Any idea how much Dolby Atmos charges to license tech to a console?

Archaea

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Messages
11,826
Xbox Series X will license Dolby Atmos (sound codec) and Dolby Vision (picture standard)

Sony PS5 will do neither.

For shame. For those of us with nice Dolby Atmos home theater setups...

Any idea what Sony didn't want to pay to license Dolby's tech? I know it will cost them one sale, at least, as I won't be buying it if they aren't supporting industry standards. For the last 5+ years Dolby Atmos has been the standard.
 
My guess is: because Sony has their own tech and want you to use their headphones. They spent a decent chunk of time talking about it in their reveal.

That being said, did Sony specify they would do neither for the PS5 DE, or is the Bluray version of the PS5 also going to miss out on these? Bluray version is already priced higher, so hopefully part of that price includes the royalties for all of the codecs and IP necessary for modern 4kBD.
 
I'm pretty sure I read recently it's like $4/device sold.

Not a concern for me really and I'm looking forward to trying their new headset with the Tempest standard they have. For any immersive game, a good headset beats most speaker setups IMO, if only for better isolation from outside noises or people in the room. But if Sony's emphasis on audio quality is any indication too, a headset will really be the only way to take advantage of it. I plan on getting the disk version too even though I'll really only use it for the rare UHD movie to play on it.
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty sure I read recently it's like $4/device sold.

Not a concern for me really and I'm looking forward to trying their new headset with the Tempest standard they have. For any immersive game, a good headset beats most speaker setups IMO, if only for better isolation from outside noises or people in the room. But if Sony's emphasis on audio quality is any indication too, a headset will really be the only way to take advantage of it. I plan on getting the disk version too even though I'll really only use it for the rare UHD movie to play on it.
I am going to have to go to a headset. The neighbors start banging on the walls if I turn my Atmos system past 25% 😢. I can't even enjoy the thousands of dollars I put into it.
 
I am going to have to go to a headset. The neighbors start banging on the walls if I turn my Atmos system past 25% 😢. I can't even enjoy the thousands of dollars I put into it.

Nail some egg cartons to your walls!
 
It's negligible, but Sony loves proprietary tech. Vision I get skipping (there are other comparable HDR standards, even if some are lesser), but on the audio side there's a big difference between Atmos (or DTS:X) vs. the other compressed formats or even normal uncompressed 5.1/7.1.
They're making a bunch of claims about how the PS5's audio can do this and that better than Atmos. Yet they have yet to explain how are people can take advantage of it. How is it going to output so that AVR's and sound setups can actually do anything with it? If it's only for headphones (especially proprietary ones), that's a bit of a crock.
 
It's negligible, but Sony loves proprietary tech. Vision I get skipping (there are other comparable HDR standards, even if some are lesser), but on the audio side there's a big difference between Atmos (or DTS:X) vs. the other compressed formats or even normal uncompressed 5.1/7.1.
They're making a bunch of claims about how the PS5's audio can do this and that better than Atmos. Yet they have yet to explain how are people can take advantage of it. How is it going to output so that AVR's and sound setups can actually do anything with it? If it's only for headphones (especially proprietary ones), that's a bit of a crock.
yup, and this is one of the reasons why I'm considering going xbox instead of ps5. I have a Dolby Atmos/Dolby vision setup, the dolby vision im not to worried about as HDR10 is still plenty good but proper surround sound is HUGE for fps games to me, I use sound to pinpoint enemies alot in games and it works great. We really need sony to better explain how their in-house 3d tech is going to work on 3rd party receivers as I have no intention of using headphones only.

Best case is you can just set your reciever to direct and it will handle all the height channels properly and function like atmos would, my Onkyo knows where my roof speakers are and which ones are over head so it just needs a source that can translate height for it.

That and gamepass is a huge value compared to anything sony can offer
 
Last edited:
yup, and this is one of the reasons why I'm considering going xbox instead of ps5. I have a Dolby Atmos/Dolby vision setup, the dolby vision im not to worried about as HDR10 is still plenty good but proper surround sound is HUGE for fps games to me, I use sound to pinpoint enemies alot in games and it works great. We really need sony to better explain how their in-house 3d tech is going to work on 3rd party receivers as I have no intention of using headphones only.

Best case is you can just set your reciever to direct and it will handle all the height channels properly and function like atmos would, my Onkyo knows where my roof speakers are and which ones are over head so it just needs a source that can translate height for it.

That and gamepass is a huge value compared to anything sony can offer

Yeah, I'm skipping out on the Xbox since my PC is already hooked up to my same TV/AVR. There's not really much point to owning the console if you have a high-end PC and Gamepass. Still, I appreciate MS's commitment to standards and accomodating a variety of setups. Their configuration utility on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One is fantastic.

With the PS5, the more I think about it, the more I'm betting we just see DD/DTS/PCM again. I bet their new audio tech will only work for their headphones. Either that or they'll make it some kind of proprietary standard to try and sell Sony AVR's. I can't imagine a device will be able to fake Atmos or DTS:X without a license.
 
Yeah, I'm skipping out on the Xbox since my PC is already hooked up to my same TV/AVR. There's not really much point to owning the console if you have a high-end PC and Gamepass. Still, I appreciate MS's commitment to standards and accomodating a variety of setups. Their configuration utility on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One is fantastic.

With the PS5, the more I think about it, the more I'm betting we just see DD/DTS/PCM again. I bet their new audio tech will only work for their headphones. Either that or they'll make it some kind of proprietary standard to try and sell Sony AVR's. I can't imagine a device will be able to fake Atmos or DTS:X without a license.
ya, if I do stick ps5 I guess worst case scenario is I just move my speakers back to 7.1 instead of 5.1.2 and be happy with it. Atmos is just so cool in games like bf1 when a plane goes overhead lol.
 
Here's something from Sony on the topic. They somehow manage to dodge the question, delay the technology, and pitch their headphones all at once:
https://blog.playstation.com/2020/1...v-virtual-surround-sound-coming-after-launch/

Sony is playing the same "vague as possible" shit they've done with everything regarding the PS5. How the hell do they expect it to work with TV speakers? I really wish they've give people some hands-on time with this shit so consumers can make educated buying decisions on whether or not to get the headset out of the gate or if it works as good/nearly as good with better quality headphones.
 
I'm betting on the audio options being exactly the same as the PS4. Some form of bitream (vanilla DD/DTS) and PCM. Wild guess, their super special 3D audio technology is going to "decode internally" via some sort of magical methodology that we can't easily test, and output via one of those formats. It won't be as good as Atmos or DTS:X in reality, but Sony will claim otherwise. Their proprietary headphone tech will be the only way to really get anything unique from it, and it'll likely be be just like Sonic or Atmos for headphones.
 
Seriously, neither on the PS5. There goes my idea of using a PS5 as a UHD Blu-ray player to declutter my setup.
 
Seriously, neither on the PS5. There goes my idea of using a PS5 as a UHD Blu-ray player to declutter my setup.

There's still a solid chance Atmos will work as a direct pass-through via movie disks and streaming. That has worked in the past.
 
Back
Top