatial Audio works. And even the Ted Lasso trailer supports Spatial Audio. Just move your head left to right slowly.
Also where did you see that “Spatial Audio not supported” message? Is that in the Control Center?
Yeah it’s above the volume icon in the control center.
Not sure if people are aware, but there’s a Spatial Audio demo in the settings.
I’m aware of the setting but it says “Spatial Audio not supported” even for the Dolby Atmos content. So don’t put too much weight on that message alone.
The head turning thing works, but when I watch supposed surround/Atmos content, it still says Spacial Audio Not Supported and only sounds like it's coming from the phone. It doesn't sound like it's in surround, like I'm used to hearing from my home theater. I thought that was the point of it, to make it sound like surround.
Yup
When switching between the two, I can hear the quality of the audio change (spacial sounds more clear and open, if that makes sense?) but it doesn't sound like it's surrounding me or anything. Which, again, I thought was the point: to simulate surround sound. Maybe I was mistaken about that?
Well that's a big oof. Why would they put it there at all if it's meaningless?
It’s probably a bug and could be fixed in the future updates.
To fully experience Atmos though you need something like a war movie where the sound typically originates from everywhere.
Just tried it on some old TV episodes I had bought on iTunes. Works perfectly, and is honestly shocking the first time you hear it. I hope it is supported more in the future!
The openings scenes of Blade Runner Final Cut (Atmos with iTunes purchase), Star Wars & The Empire Strikes Back (Atmos on Disney+) and Central Park (Atmos, ATV+) all sound spectacular via iPhone 11 Pro and AirPods Pro. Very pronounced imagining, can place everything precisely relative to the screen. Uncanny how the sound field stays fixed relative to the screen whilst moving my head.
Hoping Netflix can update their iOS & iPad app & get on board with this.
Hoping Netflix can update their iOS & iPad app & get on board with this.
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ESB on Disney+ specifically states that it doesn’t support spatial audio. Definitely can sense the L/R panning, but that’s it. Still very underwhelming on the iPhone X.
I have exactly the same issue. It worked and I thought this is good but then it stopped working. Every compatible bit of content always gets the error
I called Apple Support and eventually got escalated to a senior support person and we managed to work out that unpairing my APP and then connecting them back again would some of the time get it working but only for one time.
He carried out remote diagnostics of the phone which was clear so it has now been escalated higher again and I'm expecting a response back tomorrow hopefully.
ya, I’m seeing the same thing. Thanks for running this down for us all, but it seems like there are some significant kinks that need ironing.
During the WWDC keynote, the presenter (Federighi?) said that Spatial Audio works with 5.1, 7.1 and Atmos content.
The content does not need to originate from Apple TV, Apple TV+ or any other online service compatible with the iPhone TV app. It just needs the compatible audio signal (5.1, 7.1 or Atmos). I am using a pair of AirPods Pro and an iPhone XS.
Exhibit A: ripped Blu-ray movie. I have Spectre (2015) on Blu-ray. I ripped it with MakeMKV and then transcoded chapters 9-10 using Handbrake. I used audio track 0 -- the English DTS 5.1 track --and mixed down to AC3 5.1 (512 bitrate), 10-bit HEVC. These two chapters include the Rome car chase with Dave Bautista's hitman character pursuing Bond. Spatial Audio works great.
Exhibit B: downloaded Netflix concert film. I also have the Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour concert film (2019) in Dolby Atmos 7.1. I performed a Handbrake transcode about a year ago (likely passthru) to downsize it from the original 4K source material but the resulting 800p HEVC file also works fine with Spatial Audio. Since Taylor Swift is always front and center in this video, if you swivel around from the iPhone screen, the Spatial Audio effect is quite noticeable.
Exhibit C: the WWII fictional title Greyhound (2020) starring Tom Hanks, an AppleTV+ exclusive. Again, Spatial Audio works fine. The effect is particularly noticeable with recent action movies.
Exhibit D: ancient Raiders of the Lost Ark rip. I believe it's Dolby 5.1. The Spatial Audio effect is less noticeable largely because surround sound back in the Eighties wasn't as sophisticated as today's theatre technology. In this case, Spatial Audio shows the weakness of the audio master in terms of surround sound mixing.
The main caveat is that the iOS app needs to understand Spatial Audio. The built-in TV app provided with iOS works great. By contrast, the VLC iOS app does not play back the same files in Spatial Audio. That is a limitation of the app itself not the content.
Some older iDevice hardware does not support Spatial Audio. I have a 4th generation iPad mini that will play back all of the aforementioned files but Spatial Audio is not an option even though it was upgraded to iPadOS 14 yesterday.
