Music streaming service Tidal is partnering up with Dolby Labs to bring Dolby Atmos Music to soundbars and home theaters across the world.
This really is a big deal for music fans, as it marks the first time a streaming service has been able to deliver Dolby Atmos Music so that it can be played through any Atmos-enabled sound bar, TV or AV receiver. Previously the only way to enjoy streamed Dolby Atmos Music was via Amazon’s Echo Studio speaker.
Having been blown away by hearing Dolby Atmos Music played through a full Atmos-optimized Focal speaker system in a demo at the CES in January, I’ve been desperately hoping for a solution to appear that would allow me to experience a big catalogue of Dolby Atmos Music titles through my own Dolby Atmos-enabled home theater and soundbar systems. Now that solution is here.
Since launching its Dolby Atmos Music store in December, Tidal has been steadily growing its library of Dolby Atmos content. Among the most recent additions are Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings, The Weeknd’s After Hours, and Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello’s Senorita.
You can now listen to the joy that is streamed Dolby Atmos Music on any Dolby Atmos sound system, ... [+]
Following an update that will start rolling out today, the Tidal Dolby Atmos Music service will be available through a wide range of streaming devices. These include Apple TV 4K; Fire TV Stick 4K; Fire TV Cube; Fire TV Stick (2nd gen); Fire TV (3rd gen); the Nvidia Shield TV or Nvidia Shield TV Pro (2019 or newer models); and Dolby Atmos-enabled Android TVs from Sony and Philips.
In the TVs’ case, they can be set to either play the Dolby Atmos music through their own internal Dolby Atmos speaker systems or, via eARC HDMI connection, through an Atmos soundbar or full home theater speaker system.
You will also be able to enjoy Dolby Atmos Music on Dolby Atmos-enabled Android smartphones or tablets, using either their built-in speaker systems or headphones.
The Tidal Dolby Atmos Music collection is available within a Tidal Hi-Fi subscription, and helpfully you won’t need to make any changes to your set up or spend time hunting down the Atmos ‘versions’ of tracks for it to work. If the device you’re listening to Tidal through identifies that your sound system supports Dolby Atmos and a Dolby Atmos version of a song you choose is available, then the Dolby Atmos Music version will play automatically.
If once you’ve experienced Dolby Atmos Music you decide that’s the only way you’re prepared to listen to music from now on, you can also seek out Dolby Atmos Music tracks under the ‘Available in Dolby Atmos’ category, or simply by running a search for ‘Dolby Atmos’. You can also search Dolby Atmos Music content by genre - pop, hip-hop, Jazz and so on.
If you’re not sure what all the fuss is about, Dolby Atmos Music applies the same principles to music that make Dolby Atmos movie soundtracks so great; namely mixing it across multiple speaker channels, including height, side and rears, to create a bubble of sound around the listener. The result is a three-dimensional musical space that immerses you in songs like never before.
Tidal is celebrating opening up the Dolby Atmos Music experience by offering a special extended 60-day free trial to its Hi-Fi subscription (more details here). Be warned, though; if you’ve got a pretty decent Dolby Atmos sound setup, you may well find that once you’ve heard what Dolby Atmos Music can do a couple of times, living without it again won’t be an option.
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