Microsoft revealed Wednesday during a slew of announcements for its Surface event in New York that the Xbox One and the latest Xbox One S gaming console (with 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray support) soon will be adding the ability to playback Dolby Atmos 3D surround sound via bitstream.
The consoles will be receiving a free update as part of Microsoft’s spring “Creators Update” adding support for the object-based audio format bitstreams. This will deliver height channels to compatible surround sound systems. Of course, you’ll have to have the necessary AV receiver and compatible speaker accompaniment or a Dolby Atmos sound bar to get the benefit of the update. No mention was made of adding support for the rival DTS:X 3D surround sound system.
Read more on the Xbox Dolby Atmos update after the jump:
Microsoft said that the Dolby Atmos support will be included as it releases its Windows 10 Creators Update, slated for Spring 2017.
The addition of height channels to 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound speaker set-ups adds the illusion of on-screen objects flying over, behind and around the listener for a more immersive experience.
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The update will make the Xbox One and Xbox One S more expansive home entertainment systems by combining Blu-ray, 4K and Atmos in one package.
The Creators Update is a comprehensive update bringing new Xbox and Windows 10 features in three main categories: 3D, gaming, and people. The updates stress 3D use in documents Power Points and other files to let users create, share, and play around with 3D models.
It will also make it easier for gamers to broadcast while they’re gaming by building Beam, which Microsoft acquired several months ago, directly into Windows. Windows 10 will also make it easier to set up tournaments using Arena on Xbox Live through the update.
By Greg Tarr
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