[OtinG]

I know that Dolby Atmos doesn't require a special system and they call it "the worlds first object based sound system." I also know that even though my TV and soundbase or both capable of Dolby Atmos, as is my ATV 4K, not all streaming services are. I’ve listened to demos of it, but my hearing is so messed up on the right side that it isn't possible for me to really experience it that well. I can sometimes tell when they are pushing the sound to my left side, but with only 30% hearing on my right side I can’t tell what is going on over there. So a really cool feature is lost on me. I bet it sounds great for most people though.

I'm still confused by all the various interpretations of what Spatial Audio really is. I know it is similar to Dolby Atmos in that it should make the listener feel that the sounds are coming from all around rather than from just the front. For example, a train approaching from behind and left will be heard in that direction and move across you to the front and right as the train would have done in real life. A good SA should thus provide what is known as the doppler effect. That is, change the pitch of sounds as they approach and then pass by you. Physics tells us the sound waves compress when heading toward you making them sound lower in frequency, and they stretch out after they pass by you making them sound higher in frequency.

In theory, loud sounds in any direction should make you look in that direction to see what is happening. SA most likely will have that effect too. But here is where it gets murky. When you turn your head does the direction of sound change too. If I turn my head left to see what exploded, will the noises from the explosion now be emanating from the direction I'm looking or still emanating from my left. Seems like the U1 chip would have the ability to tell the system which direction I'm looking. (Okay, I know they said the ATV 4K can’t do that, but other systems might have that capability.) The problem with video though is that if I do turn my head to look in the direction of the explosion, I’m now looking away from the video source if it is a TV (in a fixed location). If I’m wearing a virtual reality headset this will be really cool. If I’m watching a movie on TV, not so much. So I can see why the ATV 4K doesn't really need to know which direction I’m looking in. Virtual reality, if well designed, can update video and sound directions based on where you are looking. A TV show or movie cannot do that as far as the video goes.

So I guess I’m trying to say that in my mind it only makes sense for SA on the ATV 4K to always assume you are looking at the TV and not be concerned about where your head and eyes are pointing since it cannot move the video in front of you and then adjust the direction of the sounds appropriately.

Lossless music will be wasted on my crap hearing too, unfortunately. Somehow I bet the old-timers will still claim "vinyl is better"! I'll just have to defer to others on that... I grew up listening to scratchy old worn out LPs and 45s in the 1960s, and the constantly fading AM radio stations which were broadcasting in mono. I really just don't get all the hoopla over lossless music. I'll let those who must have lossless music lose sleep over it, but I'm perfectly good with DVDs and streaming what we have now. It is ALL much better than what I listened to as child!