Dolby Laboratories Inc. announced Monday that new speakers and receivers will bring the company's surround sound format Atmos to consumers' living rooms.
Atmos, released in 2012, has been used for a number of movies, such as "Gravity", "Frozen" and "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug", according to CNET. The format can support up to 64 separate speakers - eight more than Dolby TrueHD, the audio company's current top-end home format. It also uses ceiling speakers and other sound-processing technology to provide overhead audio and side and rear channels.
Some Atmos-compatible AV receivers will be provided by Pioneer, Denon, Integra, Marantz, and Onkyo.
Atmos will also feature Andrew Jones-designed Elite speakers to provide efficient sound quality, MarketWatch reported. Chris Walker, director of AV product planning and marketing for Pioneer's Home Electronics Division, said that Pioneer appointed Jones, its top speaker engineer, "to design a speaker system worthy of the Elite brand and that can produce reproduce the sound quality that only Dolby Atmos can deliver."
"Dolby is the next step in home entertainment and it's really something you have to experience for yourself to understand how truly amazing it is," said Michael Crane, senior director for Merchandising for Magnolia Home Theater and Design Centers. "We're looking forward to demonstrating the technology in our Magnolia locations through Pioneer's complete Dolby Atmos-enabled system."
No specific details have been revealed about the speakers, CNET reported. Dolby stated that movies compatible with Atmos will be released this fall in both Blu-ray and streaming format.
Dolby will also include "Atmos-enabled speaker modules" to update consumers' current speakers, providing the same experience as ceiling speakers.
Pioneer will reveal more details about its Atmos-enabled products at its 2014 CE Week Show conference, which will take place on Wednesday in New York City, MarketWatch reported. The company will also demonstrate the Dolby Atmos system in a special home technology room.
