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[jett]

I brought it up in the Star Wars thread, but I just feel like this thing makes no difference surround sound-wise. Watched Mad Max in Atmos, only difference I noticed is it was loud as fuck. Watched Star Wars in Atmos, only difference I noticed is it was loud as fuck (not as loud as MM though). Pretty much everything came from the front, i didn't notice those 50 speakers around me being put to use. Are they for decoration purposes? Star Wars was allegedly mastered in Dolby Atmos. Has anyone actually heard a noticeable difference when a watching a movie in an Atmos-equipped screen?

It doesn't cost a whole lot much but personally I'll definitely stop going out of my way to see a movie with that thing.

 

[BronsonLee]

WHAAAAAT
I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THESE AWESOME Dolby Atmos™ SPEAKERS

 

[CreepingFear]

It's good to know that it isn't worth it as they seem to be hard to find. I'm not driving an hour/hour and a half for a few more speakers.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Supposedly, if you watch Godzilla with Atmos, the sound comes mostly from the top when Godzilla is towering over the audience.

I'm not so good a picking up directionality in audio, though.

 

[MultiCore]

I have yet to see an Atmos movie, But I do have an Atmos reciever.

What you're describing is a general problem these days, and I think it has something to do with trying to make sure everyone gets a similar experience, regardless of where they are seated.

Some day, there will be that movie that makes it worth it. I hope to view it in my home though, not a theater.

 

[A.D. Skinner]

WHAAAAAT
I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THESE AWESOME Dolby Atmos™ SPEAKERS

This.

Watched it today at a Dolby Atmos™ cinema and it was amazing. Felt it really made a difference, not only loud, but crisp, direct and smooth. No awkward gaps in the audio from speaker to speaker. Truly immersive.

 

[Mrbob]

So that is what Atmos is? Interesting. One of my local theaters remodeled with Atmos speakers right before Star Wars. They also installed leather lounge chairs too so I'm hoping for a good experience.

 

[Sanjuro]

The audience is now deaf.

 

[Sp3ratus]

I watched Mad Max both with Atmos(twice) and without Atmos(three times) and I thought the difference between the first two viewings and the latter three to be pretty significant and much better with Atmos.

 

[nictron]

Gravity in Atmos was much neater than without Atmos. I think it depends on the movie.

 

[Irnbru]

Depends on a theatre. There is a huge difference between IMAX near my house and the Atmos equipped cinerama in downtown. I saw mad max at both and the audio was out of this world on the Atmos. It could also be the movie?

 

[apocalidiot]

Yeah, they have some of the best re-recording mixers mix their movies in Atmos, which is a format that is "pointless". You really hit the nail on the head here


That being said, I think Auro is better. It has two layers of speakers (as well as the ceiling/voice of god speakers that Atmos has), so theres a top layer L C R (and surround) as well as a bottom layer L C R (and surround)


I don't know how rigorous Dolby's standards REALLY are, but it could be that the theater you went to has a shitty set up that isn't calibrated.

 

[Septimus Prime]

So that is what Atmos is? Interesting. One of my local theaters remodeled with Atmos speakers right before Star Wars. They also installed leather lounge chairs too so I'm hoping for a good experience.

It's really just more directions from which audio can originate, so the rudimentary setup would be your standard 7.1 plus additional speakers above you.

 

[samn]

I've seen 'Atmos' movies at my local Showcase cinema. I don't notice the difference, not even during the demos specifically built for it that play during the trailers.

Sure it might be bad calibration, but then that means Dolby aren't sending people out to check this stuff which is negligent of them imo. If I was putting my brand behind something I wouldn't want my business partners screwing it up.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I don't know how rigorous Dolby's standards REALLY are, but it could be that the theater you went to has a shitty set up that isn't calibrated.

Yeah, not only does the film have to properly be mixed for Atmos, the theater setup needs to also be properly calibrated.

