Dolby Atmos sound is one of the ingredients in the company’s plan to create a next-level movie experience. Dolby Vision HDR video is the other. The company celebrates that over 2000 cinema screens have been installed and over 500 movie titles released with Atmos.

Dolby Atmos has momentum
Dolby Atmos, together with DTS:X, is a new object-based audio technology that can place “sound objects” in the room. Together with Dolby Vision, which is a HDR video format, it makes up what the company calls Dolby Cinema; next-generation cinema. It is also available in the home.

While Dolby charges licensing fees to use its formats, as opposed to some competing open standards in both the audio and video segments, the company has significant momentum. Good for them, but from a consumer standpoint it is always worth considering which format has stronger support. This enables you to invest in the right equipment and ensure that it will last for many years. 

Dolby Atmos first arrived in 2012 so it has been around for approximately four years. This is a few years longer than Dolby Vision, which came out in 2014 so it is only natural that Atmos is more widespread. The bigger story, however, is how strong support Atmos is enjoying in Hollywood studios and in the AV manufacturer space.

- “When Brave was released in 2012, Dolby Atmos enabled us to bring audiences into the rich and fantastic world of Merida through their execution of previously inaccessible soundscapes,” said Mark Andrews, writer and director of Disney•Pixar’s Brave. “Dolby Atmos enables our creatives at Pixar to tell stories with sound, taking audiences across new dimensions of entertainment. As one of the first to use Dolby Atmos, we have witnessed this platform’s steady growth and value as an essential element for the next-generation filmmaker.”


All major Hollywood studios
Today, Dolby Atmos has been “embraced by all the major Hollywood studios and industry-leading filmmakers, including 15 Academy Award winning directors and 28 Academy Award winning sound mixers, among others”, the company said.

It has been deployed in more than 60 countries and installed in more than 2000 cinemas. 

- “Dolby Atmos is considered the preferred sound format by many who look to deliver the best in sound to the cinema, in the home, or on the go, and the possibilities are endless,” said Curt Behlmer, SVP of Content Solutions & Industry Relations, Dolby Laboratories.

The company says that over 500 movie titles have been released in Atmos for cinema, adding that: “More than 20 titles are now available for over-the-top delivery by streaming-service providers like Vudu. More than 150 titles on Blu-ray Disc have featured a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, and more than 60 percent of the UHD Blu-ray media released include the format.”

Additionally, Atmos is supported on 75 AVR systems, more than 45 soundbars/speakers by over 20 manufacturers, 35 mobile devices, 3 games on PC, and soon on the Xbox One and Xbox One S game consoles, as announced by Microsoft. Sony has not announced similar plans for the PlayStation 4.

 Also read: Samsung Dolby Atmos soundbar review

Dolby Vision is also growing and it appears that several more TV manufacturers are coming aboard in 2017, as outlined here.

There is simply no denying that Dolby has momentum. The company is taking advantage of the transition to next-generation audio and video formats, and consumers appear to love it – even if it costs them a few extra dollars in licensing.