People now spend more time in their homes, thanks to the pandemic. But there’s a limit to how many things you can do without going to other places. That’s why many felt burnt out from the lockdowns.
So, people have to fight boredom. One way to ease it is by watching movies. Therefore, investing in a home theater is not a bad idea. It makes watching movies more enjoyable.
But why stop at a normal home theater? Science and technology have given us many devices we can use to make a space as amazing as possible. It is the age of smart homes. So, making a flavorless home theater is not the way to go.
A home theater with surround sound makes the eyes of many people sparkle. Do you know what could be better than that? A home theater with Dolby Atmos Surround Sound.
What Is Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology. It is developed by Dolby Laboratories. You have likely heard of it before. In conversations about high-end, professional-quality sound, Dolby Atmos is a name you can expect to pop up. Dolby Atmos is in many commercial theaters. But because of its popularity, the Atmos brand released a variety of consumer technologies. You can use these to create the best home theater for your smart home. That ups your home’s returns in entertainment and increases home value.
History and How It Works
The first installation of Dolby Atmos was in the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles, California. It was in June 2012, and for the premiere of the Pixar Animation Studios’ “Brave.” Then, it gradually became more common. By July 2020, there were 6,000 installations of Dolby Atmos worldwide. Furthermore, most electric devices released in 2016 have been enabled for Dolby Atmos recording and mixing. The same goes for smartphones after 2017.
Power Season 3 was the first TV show natively mixed and broadcast in Dolby Atmos. Then, Game of Thrones up-mixed their previous 5.1 presentations for the Blu-ray reissue. Think about watching these shows in your Dolby Atmos-equipped smart home theater. The experience would be extremely satisfying.
Dolby Atmos surround sound is not the same as traditional home theater surround sound systems. It adds layers of sound on top of the same components of a traditional 7.1 surround sound. Therefore, Dolby Atmos surround sound is a 9.1 surround sound system.
What does that mean? Simply put, you will hear the sound as the producer recorded it and how they intended you to hear it. The secret to that is the overhead speakers.
Enhancing Home Theaters Using Dolby Atmos
Everyone loved Dolby Atmos in commercial theaters. Following that success, Dolby Laboratories’ hardware partners announced that Dolby Atmos would soon be coming to home theaters. That includes Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha. Apple also announced that tvOS 12 for AppleTV 4K would support Dolby Atmos.
In 2019 CESin Las Vegas, Sennheiser launched the then-new AMBEO soundbar. It has built-in Dolby Atmos technology.
There are also plenty of shows and movies you can enjoy with Dolby Atmos now. In fact, streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Vudu, and Apple TV+ used Dolby Atmos. HBO Max did the same, but only with movies starting from Wonderwoman 1984.
Transformers: Age of Extinction was the first movie released on Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos. And it certainly is not the last.
With this huge pool of movies and shows, topped with the amazing sound quality Dolby Atmos provides, you’d never want to leave home.
Setting Up Your Speakers For Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos allows you to bring home a commercial-quality movie theater experience. But, of course, you need to set it up properly. There is a guide on Dolby’s official webpage, which you can follow. But if you aren’t confident you can properly do it, hiring a professional installer would be better.
Professional installation and programming, thoughtful designing, and selecting optimal, high-end components and wiring ensure you’ll get the quality you desire. You can rest assured that your Dolby Atmos surround sound system will sound the way you want.
Dolby Atmos Speaker Setup
There are multiple ways to bring the Dolby Atmos overhead sound into your smart home theater. You can use ceiling speakers, speakers enabled with Dolby Atmos, or a soundbar enabled with Dolby Atmos.
Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers are great alternatives for ceiling speakers. That’s because they direct sound upward and reflect off the ceiling to produce incredibly lifelike, overhead sound. Thus, the two devices deliver equivalent performance.
Please note that there are two types of Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers. The first type is integrated units that also include traditional, forward-firing speakers. Special add-on modules are the second type. They sit on top of your current speakers or a nearby surface and contain only the upward-firing elements.
On the other hand, a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar includes upward-firing speakers.
Two Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers, modules, or overhead speakers are enough to deliver a compelling experience. But Dolby recommends using four as much as possible. This configuration will deliver more realistic overhead sounds. It will make you feel like you really are in the middle of the story.
Now, here’s how you should arrange your speakers for the best multidimensional experience in your home theater.
For a 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 system, you need two ceiling speakers. Alternatively, you can use two Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers or modules. A 5.1.4 or 7.1.4 system uses twice the amount of speakers as a 5.1.2 or 7.1.2 system.
A 9.1.2 system, on the other hand, adds a pair of front wide speakers to a 7.1.2 layout.
Take note of this, and you should be able to make a fantastic home theater for your smart home. A properly set Atmos Dolby surround sound system would make every movie buff want to move in with you.
So, if you are in the process of making a home theater, consider enhancing it with Dolby Atmos. It is one of the decisions you will surely never regret.