 

[LowParry]

Nope. It's a great sound difference. Godzilla was such a joy to hear because the sound was so crisp. I think we went and saw Hobbit. The snoring from the dwarves. Seriously sounded like someone from behind me was snoring and other area's. And Smaug. Oh my. The sounds of falling pieces of gold and his voice. So good. Would of liked to have seen Star Wars but going for the full 3D IMAX showing.

 

[CreepingFear]

The audience is now deaf.

 

[norm9]

But does it have a cool ad on the screen which proclaims and shows how cool the sound is?

 

[apocalidiot]

Sure it might be bad calibration, but then that means Dolby aren't sending people out to check this stuff which is negligent of them imo. If I was putting my brand behind something I wouldn't want my business partners screwing it up.

Dude, the average person doesn't give a fuck about sound, or even notice when it's terrible. Not that people do it in a "aww sound is dumb, fuck sound" kind of way, it's just something that slips by the average person's "what the fuck is wrong with this" meter. I guess the best way to illustrate it is, if the picture was fucked up (projection), people would be much quicker to 1) realize and 2) bring it up with management


I'm not saying you're wrong, but that's my take on how things can slip by like that

 

[Drago]

I remember seeing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in Atmos and being stunned at the sound, it really sounded like I was surrounded by nature at times. It was amazing.

Only time I've really felt that way with Atmos though, most of the time I can't say I notice it save for a few moments.

 

[Scavenger]

I brought it up in the Star Wars thread, but I just feel like this thing makes no difference surround sound-wise. Watched Mad Max in Atmos, only difference I noticed is it was loud as fuck. Watched Star Wars in Atmos, only difference I noticed is it was loud as fuck (not as loud as MM though). Pretty much everything came from the front, i didn't notice those 50 speakers around me being put to use. Are they for decoration purposes? Star Wars was allegedly mastered in Dolby Atmos. Has anyone actually heard a noticeable difference when a watching a movie in an Atmos-equipped screen?

It doesn't cost a whole lot much but personally I'll definitely stop going out of my way to see a movie with that thing.

I've seen it today in Atmos and I feel the same way. It sounds great, but the top side directionality is not that noticeable. Maybe I'll notice a difference in a demo setting that switches back and forth between both soundtracks, but as it is now it does not add much to my personal experience.

On the other hand laser projection with HDR is a well worthy upgrade.

 

[Transistor]

I have an Atmosphere setup in my home theater. With the right movie, it sounds phenomenal.

 

[samn]

Dude, the average person doesn't give a fuck about sound, or even notice when it's terrible. Not that people do it in a "aww sound is dumb, fuck sound" kind of way, it's just something that slips by the average person's "what the fuck is wrong with this" meter. I guess the best way to illustrate it is, if the picture was fucked up (projection), people would be much quicker to 1) realize and 2) bring it up with management


I'm not saying you're wrong, but that's my take on how things can slip by like that

well you're not disagreeing with anything I'm saying you're just kind of talking past me but with all these swear words

 

[apocalidiot]

well you're not disagreeing with anything I'm saying you're just kind of talking past me but with all these swear words

I see...

 

[jstevenson]

Atmos is awesome.

 

[Lion Heart]

What is Atmos beyond adding additional verticality? Being too loud is not the fault of the mix but the calibration of the device.

 

[WoolyNinja]

I couldn't disagree with the OP more. Just went to my first Atmos theater experience last night and it was amazing. It positions the sounds perfectly and is crazy crisp and clear.

 

[entremet]

I can't tell the difference and most people won't either.

We're talking about world were 128kps MP3 and low bit rate streaming won the format war lol.

 

[Latvian Hitman]

Things are going to vary from theater to theater depending upon setup. Same with picture quality. As always, YMMV.

What I can say for sure, though, is that a properly set up Atmos system in the home is definitely a nice jump.

 

[mm04]

Setup means everything. I can tell you that for home applications, it makes a big difference and really adds to the home experience. Mad Max sounds awesome on a properly configured theater (home or otherwise).

 

[Arthr2ShdsJcksn]

The thing about Dolby Atmos is that it needs more speakers.

