Next-gen audio is here in the form of Dolby Atmos and Netflix has now announced a string of movies that will support the first true 3D sound platform on its video streaming service. For the unfamiliar, Dolby Atmos improves on the typical surround sound experience – which features left, right, back, and front audio feeds – by extending the audio sound above the audience as well. While the tech isn’t featured on very many platforms for the moment, it is expected to proliferate at least as rapidly as 4K UHD and HDR have. The first movie to receive the new audio enhancements on Netflix’s service is called “Okja.” The film follows in the same vein as previous popular features such as “Pete’s Dragon” and should be great with the added level of immersive depth provided by Dolby Atmos.
Future movies and shows are planned for Dolby Atmos over the rest of the year. On July 28th Netflix will add support for a feature called Blame! The popular feature anime-inspired Death Note movie will gain support on August 25th and December will bring Bright – a Will Smith movie. Wheelman will get support too, but there is no definite given date for that one. As the service continues to become more common and feature on more platforms – right now it only works with a few select home theater systems, Xbox One S, and some LG TVs – Netflix will undoubtedly add more movies. In fact, it’s entirely possible that more shows and movies will be added regardless in preparation for more platforms becoming available.
Unfortunately, some of the films featured on the service may not ever see support if those aren’t ever remastered to separate the audio feeds. That is another area of the entertainment industry that should gain more support as the number of platforms available to take advantage of Dolby Atmos expands. In the meantime, you can check out a video showing off the new feature in Okja below. Okja itself is also available to stream on Netflix right now, so be sure to check that out if you meet the hardware requirement – or even if you don’t. The experience will probably be worth it and the movie managed to catch the attention of quite a few critics when it debuted at Cannes Film Festival this year.