Netflix has added spatial audio to more than 700 titles for Premium account subscribers.
The feature, which isn’t to be confused with Apple’s spatial audio feature, boosts audio for users listening on devices with only two speakers, like TVs, laptops, and headphones. This doesn’t apply to users with advanced home theater setups that support Dolby 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. It also creates a wider soundstage on stereo speaker setups to emulate surround sound.
Netflix worked with Sennheiser to convert surround sound mixes into spatial audio files that can be played through stereo speakers or headphones, which should be more immersive than standard stereo files. It initially rolled out the feature in July 2022 for Stranger Things, but is now making it available to more titles.
Apple’s feature, by contrast, actively processes incoming audio to create a 3D environment regardless of the number of speakers in use. The feature uses information from Dolby Atmos, Dolby Surround, or stereo tracks to place audio around the user to the best of its ability. Atmos files provide the most data for this emulation and create the most fidelity. The technology also takes advantage of things like gyroscopes to let the user move through the audio.
Apple’s Spatial Audio feature will be able to take advantage of Netflix’s new spatial audio files, however, if a more advanced audio file is available in the Netflix title, like Atmos, it will default to that instead.
In order to access Netflix’s spatial audio feature, users must subscribe to the service’s $20/month Premium plan.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and Netflix