Top 5 Reasons Why My Dolby Atmos Experiment Broke
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- In a previous video I did a test to see if Dolby Atmos is really as good as I think it is. Let's just say it didn't go as planned. This is a follow-up video where I analyze where things went wrong.
Here's the link to the previous video
• We Test If Dolby Atmos...
We all have limitations in our room and have to do the best we can with what we have. But it’s still a AWESOME experience!
Gravity has very distinct Atmos movement.
A Quiet Place basement scene (after she steps on the nail) has very specific Atmos content.
So true! Nothing is perfect yet it can still be a great experience! Those two movies have fantastic soundtracks. I keep holding out hope we’ll someday get a 4K Atmos version of Gravity 🤞Thanks for watching!!
@@GeorgeTheaterAtHomeGravity is available in Atmos on Kaleidescape. Gravity was the very title in Atmos (2013). It was the first title I purchased from Kaleidescape
@@GeorgeTheaterAtHome apple has it you can buy it cheap
Atmos height speakers are severely lacking is because sound engineers do not put the time and effort to make these speakers work. I have a 7.2 system so I only have two height speakers. So to get the height speakers more engaged I bumped up the volume just a hair louder to hear them when they do engage. One more thing, I used to have my height speakers in front and above my surround speakers. This gave me a wall of sound that prevented me hearing the height speakers. What I did was moved them back about halfway to two thirds back from the front surround, ear level speakers. This definitely gave me more of that immersive sound experience when the height speakers kicked in.
Some good movies one can check out are "Gravity", "Alita Battle Angel", "Edge of Tomorrow" and "A Quiet Place". All provide some good enveloping sound.
Great vid!
Try an upmixer like DTS Neural X and see if there is more engagement.
@@patrickmiller4987Hey Patrick, I'm a newbie to surround sound and don't know what DTS:X is but will check it out. Thx
Good on you to approach this scientifically.
A few notes: Atmos folds down properly to a 7.1 or 5.1 mix. The Atmos bed layer TrueHD track already has 7.1. I don't think that a 5.1 or 7.1 version would necessarily be that different. In the Atmos Renderer, we have options to export to various formats. Whether it's done prior or in real-time on the AVR shouldn't really matter.
The height-speaker placement could be an issue. Where are your front and rear heights placed?
Telling them to look for height information isn't necessarily a bad test. Asking them which is more immersive might also lead them to choose the one that just sounds louder. If you engage more height speakers and the levels increase even slightly, that could skew results. I think the first question is more reasonable based on Dolby 's claim that you can place objects precisely above and around you.
I'm curious if they'll be able to tell with one of our Spatial Group mixes where there's a visual representation of where the sound is supposed to be coming from.
Thanks for the feedback! That’s really interesting how Atmos can converts down. I didn’t know that. The Rear Heights are basically directly overhead (room limitations) and the Front Heights are about 5 ft forward.
A test with your spatial mixes is up next. Hopefully shooting it soon 😁🤞. Thanks for watching and offering suggestions and info. Much appreciated!
Quick note before I watch the video, you've done such a big feat bringing these experiments to us. I can't wait to see more!
Glad you like them!
@@GeorgeTheaterAtHome Your experiment was a success (as someone else commented). It concludes that there are reasons why people wouldn't hear heights and that it's possible some clips don't use them in a way where you can tell!
For instance, the position of your speakers. You room is much larger than mine and has acoustic treatment. So if they couldn't tell, that will affect more rooms than yours. Everyone compromises somewhere.
If you wanted to compare to the 5.1, that wouldn't say if people could hear the heights. If Atmos can confuse people that well, that's incredible!
Try "Leave the World Behind". I only have 5.1 set up now, but it was amazing how crisp and clear and even subtle some sounds were. I could even hear stuff happening at various heights all around. And the way they panned perfectly in sync with the motion on screen as it rotated around was impressive. I can only imagine experiencing this movie with Atmos.
Yes! Loved that movie in my theater!
