Netflix has the cure for your crappy laptop speakers with expanded spatial audio support
Streaming services are popular because of how easily they let you access your favorite media anywhere, on any device. As a result, you may be spending less time enjoying your expensive home theater system, and enjoying the convenience of watching the latest episode on your laptop. Netflix is now introducing a new feature to help level the playing field a little, enhancing audio to sound bigger and better while giving you something closer to that home theater experience, even when using headphones.
In collaboration with Sennheiser, the streaming giant plans tomake spatial audio available to everyonestuck using stereo speakers on their TV or headphones. Spatial audio is a software-level stereo audio enhancement system, which widens the perceived sound stage, so you can enjoy your music, TV show, or movie as though you are in a theater with fancy surround sound. The idea is to deliver an experience comparable to a 5.1 setup, and was popularized by Apple with its own solution for AirPods and Beats headphones. What Netflix and Sennheiser are doing is very similar, albeit with their own tech.
Netflix’s spatial audio implementation relies onSennheiser’s AMBEO technologyto enhance a standard stereo audio stream. Subscribers will be able to enjoy the new immersive audio experience on all their devices, across all streaming plans, and on any headphones or TV with stereo speakers.
The streaming service’ssupport documentationcautions that if you have 5.1 surround sound or Dolby Atmos enabled on your device, spatial audio will be disabled by default. Moreover, Netflix’s feature implementation won’t support head tracking like Spatial Audio on AirPods.
“Netflix spatial audio helps to translate the cinematic experience of immersive audio to any stereo, so the work creators do to bring you into the story happens no matter what device you use to watch Netflix.”
To discover spatial audio content, you just need to type “spatial audio” in the Netflix search bar. The selection of supported shows and flicks is a little limited right now, but includes releases like the Dwayne Johnson-starring Red Notice, Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, and hit shows like The Witcher. Since the library of compatible content is in the nascent stage, Netflix suggests sticking to your superior 5.1 surround sound system or Dolby Atmos-compatible hardware if it’s possible to access it.
Hopefully, the platform’s ever-expandinglibrary of Netflix Originalswill continue to support spatial audio in the future, alongside content from other productions.
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