Audio and speakers
Dolby Atmos
An object-based surround format that adds overhead height channels and places sounds anywhere in a three-dimensional space around the listener.
Dolby Atmos treats sounds as objects with position data instead of fixing them to channels. The receiver renders those objects to whatever speakers are present, including speakers in or on the ceiling, so a helicopter can pass overhead rather than merely front to back.
It is the current standard for immersive sound on disc and streaming, and the format most upmixers and receivers are built around. The height layer is the biggest audible step in surround since the move from 5.1 to 7.1.
Layouts read ear-level.subwoofer.height, so 5.1.2 has two heights and 7.1.4 has four. Dolby places top front and top rear speakers at about 45 degrees elevation, and disc Atmos rides on a lossless TrueHD core while streaming Atmos is compressed.
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