Dolby atmos is fine. Just that the studios are putting in little effort, budget cuts, and tight timing to release.
That is so true. And it's not like Atmos is expensive. I've seen low budget new movies that have Atmos, and use it well enough. Which means it's pretty cheap to have. They are just lazy and neglect almost everything because they do a commerce product, not fine art. Plenty of new big budget movies with mediocre sound (in general) .
This is why I won't go above Blu-ray, I don't feel the extra expense in my lounge would make that much difference with films that have had little effort put into the sound. Also I feel 4k films either look too much like a film set than a movie, and close ups push the rest of the screen into a heavy blur. I'm happy with 5.1 and a soundbar top .2 If there was an upgrade discount for trading dvd or Blu-ray to 4k, I'd think about it. This would also clear up a massive amount of unsold 4k discs 🙃
@@MunKeeButt67 there is nothing "above" bluray at the moment, idk what are you taling about. The difference bewtween dvd and 1080p bluray is huge, and the difference between 1080p and 4k bluray is also very noticable if you have big screen not tiny 32" one.
also soundbars are just a compromise - the bounced sound from the ceiling is much less impactfull than real atmos when the speakers are properly set. You can easily test that - bounce your speakers towards the ceiling, and then put them on the ceiling and hear the direct sound and difference. it's nigh and day :)
@@bombata151 is 4k Blu-ray not above 2k Blu-ray? I feel you've not understood my comment. I said I would not go above Blu-ray, not that there is nothing above it. The size of my room and viewing situation are better suited to a 5.1 soundbar, than a full separate set up. Atmos is not available on most Blu-ray discs, but both dtsX and Atmos are on some, and just Atmos on others. The ambient beam on my soundbar outputs a noticeable object placement, but not a ceiling bouncing effect. I'm older now and without a separate room, am simply not interested in another separates system. I've had 3 before the soundbar, and for pure enhancement in a smaller package, it more than delivers at 20/100 of the volume. I've upgraded all the physical media I want to at my age now, from VHS to Blu-ray, and the set up I have is more than capable of making this an experience 🙃
@@MunKeeButt67 you said " i wont go above bluray" and there is nothing above bluray. blurays are either 1080p , or the 4k. but both are bluray if you dont specify :) Atmos and DTSX are only on 4k blurays (not sure if there are rare cases with 1080 and atmos, or not enough bitrate for that) . Not all 4k are with Atmos/DTSX . Nolan doesnt use anything above 5.1 and it's his choice no matter the media. Also all the big stream services give you the compressed version of 4K Atmos as well , which is totally fine with cheap setup.
And soundbars are ok for small rooms , but you can also have smaller size 5.1.2. or 5.1.4 setup without problem with small room :) But it's more expensive unfortunately, because the avr aint cheap esp for 5.1.4.
It does have significant difference tho if you do compare it . Your soundbar does ceiling bounce - your soundbar is on the table, and the speaker if upward firing to bounce from the ceiling and give you the height sound . :) but because of that the sound is not so directional, and weaker as intensity because science :D inverse square law and so on
I feel like you left me on a cliffhanger😮😂... Are you going to redo the test? Probably would need some new test subjects 🤣. Thanks for the great content 🤙💪👍
I haven’t solidified any immediate plans for a future test. My next couple videos are pretty well mapped out. But beyond that I may seriously consider it. Thanks for watching!
It really does depend on the way it's mixed! Turbine does a remarkable job with their Dolby Atmos Blu-rays plus in my system on my 5.1.2 is the height speakers are tuned up +2 than the other speakers it makes it more present when they are used! Great video
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow!! Talk about RESPECT!!!!!! I love that you did this!! Before and after!! Mad respect!! So glad people like you are on here for those of us who don’t have the means to test different options!!!
The experiment was a total success. You just didn't get the results you (and others) were wanting. If you handpicked the absolute best examples with the absolute perfect speaker positions the experiment would have definitely been skewed. You chose average examples for average listeners with an average home speaker placement. Perfect experiment.
