[Update: Since writing the story below, Netflix has confirmed that LG's 2017 OLED TVs have now received the necessary software update to allow them to enjoy Dolby Atmos from Netflix streams]
Netflix has announced today that it’s going to be introducing support for the Dolby Atmos sound system to its streamed video services.
What’s more, this doesn’t appear to be an early revelation of some far distant Dolby Atmos roll out. The first Dolby Atmos soundtrack will be available on the much-anticipated Netflix Original Movie Okja, which was actually added to Netflix’s service today (June 28), while the necessary firmware update to LG’s 2017 Dolby Atmos-capable OLED TVs is expected to roll out ‘soon’.
As if the introduction of Dolby Atmos audio for Okja wasn’t already exciting enough, Netflix and Dolby have also confirmed that the movie will play on compatible TVs in Dolby Vision, Dolby’s premium high dynamic range format.
Netflix Original Movie Okja will be the first content on Netflix to support both Dolby Atmos sound... [+]
This will mark the first time that streaming customers have been able to enjoy a full Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision experience.
Dolby Atmos, if you’ve not experienced it, is a so-called ‘object based’ sound format that introduces much more accurate placement of details within the audio space, as well as adding a highly effective height channel to the normal single-level surround sound experience.
Anyone who’s heard Atmos in action on a decent speaker system will attest to just what a difference it can make to your sense of immersion in what you’re watching.
Dolby Vision, meanwhile, adds a layer of dynamic metadata to the normal ‘HDR10’ stream that carries extra information a TV can use to optimize picture quality. And if you want an idea of just what a difference it can make, check out my recent review of the first jaw-dropping Dolby Vision Ultra HD Blu-rays.
As noted earlier, the first people able to take advantage of the combined Netflix Dolby Atmos/Dolby Vision experience will be owners of 2017 LG OLED TVs (such as the OLED65E7 reviewed here), which feature built-in decoding of both of Dolby’s premium sound and picture formats.
Netflix states, though, that it intends to extend its Dolby support to other devices in the future, and also points out that Xbox One owners can already enjoy Dolby Atmos if they connect their console to a suitably talented home cinema system. Or use the new Dolby Atmos for headphones feature now available via the Dolby Access app in the Xbox Store. You can find a guide to getting Dolby Atmos from your Xbox One's Netflix app here.
Netflix explicitly states in its information on its new Atmos support, too, that other titles with Dolby Atmos and, presumably, Dolby Vision are ‘coming soon’, and that ‘the catalog will continue to grow’.
As well as giving Netflix an edge in its long-running technical battle with arch rival Amazon Video, the new Netflix/Dolby hook up is quite a coup for LG given the currently unique ability of its latest OLED TVs to support both Dolby Vision and streamed Dolby Atmos. It has to be said, too, that Netflix’s latest Dolby moves make life at least a little more uncomfortable for those TV brands which continue to refuse to sign up to the Dolby Vision system.
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