 

[FinKL]

Movie theather Atmos is bullshit 100% agree with OP. There was one summer a lot of great action movies came out and I wanted to test Atmos vs others. Luckily, there was a theather with Atmos and it's own proprietary sound system (JB-X) and I compared them and I think there was one scene where Atmos stood out, but the JB-X won me on the body shaking bass . I think people like Atmos because they like to equate sound quality to loudness.

I wouldn't pay extra for it, but if you are dedicated to watching a movie with it, it's not gonna hurt.

 

[Syncytia]

Setup means everything. I can tell you that for home applications, it makes a big difference and really adds to the home experience. Mad Max sounds awesome on a properly configured theater (home or otherwise).

A lot of this, plus sound design in the movie.

There's bad sound design, good sound design and incredible sound design. I would hope big budget movies released are in the incredible category. But you can only do so much at that stage - if the theater is not set up properly it's not going to translate. Levels, stereo imaging, physical location of speakers, room acoustics... can all screw up a good mix.

Movie theather Atmos is bullshit 100% agree with OP. There was one summer a lot of great action movies came out and I wanted to test Atmos vs others. Luckily, there was a theather with Atmos and it's own proprietary sound system (JB-X) and I compared them and I think there was one scene where Atmos stood out, but the JB-X won me on the body shaking bass . I think people like Atmos because they like to equate sound quality to loudness.

Perceived improvement in sound quality due to louder levels is a real thing.

 

[AxeMan]

 

[phyrlord]

Umm it's like 3D sound, I can literally hear shit ABOVE ME as It flys above... It's amazing.

 

[ShutterMunster]

The first Atmos movie I saw was the first Hobbit and I was floored by the sound presentation. I haven't been to an Atmos film that I feel executed it to that high of a level. I'm blaming the sound designer/editors and not the technology.

 

[Fried Food]

I heard Gravity in Atmos was super good.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

One thing that the Dolby Theatre System tests have taught me is that I don't care about system sound as much as I thought I did. Just give me clarity and bass.

 

[shortsFortallPeople]

it was -weirdly enough- excellent in Creed. Nailed the feeling of being in the middle of a crowd

 

[Kibbles]

I was going to get some Atmos sound system but it had speakers on top of the left and right that supposedly bounce off the wall to your position... does that really work well? I currently have a 5.1 Vizio sound at not sure if it's worth upgrading to that 5.1.2 system I saw online.

 

[watershed]

I don't know what difference it made but watching Gravity and TFA with Dolby Atmos was an amazing experience for both films. The sound is just incredibly clear and I could hear the different directions from the sound and music.

 

[djplaeskool]

 

[internetwolf]

Gravity was awesome in atmos

 

[Septimus Prime]

Perceived improvement in sound quality due to louder levels is a real thing.

I wonder if some of that might have to do with the louder levels drowning out the ambient audience noises in a theater environment.

 

[Hato-kun]

r u a sound designer.

edit: actually does a lot in how you can craft a scene with just audio. great in tense moments and horror movies. a lot of the time it'll blend in with action scenes too well to notice.

 

[RedAssedApe]

speaking of atmos...are the amc prime theatres worth the extra cost?

 

[ShutterMunster]

speaking of atmos...are the amc prime theatres worth the extra cost?

Ones that feature Dolby Vision are.

 

[Syncytia]

I wonder if some of that might have to do with the louder levels drowning out the ambient audience noises in a theater environment.

Perhaps that could have an effect, but it really is just a phenomenon that happens. I record my own music and it's just something to be aware of during mixing when I put on EQs and compression and other effects.

 

[Kieli]

Any reason why the theatres seem hell-bent on trying to make you deaf?

I'm sure every single movie theatre goer can have just as great an experience if the volume was half-, scratch that, one-third as loud.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Any reason why the theatres seem hell-bent on trying to make you deaf?

I'm sure every single movie theatre goer can have just as great an experience if the volume was half-, scratch that, one-third as loud.

I wouldn't.

Assuming they're using quality speakers and nothing is distorted, and the treble, mids, and bass are correctly tuned; I want the theater to be loud as hell.