What They Say
Protocol Entertainment has revealed that Google has developed alternatives for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision in a project it is calling ‘Project Caviar’. The formats are intended to be open and royalty-free like the codecs that the firm has worked on over a long time. Protocol said that Dolby charges $2 to $3 per unit to set makers for Dolby Vision, although the fee for Dolby Atmos is not clear. The HDR format would be based on HDR10+.
According to Protocol, Dolby does not charge streamers such as Netflix to use the formats.
The report also said that a number of firms are trying to develop a new audio format called Immersive Audio Container within the Alliance for Open Media.
What We Think
Hmmm… The world already has HDR10+ for HDR with dynamic metadata – which is broadly what Dolby Vision does, so it’s not clear to me why there is an advantage in introducing another format. Dolby is also said to help set makers to tune their sets to get optimal results when using Dolby Vision. I guess that HDR10+ is seen as ‘Samsung’s format’ – perhaps just moving into an organisation that is seen as vendor neutral may help adoption.
I don’t follow audio in great detail, but Atmos has got a lot of momentum, although free is always an attractive choice. I added two speakers to get closer to the full ‘Atmos’ experience when I upgraded my TV & receiver a couple of years ago, but I’m not sure, despite being quite picky about audio, that I have ever noticed the difference! (and I know my wife would not have been very happy with speakers in the ceiling!) (BR)