Great point!
Not a total success. They were listening for height, not overall envelopment. Many Atmos dont have much height content at all, but should be more enveloping than the equivalent channel based soundtrack.
And definitely the comparison should have been channel based 7.1 vs Atmos soundtrack. Thats the correct way to do it.
@@FURognarI think a lot of people miss this.. those overhead speakers are to help create that sound bubble.. they shouldn't be so noticable you that you can localize the
@@SegaMasterSystm exactly. People focus far, far too much on height when the focus should be on the overall enveloplent and object placement within the sound field. So much so that somebtheater designers have adopted techniques to improve the overhead effects (which sounds awesome) to the detriment to the overall effect.
I concur, this experiment was a complete success. I think everybody's butt hurt that Atmos doesn't do as much as it should and most of the recordings are just bad.
The real question is which one was more enjoyable.
Great insight , i am the proud owner of an AVM 70 so i understood pretty quick why the test would not have been conclusive . A good test track is technodads thrills again...
I had to change my amp recently because it wasn't doing 4k and was starting to give me troubles. So, I bought the Onkyo tx-rz50. I found a Paradigm 5.1 used so, I mounted 4 of those speakers on the ceiling, pointed them at the main listenning position. My bed layer is Bowers & Wilkens : 683 (left-right), HTM61 (center), 686 for the surrounds. Dirac did a very good job of making them sound all alike. I bought a couple of movies like Blade Runner 2049, A quiet place, and others. I tried very hard to be impressed and marvel at the upgrade but I don't think it's worth the time, effort and money. There are a few moments, in very few movies, where it's cool to hear some sounds coming from above. But when it's just ambiance, rain, wind, etc., it's minimal. Most mixes don't use the height speakers much. I get the feeling that Atmos is just a fad and will not stick, like 3D. It's not like HDR, which is totally worth it.
Your points on why it bombed make total sense, and the fifth reason is something I would've overlooked if I were running a test like this. Good work on your end, and I look forward to the next round on this.
Don’t forget to turn off any up mixing codecs on your pre/pro. IMO a great movie to demo is “Smile”
it's the least important improvement in sound but I'm glad I have it. I have boosted it +5 and that makes a difference
I think your daughter's idea about listening for the "fullness" of the sound is a valid one - - if the speakers are calibrated for your seating area. (I presume they are.)
But, even before calibration, my first Atmos test blew me away.
I was testing with Blade Runner (1981). In the opening scene when Holden is waiting for Leon to show up, there are some nice ambient sounds including a voice paging Mr. So and so. That voice took me completely by surprise because it sounded like it came from everywhere. And, this was before calibration.
Finally, maybe a test of upscalers might be useful too. I've always wondered how good they are. Esp. DTS Neural X vs Dolby Surround. If you do this test, I would like to nominate the beneath deck ship sounds in Master and Commander. They are amazing, but I've only heard them with DTS Neural X enable.
I'd LOVE to see a new test with music samples.
Atmos songs were what made me love this tech, to be honest. But I don't see people talking about it that often.
Thanks for watching! My next video will be my top 5 favorite Atmos songs. Atmos music is amazing.
@GeorgeTheaterAtHome I'll be waiting. Already subscribed!
The test was fine. While we as enthusiasts want it to make a huge difference. The reality is to the average lister it's not that important and won't matter to them. It's okay for us to want the best but dont be surprised when it doesnt matter at all to others around us that don't share the same passion.
First off like others have said the experiment was not a disaster, it was awesome!
I just had a few points I wanted to make. My understanding of the Atmos spec is that it’s an extension of TrueHD. If your receiver supports Atmos then it reads the Atmos metadata and and pans around the objects embedded in the mix. If your receiver does not support Atmos it will play that same TrueHD track with the objects mixed into the channels like older specs have always done on a 7.1 flat layer. If you’re able to play the same TrueHD track without Atmos and without up mixing that would be the best comparison IMO. If you compare a Dolby Digital track to TrueHD the bitrate alone could be a giveaway. Like someone else mentioned you may be able to do this with the remote.
