Audio and speakers
Object-based audio
A mixing approach in which sounds are stored as objects with position metadata and rendered to the listener's speaker layout at playback time.
Channel-based audio such as 5.1 bakes the mix into a fixed set of speaker feeds. Object-based audio stores a bed of channels plus individual sound objects, each with coordinates that change over time, and the playback device renders them to whatever speakers exist.
One master therefore plays correctly on a 5.1.2 living room, a 7.1.4 theater, or a soundbar without a separate mix for each. It is what makes height channels practical and why the same disc scales up when you add speakers later.
Dolby Atmos supports up to 128 tracks, a 9.1 bed plus 118 objects, and cinema renderers address up to 64 speaker feeds. At home the renderer drives 7 to 16 channels, and the metadata lets it place a sound between two speakers rather than in one.
Related terms