Streaming Atmos - Low Data Rate

[kfbkfb]

Over in Blu-ray.com there's much discussion about the
picture quality losses when 4K content is streamed
at seemingly ever lower data rates.

From Dolby.com:
Dolby Atmos audio in Dolby Digital Plus is typically encoded
at bitrates between 384 and 768 kbps.

I'm wondering what sort of audible defects there are when using
DD+ containing Atmos at 384 kbps (maybe there are no test
files for this type of evaluation though)?


Kirk Bayne

 

[Miker1102]

My understanding is that Atmos streaming is using a lossy codec. The only way at this point to get the uncompressed Atmos sound without loss is on blu ray. Ironically, they are killing the disc industry so we are going to get a form of Atmos on Amazon and Tidal that is locked down so we cannot physically own it.

 

[kfbkfb]

I would be interested to know if the "underwater" sound quality (an artifact of low data rate MP3) afflicts low data rate Atmos (in a DD+ container).

I'm not aware of any consumer Atmos or DD+ encoders to use to try this out.


Kirk Bayne

 

[Miker1102]

Amazon has a speaker device they are marketing at the consumer level. I am not sure what it is called. It is the only device, I believe, at this point that does Atmos from Amazon.

 

[HomerJAU]

I'm not aware of any consumer Atmos or DD+ encoders to use to try this out.

There are Dolby Atmos tracks on streaming services that have been released on Atmos BDA albums. Those would be the tracks to compare lossy DD+ vs lossless TrueHD.

 

[kfbkfb]

I haven't used Tidal/Atmos, if the Atmos/DD+ streaming data rate is obtainable, is it close to/at 768 kbps or 384 kbps?


Kirk Bayne

 

[HomerJAU]

768kbps