In terms of the Atmos music I would argue that it might not be a good comparison. I enjoy well mixed Atmos tracks however usually when you compare it the original two channel mix sometimes it’s so dramatically changed it’s hard to compare it to the original because it just sounds so different. Maybe for the better but definitely beyond what I would call like enhanced. A good example of this is Marvin Gaye’s What’s going on. I like the Atmos version but it’s dramatically different.
Atmos from my perspective biggest benefit is it’s just a way more enveloping sound. If you read the official Atmos thread on AVS whenever people first get it they always describe the sound as like a 3d sound bubble which I think is accurate. For the crowd that wants more discrete sound coming from the heights it reminds me of back in the days when people were upgrading to rear surrounds and complaining about the same thing.
I hope you do the experiment again, it was a lot of fun to watch.
Wow, you’ve shared some very interesting info! I’m going to need to do some investigating into switching between Atmos and TrueHD on my processor.
It’s true music sounds dramatically different. It’s funny you mention the Marvin Gaye song because that’s one of my favorites. I love both versions but they are very different from each other.
So glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts!
Ok. Just finished watching this video. 2 observations: 1. I had JUST watched technodads video about ATMOS height speaker placement etc. 2. I dunno if I’m 100% on board with number 5.. in your video you expressed that you wanted to know if adding heights speakers was worth it or without height speakers. I think a new video asking the user to express there opinion of the 7.2 vs 7.2.4 atmos experience was better. I feel like the better atmos experience (as a whole as described in number 5) would be clear cut winner if properly differentiated as you explained
Keep up the awesome work! It is much appreciated!! 🎉
Without knowing the specific dimensions, layout, acoustic treatments - what can we learn from this?
Without knowing the physical and electronic properties, what can we learn from this?
It's a MASSIVE step in the right the right direction.
I'm interested to see what comes from this series.
This is what i learn so far.... 1. Audio source is extremely important. Highly compressed AC3 Dolby Atmos from streaming services is nowhere close to physical or ripped source with Dolby True-HD. 2. I don't trust AVR calibration software like Audysey. I tweak my speaker levels by ear instead. (taje a photo of ur current speaker levels, crossover, equalizer so you can return them back. Then experiment by boosting those atmos and surrounds speaker levels. Dun forget to play with treble and bass in tone setting too. 3. Bass shakers are amazing. I'll never enjoy movies without them again.
i use audyssey and I manually set distances sounds pretty good both ways but now running audyssey ONE and sounds different in a good way from the others more dialed in. audssey one totally free it uses REW and a script to run the calibration.... my setup is denon 4700 7.2.4 all preout to amps 4k ub820 for play back
I agree with your findings here. Contrary to recent comment from technodad the angles are important, particularly with 4 overheads, and I think your experiment has highlighted that. If you have considered carefully the comments from home theatre gurus and others on angles (one of those laser angle measures from Amazon on a boom mic stand really helpful btw) and you have done what you can do with it re placement then fair enough. It is what it is.
My Yamaha 3070 has a "straight" setting that completely disables the Atmos overheads and just processes as pure 7.1 on any Atmos track provided you don't have any virtualisation features on. I'm sure anthem would have a similar mode for comparing with and without overheads. Not so fiddly as fooling with arc genesis either...
On the anthem too you can toggle between the Atmos or True HD base layer just using the remote while the clip is playing. Or you can do it on the phone app they have too.
That is good to know. Thanks!
Interesting results I thought, and in retrospect not surprising. I sometimes check Atmos tracks to see how much impact they really add. Since I’m running separate amps for my 7 bed layer channels and 4 heights, it’s very easy to toggle one amp on/off. For the Midway clip you referenced, almost exclusively the overhead sounds were bullets wizzing past the aircraft - very poor use of Atmos in my opinion. With so many airplanes around, when one was overhead, there were many more around the bed layers, so sort of a mixed bag there.
