Dolby Atmos becoming a 4k UHD feature only

[sk3lph]

It seems that more and more film releases, particularly those from Fox and Sony, are reserving the Dolby Atmos soundtracks to the 4k UHD disc releases and the Blu-ray is given a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack, which while good is still not as good as an Atmos soundtrack. I was even more annoyed to see the American regular Blu-ray release of John Wick Chapter 2 get an Atmos soundtrack whilst the same UK disc doesn't, with it going on the UHD disc instead. Atmos soundtracks can obviously comfortably fit on a regular Blu-ray, so the decision is not down to space restrictions.

Native resolution lower end 4k projectors are still expensive and only made by Sony so there must be more people out there like me that have built a Dolby Atmos sound system but are waiting until the more affordable projectors start appearing, which still doesn't look like it'll be any time soon - a situation I'm a bit frustrated with.

The alternative is to get one of the Panasonic UHD players and enjoy the Atmos soundtrack but watch it on an HD projector - will the downscaled 4k to HD picture generally be better than the same image from the regular Blu-ray release? Is it worth doing?

If I decide to give it a try I'll post my findings on here - it'll be interesting to do a regular and 4k comparison in terms of picture and sound.

 

[VincentHanna]

People actually have Atmos speaker setups?

I'm rockin' 5.1 still.

The difference between a decent 4k HDR picture and an SDR HD picture is far greater than the difference between DTS MA and Dolby Atmos audio

I reckon I would be hard pressed to notice even if I had a 7.1.2 speaker setup (or whatever they call Atmos)

 

[vila]

It seems that more and more film releases, particularly those from Fox and Sony, are reserving the Dolby Atmos soundtracks to the 4k UHD disc releases and the Blu-ray is given a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack, which while good is still not as good as an Atmos soundtrack. I was even more annoyed to see the American regular Blu-ray release of John Wick Chapter 2 get an Atmos soundtrack whilst the same UK disc doesn't, with it going on the UHD disc instead. Atmos soundtracks can obviously comfortably fit on a regular Blu-ray, so the decision is not down to space restrictions.

Native resolution lower end 4k projectors are still expensive and only made by Sony so there must be more people out there like me that have built a Dolby Atmos sound system but are waiting until the more affordable projectors start appearing, which still doesn't look like it'll be any time soon - a situation I'm a bit frustrated with.

The alternative is to get one of the Panasonic UHD players and enjoy the Atmos soundtrack but watch it on an HD projector - will the downscaled 4k to HD picture generally be better than the same image from the regular Blu-ray release? Is it worth doing?

If I decide to give it a try I'll post my findings on here - it'll be interesting to do a regular and 4k comparison in terms of picture and sound.

If its something your thinking of trying be aware that some people have reported issued with crushed blacks in 4k HDR images on 1080p projectors but it might be workable if you can tweak the picture setting in the UHD player.

 

[darreny]

I heard atmos for the first time last week (neighbour has it) and it does sound great and actually fills a room with sound like 5.1 can't manage. Fills in the gap between front and rear effects.

I would have thought early adopters of atmos would be 4K ready as I imagine the projector market is quite small

 

[Legend]

There aren't actually many atmos speakers available, only a handful really. KEF do some for about £600, there are Elac's for about £250 and the cheapest I've seen are a pair of Onkyo's for just over £100. I think you can also do it with ceiling speakers? Atmos CAN make a BIG difference, but as with most things it needs the correct set-up, a good receiver etc. It's like saying you're not impressed with HDR when all you've seen of it is via a TV that isn't capable of displaying it properly... but when you see it on a TV that is, and with proper content, you get it.

 

[VincentHanna]

DTS X sounds like a better technology (in theory)

 

[signs]

Sk3lph have you had a look at the jvc x500 , i think mines brilliant the pseudo-4K images are crisp and vibrant

 

[sk3lph]

Sk3lph have you had a look at the jvc x500 , i think mines brilliant the pseudo-4K images are crisp and vibrant

Hi Signs,

This is the problem with the projector market at the moment with regard to 4k. I'm sure the X500 does give a great picture but as you say its not actual 4K so it'll upscale an HD input only, so it makes getting a UHD 4k player a bit pointless from a picture only perspective.