The content does not need to originate from Apple TV, Apple TV+ or any other online service compatible with the iPhone TV app. It just needs the compatible audio signal (5.1, 7.1 or Atmos). I am using a pair of AirPods Pro and an iPhone XS.
Exhibit A: ripped Blu-ray movie. I have Spectre (2015) on Blu-ray. I ripped it with MakeMKV and then transcoded chapters 9-10 using Handbrake. I used audio track 0 -- the English DTS 5.1 track --and mixed down to AC3 5.1 (512 bitrate), 10-bit HEVC. These two chapters include the Rome car chase with Dave Bautista's hitman character pursuing Bond. Spatial Audio works great.
Exhibit B: downloaded Netflix concert film. I also have the Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour concert film (2019) in Dolby Atmos 7.1. I performed a Handbrake transcode about a year ago (likely passthru) to downsize it from the original 4K source material but the resulting 800p HEVC file also works fine with Spatial Audio. Since Taylor Swift is always front and center in this video, if you swivel around from the iPhone screen, the Spatial Audio effect is quite noticeable.
Exhibit C: the WWII fictional title Greyhound (2020) starring Tom Hanks, an AppleTV+ exclusive. Again, Spatial Audio works fine. The effect is particularly noticeable with recent action movies.
Exhibit D: ancient Raiders of the Lost Ark rip. I believe it's Dolby 5.1. The Spatial Audio effect is less noticeable largely because surround sound back in the Eighties wasn't as sophisticated as today's theatre technology. In this case, Spatial Audio shows the weakness of the audio master in terms of surround sound mixing.
The main caveat is that the iOS app needs to understand Spatial Audio. The built-in TV app provided with iOS works great. By contrast, the VLC iOS app does not play back the same files in Spatial Audio. That is a limitation of the app itself not the content.
Some older iDevice hardware does not support Spatial Audio. I have a 4th generation iPad mini that will play back all of the aforementioned files but Spatial Audio is not an option even though it was upgraded to iPadOS 14 yesterday.
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Ok, now confused. The audio follows my head movement, not device movement, yet I have the below setting of Follow iPhone ON...
Note: By default, spatial audio makes it sound like the audio is coming from your iPhone, even when your head moves. You can change this behavior so that the audio sounds like it’s following your head movement. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Headphones, tap the name of your headphones, then turn Follow iPhone off.
Note: By default, spatial audio makes it sound like the audio is coming from your iPhone, even when your head moves. You can change this behavior so that the audio sounds like it’s following your head movement. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Headphones, tap the name of your headphones, then turn Follow iPhone off.
heres a video you can watch to trial spatial audio. just make sure you have a compatible device.
Ok, I think I’ve worked out what confused me when listening to the demo in settings - when turning on Spatial Audio (SA) & turning my head to the right, the snare effect originally coming from the front-left would hold its position by then coming from the rear-left after turning my head, but then it would ‘reset’ & swing around to be at the front-left location again.
I took that swing around effect as the SA working, when in fact the SA was the original effect of the snare holding its position prior to resetting & swinging back around.
I was also misreading the wording of “follows” in terms of the head or device. I think of it more as being ‘locked’ to either your head or device.
But in saying that, when you have the “Follow device” setting ON, sure the audio’s locked to the device when you turn your head, but when you keep your head still & move the device, the sound doesn’t follow it or stay locked to the device, which is still confusing.
I took that swing around effect as the SA working, when in fact the SA was the original effect of the snare holding its position prior to resetting & swinging back around.
I was also misreading the wording of “follows” in terms of the head or device. I think of it more as being ‘locked’ to either your head or device.
But in saying that, when you have the “Follow device” setting ON, sure the audio’s locked to the device when you turn your head, but when you keep your head still & move the device, the sound doesn’t follow it or stay locked to the device, which is still confusing.
Are you sure? That’s just the Atmos demo Dolby have had on their website for a while. Spatial Audio isn’t the same as Atmos.
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I was chatting with my friend on Instagram and she attached YouTube videos she shots yesterday of her daughter’s birthday (daughter was interacting with classmates on laptop)
Spatial audio seemed to be working on the YouTube videos.
I kept taking the AirPods out as I could swear they were screwed up and the audio was coming out of the phone and not the AirPods.
Freaked me the F out!
Spatial audio seemed to be working on the YouTube videos.
I kept taking the AirPods out as I could swear they were screwed up and the audio was coming out of the phone and not the AirPods.
Freaked me the F out!
I briefly tried spatial audio watching Greyhound from Apple TV+ on my phone. Very cool effects. It sounds downright boring when I toggle spatial audio off. What is lame about it is that it doesn't work on my iPad Pro 10.5. I really would love to know why that is, as the iPhone 7 and iPad 6 both use the A10 chip and spatial audio is supported on them.