In the 300 reference, there was an absolute overwhelming sound of flying arrows in both the overhead and bed layer, but there seemed to be an obvious difference (especially listening quickly back to back).
For RPO, initially the only sound is the DeLorean door swooshing closed, then silence til the horn blew. The horn was nearly inaudible in the bed layer. Again, this scene tends to be hyped, but in reality it’s “mostly lackluster” in the overhead. For example, as Kong chases along slightly behind the car, there are ZERO mid/high frequency sounds from him in the overhead layer except for a couple grunts. This should have had much more sound.
Still gotta check my Blade Runner 2049 disc. I’ll let you know.
Hope this helps. FYI whenever I do this I also trim the subs.
Denon X6700 to Monolith 7X and Outlaw 7000X
Dual SVS PB3000s
Thank you for that info! That is great. And thanks for watching!
I run a 7.2.6 system and found that atmos sections of the film are small and short. I listen to the atmos only ready player one,lucy top gun and many more and it is disgusting how much material there is on those films. I started with 9.2.6, cut down to 7.2.4 and now i’m frying 7.2.6. All that money down the drain. Keep up the good work
You're correct, ATMOS is awesome when you have the right movies, mixed properly. If you play the Dolby Atmos Demo on Xbox X, there is a very clear directionality of the falling leaf going around you, it's really worth it, brought a smile on my face. . Thanks for this analysis.
Quiet Place , Evil Dead Rise, Blade Runner ,Blade Runner 2049 , Ready Player 1 and Saving Private Ryan are my Refference movies for testing Atmos soundtrack.
Not sure about your speaker layout, as far as I understand the best layout is if you have both ground layer and height layer F/R, in addition to atmos speakers.
In that way, your "atmos speakers" in ceiling would work also in other formats like dolby digital, auro 3d etc. (then the front and rear top layer has to be defined as height speakers).
I think the previous test was good to demonstrate Atmos vs. a processor's ability to upmix a standard or 5.1 track, to showcase the height virtualization feature that modern codecs are capable of. It's similar to the advanced processing they use for soundbars. It creates illusion of height effects very well. It gets more muddy when you have a full spectrum of studio atmos mixes, from muddy or nonexistent, to precise and pinpoint active.
I think a good video in the future, would be, based on one's room, how much should one budget for atmos, seeing how it's quite demonstrative of the law of diminishing returns, vs. allocating the budget for more room treatments, or subwoofers. How important is seat to seat consistency for bass, vs some additional height effects that are ambiguous? Would you do things differently?
Excellent points. I hadn’t considered the capabilities of the Anthem processor to create height virtualization using only bed layer speakers. I like your video idea. Maybe I could do some tests to see how good I can make my theater sound using only a 5.1 setup. Thanks for watching!
You can't learn if you don't make mistakes (or others around you ftm). I don't think I'm alone in appreciating a good recap on things that could be improved, so that everyone can learn from that. ;)
Your son has me convinced that I shouldn’t get rid of my dipoles. It’s a common note that the side speakers are a little louder, despite being calibrated. (Yes, I understand he is not in the primary listening position)
However, a speaker firing right at my ear canal will have a bigger sound especially from a 90 degree angle. I think it will sound brighter to our ears. Maybe point the mic at SL & SR, first for sampling notes, then calibrate, and then adjust between the three readings?
Especially if the only value in the atmos experience is a fuller envelope immersion.
I took down my atmos speakers to move my setup around and I haven't put them back up yet but honestly I don't miss them. I know that they could make the sound a little more enveloping but I would say that atmos isn't worth the trouble or worth upgrading your AVR if you need to. Maybe because my ceilings are only 8 feet and I only had a .2 setup, but with just 5.1 sometimes it still sounds like stuff is above me.
This is very interesting! I also have 8’ ceilings (actually about 7’8”) and testing the effectiveness of the Height speakers has been eye-opening. I intend to do some further testing with more material. Thanks for watching!
