Dolby Laboratories has said that its Atmos surround sound technology can in fact support “hundreds of simultaneous objects” contrary to Mark Cerny’s claim during his recent PlayStation 5 presentation.
Discussing the PS5 technical specifications, Cerny talked about Sony’s new Tempest engine for audio, and said that the console will not utilize Dolby Atmos because it’s capped at 32 objects. Dolby published new FAQs following Cerny’s comments, stating that this was incorrect.
The company wrote:
As a technology, Dolby Atmos can support hundreds of simultaneous objects. That being said, we fall back on sage advice from developers of some of the first Atmos games: Objects are a fantastic tool, but restraint should be shown with respect to the number of objects active at any time. Too many objects in motion can create a confusing soundscape.
Developers have also told us that avoiding the horizontal ‘bed’ for an all-object mix is an unnecessarily time-consuming and labor-intensive effort. So far, developers are creating next-generation mixes by blending bed audio and object audio. More is good, but more may not necessarily be ‘better.’
Despite this, Dolby expressed its excitement about the Tempest engine, noting that it is a “crucial milestone” for game developers.
“We are thrilled that Sony is dedicated to using 3D audio in its new console,” Dolby continued. “Audio teams will rejoice that they have a powerful 3D audio platform to deliver their craft on PS5. We are excited to hear that Sony has committed to an evolution of its audio by establishing a bona-fide 3D audio platform for PS5.”
You can check out the FAQs at the link below.
