Telling great stories isn’t all just about having the audience watch the scenes pass by in front of their eyes but have everything on mute, thinking that the visual is more than enough. A movie without sound is simply like staring at a timeless grandfather clock that has no gears or gongs.
A critical element in storytelling, sound solidifies the feelings audiences are meant to feel while watching a great film. To support its films and evoke those feelings, Netflix has now added the Dolby Atmos support to its films. Starting with Okja—the original and critically acclaimed film by Bong Joon Ho—Netflix will be giving us selected movies with spectacular sounds that pull you right into the action.
A game-changer for films, Dolby Atmos is a system that heightens your experience with impressive sound alongside 4K and HDR’s realistic and clear visuals just at the comfort of your own home. Shutting you into the world of the movie you’re watching, it makes you feel as though you’re right in the middle of the scene.
“Sound governs the emotion and the sense. It is a very important element. Dolby Atmos extends sounds from a planar, two dimensional space into a three dimensional one,” says Okja‘s film director. “It gives sound depth, richness, and directionality.”
In addition to Okja which made its recent debut at the Cannes Film Festival, Dolby Atmos support will also be available for a select number of titles coming soon. Though the catalog will be expected to grow over time, the initial set of titles offering this format include:
- Okja (June 28)
- BLAME! (July 28)
- Death Note (August 25)
- Bright (December 2017)
- Wheelman (2017)
Presently, Dolby Atmos streaming is supported on Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox One S.
Using the Xbox, you’ll be able to experience the unique and immersive sound by connecting your console to a Dolby Atmos enabled home theater system, TV or soundbar, or through headphones using the new Dolby Atmos headphones for the headphone feature available for purchase through the Xbox stores’ Dolby Access App.
Meanwhile, support for 2017 LG OLED TVs is also going to follow, having built in Dolby Atmos capabilities and giving audiences a 360° sound field without the need to connect to an external sound system.
Over time, support to more devices will make the experience more accessible to even more Netflix members.
In order to stream on Netflix with Dolby Atmos audio, you’ll need:
- A Netflix-capable device with Dolby Atmos support
- A Dolby Atmos capable audio system
- A “4 screens + Ultra HD” Netflix plan. You can check which plan you currently have at netflix.com/ChangePlan
- Streaming quality set to High or auto. For more information about video quality settings, check Netflix’s Playback Settings article.
For more information on Dolby Atmos requirements on Netflix, check this site.