If a company were to release an affordable genuine 4k projector then that would surely go some way to help establish the UHD disc format.

 

[vintage-x]

optoma have just released a sub £2000 4k projector.

It seems to be getting good reviews at the moment

 

[sk3lph]

optoma have just released a sub £2000 4k projector.

It seems to be getting good reviews at the moment

Another step in the right direction - from https://www.engadget.com/2017/06/05/optoma-uhd60-4k-projector/

"the new DLP processor in the UHD60 uses a bit of trickery to achieve a 4K resolution. It's not natively UHD, instead it uses 2,716 by 1,528 mirrors (the DLP equivalent of pixels) and some custom video processing to double that resolution."

 

[dancook]

It does get tricky trying to get the right discs, I was trying to get Fifth Element - then I saw there was an Atmos blu-ray, but it was only import and prices were high. I looked again, now I managed to find there was a 20th Anniversary UHD with Atmos, that must have only just become available..

I want LEON the professional UHD and Atmos, but I think last I saw it's not in the UK

 

[jpaul]

does re-mastering sound, that was not originally Atmos, give anything better than a 5/7.1 experience though ?
Leon (yes great film - not sure there was significant opportunity for Atmos use - mostly shoot outs, insde the appartments .... and Gary Oldmans walkman )
Appears/imdb to be originally 8 channel sdds "five front channels, two surround channels and a single sub-bass channel" so just 7.1.

The ub900 has a 2nd 1080p hdmi output, which would give SDR downscaled, as well as the audio, the output principally exists for.
So wonder whether ths would allow 1080 screen folks, to have their cake ?

 

[sk3lph]

Thought this would be worth a heads up.

Blade Runner 2049 is the latest Blu-ray which has Dolby Atmos on the American release and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on the UK version as I believe Sony are the UK distributers and Warner Brothers are the American distributer.

Needless to say I've ordered the American disc which looks like it'll be region free and is on it's way to me in the post.

 

[vila]

You’re in for a treat it’s a belter of an Atmos track

 

[sk3lph]

You’re in for a treat it’s a belter of an Atmos track

Exactly - its very annoying that we are in this situation and the film companies are using Atmos as a UHD marketing tool.

 

[vila]

It is was it is and not much to be done about it.

The price of UHD discs and players is coming down at least if you want access to more Atmos

 

[sk3lph]

It is was it is and not much to be done about it.

The price of UHD discs and players is coming down at least if you want access to more Atmos

Yes, probably the way I'm going to go where I'll be buying a UHD player to use with a 1080p display, especially considering the cost of importing the American version of this disc compared to buying the UHD disc.

 

[varkanoid]

I've got Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 setup with upfiring front Onkyo speakers I picked up off Ebay new. Though the best way is ceiling speakers though for a true Atmos experience. I had a big improvement though as I upgraded my speaker setup and it sounds a world away from my old setup. When I watch a film with Atmos sound track you can tell the difference suddenly there seems to be sound coming from a direction you didnt notice before. Its that kind of improvement. With ceiling speakers though especially 4 it will be a whole different level again.

 

[sk3lph]

The Blade Runner 2049 disc finally arrived today from the US and I can confirm that it plays on my Panasonic UK spec Blu-ray player - so the signs are its Region free. Will have a proper viewing tomorrow.

 

[slade]

I have

People actually have Atmos speaker setups?

I'm rockin' 5.1 still.

The difference between a decent 4k HDR picture and an SDR HD picture is far greater than the difference between DTS MA and Dolby Atmos audio

I reckon I would be hard pressed to notice even if I had a 7.1.2 speaker setup (or whatever they call Atmos)

I have 5.1.2 Atmos in my bedroom . It's fantastic i think...