@@GeorgeTheaterAtHomeI have found that you can emphasis the atmos speakers by placing them more closer together and farther away from the side surrounds but then you’re covering less of the viewing area. I’m just one guy so I had them only 2 feet apart from each other
Love it! Can't wait to see the next video 👍 Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Regarding the 5th reason, it really depends on what youre trying to accomplish. Are you trying to prove that height speakers make a significant difference, or that the atmos format is superior (and why?).
The choice is rarely between atmos decoding or no atmos decoding... Everything has atmos now, from high end dedicated processors to flimsy laptops with half a speaker for everything. The big leap, the investment, as your last question for the family touched on, is to add those height speakers. If you're running a 5 or 7 channel setup with no heights, youre still going to consume atmos material, and it wont cost a dime more.
Btw, one of the best scenes for atmos I've heard is the initial thunder storm in War of the Worlds. That came from directly above in a way my paltry setup can rarely achieve.
Yeah, those are valid points for sure. Lots for me to think over 🤔. Thanks for the recommendation and thanks for watching!
Great video. Hopefully, we will see a retake.
i disagree a little bit. you already chose the parts of the movies where the height channels were active, and if you chose movies or parts that only had a height sound (everything else quiet), then that would be forcing it too much. when we're watching movies we should be able to hear those things coming up from the top even though other things are going on (ex. Kong during that Ready Player one race). this also shoots the music sample - you don't need to, people who may have atmos setups may not be interested in spacial music (and it looks like having an apple tv4k is the only way to easily get there).. if it works in movies right, then it works. daughter was right to point that it should feel immersive and enveloping without having to specifically listen for them...
i'd rather suggest do a temporary technodad's "speaker on a stick" setup, maybe use the spatial audio cd to calibrate the correct speaker positions, then run the test again.
So the problem with atmos and home theaters is that if you are comparing it to a theater ,the theater is calibrated for "that" movie. If you are using it home you are calibrating for many movies and one some it will sound great and some will sound flat . It's just How it's mixed .
I know you have had many give you input. I would like to suggest a different angle. There's those in the home theater community that suggest spending big bucks on brands like Anthem, Arcam ,Marantz, and trinov.
I have tried most of these AVR's as well as processors and none sounded as dynamic or spacious as the Sony AZ5000es.
The sound is on a different level and makes most other AVR'S sound lifeless.
The price is awesome 👌
That is interesting! I would like to get my hands on one to test it out. Thanks for watching!
This seems to be the answer to the complaint: "But I spent so much money but its still underwhelming!!!".. Answer: Oh, you just bought the wrong thing.. .buy this instead.
@Tracker5111 well sometimes you buy something recommend from others in the home theater realm just to feel underwhelmed.
You buy an AVR because everyone else buys the similar one and find that you don't feel the same as others.
It's not like you can try out most stuff for free. Sometimes it will cost money to get to where you want to be.
@@GeorgeTheaterAtHome
It will be night and day difference 👍
I have 6 height ceiling speakers. I can tell it is from the side speakers or the ceiling speakers.
I'm just really impressed that you're able to get your family to be your AV Guinea Pigs. 😅 ....In all seriousness, I'm not sure that your last 'gotcha' will make much difference. My AVR does a pretty good job of 'mimicking' a full 7.1.4 when there's no Atmos or X track. I also haven't been any more blown away by music in Atmos than I am with just lossless audio mixed into 5.1 surround.
I think it's all down to scene selection, and knowing that the Atmos track IS actively pushing discrete sound to the height channels. A lot do not.
I will say that since I implemented my Atmos setup about 3 months ago, Deepwater Horizon 4k has still been 'top dog' when it comes to sound placement. When the rig starts to blow, that disc is just ridiculous (in a great way).
I’ve heard Deepwater Horizon mentioned several times as a particularly good example of great Atmos. I need to just get it already and try it out 😄
My family goes along with my shenanigans, but we’ll see how long they’re willing to cooperate
The more enveloping sound is the correct thing to look for because not all Atmos have bombastic height content, but nearly all Atmos will have vastly improved surround envelopment due to the nature of Object based playback.
Test sounds fine to me. Probably could have included a few more scenarios. 🤷🏾♂️ But nothing that was done needs to be changed.
On reason 5 I think you are onto what I felt might be happening. Like you stated, if you re-run the test chose a different mix from the same disc but also ensure that any upmixers are disabled.
Honestly, I think you're just trying to convince yourself of some things you' think you've done wrong. No test is perfect and the results may not tell the whole story. Almost everything is subjective in audio, measurements aside. I'm still not convinced about Atmos, unless you have the perfect room for it. That's a good reason why they're called "height" speakers, height being the key word here :) If your room doesn't have the right height, then Atmos doesn't make a lot of sense. But that's just my opinion. The same goes for many others, who think that having a room full of speakers, the sound will be more enveloping. Wrong. We are all slaves of our rooms and we should take the best decisions accordingly. Then, there's the problem with the Atmos tracks themselves. Not all are made the same; some are very good, some are just meh. And I have the feeling that, in some cases, Atmos is over used and doesn't make any sense for a specific movie. Like the Atmos track for the 4k transfer of Halloween. Really? What's the point of Atmos for that movie? There are tons of 5.1 or 7.1 tracks that sound amazing, it all depends on how good the audio mastering is.
Definitely redo the test with dvd vs 4k sound test.
Or blu ray vs 4k sound test.
And see which they prefer?.
Or if they notice a big difference.
Or if they think its a worth while upgrade in terms of sound.
But obviously, maybe leave the projector off, so its all about sound.
I’m planning a follow-up test where we compare the Atmos track to the 5.1 track. I think that will be a good test to see if Atmos is a noticeable upgrade. Thanks for watching!
Regarding distance of height and base layer speakers - isn't the Atmos effect a function of the angle difference (that sound goes to the listener) and not distance. Thus your setup should have good separate. (Those more knowledgeable please correct me if I'm wrong)
You are correct. My difficulty is in the low height of the ceiling and narrowness of the room. This means if I increase the angle between the side and the height speaker, then I’m pushing the height speaker too close to the other height speaker. So I have to split the difference, attempting the least worst angle for both.
Switching from an Atmos to a DTS or Dolby track has advantages and disadvantages. It kind of puts the atmos on unfair ground because generally more time and attention was put into that mix and the mix is supposed to be different. It's not just height versus not height like you're saying, the tracks are usually completely. Remixed so there's potentially more emphasis put onto the Atmos mix that gives it an unfair advantage. Then again, is it really unfair if you're testing to see if Atmos the format is better. That's a different question than whether height speakers matter or not. I guess it's a question of which one you're trying to answer actually. One thing they did say though, your family that is, is that sounds became louder out of the surrounds sometimes when the heights were disabled. I think the real way you should have done it is if your processor has presets, actually recalibrate your room with the atmos disabled, save it as a preset so you can switch back and forth between the two presets cuz otherwise the sound is going to be out of balance to where it was. Assuming you have calibrated your atmos set up
A better question for the next test should be - which version did you prefer? This is to figure out if Atmos worth it.
I have a question for you hoping u can help me with . I have now mounted some atmos speakers in my system and before that I use natural x and I love the clarity of the center in that mode. Now when I have atmos speaker I use dolby atmos instead for that reason. Can I go with natural x even if I have atmos ? My experience of trying both is that the surround and atmos effekt sound much better in dolby atmos but the sound in the center speaker is not that clear at all and I really love the clarity in natural x . What is you're experiens between the two ? Love all you're content 🙂👌
What receiver do you have? What center channel speaker do you have? Is the center speaker aimed directly at the main listening position? Have you run the audio correction calibration setup on your receiver?
@@GeorgeTheaterAtHome i have a marantz sr7013 and as center i have klipsch rc64lll 🙂. I have runt the calibration to 👍
I thought you had picked the 7.1 or 5.1 vs Atmos. I see that also now from what you are saying that's clearly likely a bigger issue. To note you may have to increase volume on Atmos as they tend to be mastered to a lower DB.
I could be wrong here but I feel that Atmos is object based not channel based like old 5.1 if done right, you should pick out sound placement not what speaker is being used. It's 3d
I recently came across some information that indicated Atmos can be either object based, or channel based, depending on how the audio engineer mixes it. And most Atmos mixes are channel based. Take this info with a massive grain of salt because I need to do some more digging to confirm.
Great Vid!
Apocalypse Now, I want my Surf Board back, Chopper/Helicopter scene, is great. Oh you want your surround speakers at ear hight when your sat down. As at the cinemas why they have their surround speakers higher, is because they have an angle in a downwards to point to the ears of the listeners, and people can't bang into them when they walk past them. So when some people see those are placed that way, they think great I will do that, for my home ones, but if there not down angled, that's when you need them lower to ear hight when sat down, to create the sound horizontal point where it starts to curve upwards as your hight speakers are that curved lid of hight directional sound fields, that merge with the surrounds and and dialogue speakers basically sort of the sky atmosphere how you see the sky like dome shape greenhouse. As for falling rain, its landing sound is lauder, so if the movie Twister have the sound of it hitting things lower then high up, you would here that more, then if the cast then run into a supermarket, then that changes things. You now get the heights, and surroundings, rain hitting the tin roof, and the side windows, of which way the rain is being blown towards, and sound of the twister or twisters.
Your experiment was extremely successful. You proved that Dolby Atmos is a just another way of robbing us of our hard earned cash. The average number of atmos effects in a film are around five minutes worth. But sheep are lining up to drill holes here there and everywhere and destroying their ceilings just to hear a some bird tweet and some plane fly overhead....that's on a good day 😂
Do it again Do it again pleassseee
WOW your 5th reason was something a casual would do you should've known better that one mistake alone kills the whole experiment
Nice thumbnail. 😁
Thanks!
How high is your ceiling (I also have a low ceiling, and struggle)
7’8”. If I had it to do over, I would not install a platform and have only one row of seating. Maybe in my next theater 😁. Thanks for watching!
Hi. I also recognize the lack of sound from height speakers with many Atmos movies. This is one of the reasons I choose often Auro-3D over Atmos. Can you add Auro-3D to the next test?
Oh sadly Anthem does not support Auro-3D.
Yep, no Auro-3D for Anthem 😢. But thanks for watching! Glad to have you here.
The opening of mad max fury road, gravity diamond luxe edition about 10 minutes in, flatliners 2017 opening crash, and no time to die when bonds car gets riddled with bullets after a crash while he and his girlfriend are inside. ⚡️
Those are all such great material. Thanks for watching!
Small segment to judge?
That could also be a factor. I hadn’t considered that 👍
Small space =(3"?) small speakers =(8"?) more subs ....5.4.4?
Reason 1, you are dead wrong, cherrypicking scenes is not the way to go, more scenes? Just use awesome scenes that have a lot of dynamicswhere you can tell the difference,
The willow springs scenes of ford v ferrari would be my first i would try.
True good points 🏴🇬🇧
I enjoyed your video , really!! but As I mentioned in my comment, you need to include a person outside your family, young people like your children and many women do not like to listen to movies with Dolby Atmos, they feel it as a toy for grown men
I definitely should add in other types of listeners next time, specifically the type you mention. Thanks for watching!
With only having a Samsung q600b with rear speakers all just above ear height, I know the atmos effect is not going to be amazing. I feel the object placement works ok, but Atmos is not overly noticeable. Mostly I use blurays, and dtsX is usually the only soundtrack, and I find it fills the room with a fuller warmer sound whereas Atmos is a bit harsher sounding and more pronounced from the speakers. Bladerunner or ready player one fill the room and sound fantastic in dtsX. I think the search for the perfect placement sometimes overtakes the enjoyment of a movie. But that's what we are 🙃