The Sony PlayStation 5 is all set to release in the coming holiday season. Sony recently dropped details regarding the specifications of the new PS5 console. While we learned the hardware side, the Playstation 5 will not be using Dolby Atmos.
Lead System Architect of the PS4 Mark Cerny made a statement pointing out Dolby Atmos and its capabilities in the PS5 presentation. As Cerny glorified the PS5’s Tempest Audio Engine, it mentioned Dolby Atmos having a small count of 32 objects. Upon hearing this, Dolby Atmos corrected Mark Cerny on their object count capabilities. The company added that Dolby Atmos can manage hundreds of objects instead of 32.
Dolby Atmos issued the following statement.
“It is not correct that Dolby Atmos handles 32 objects maximum. As a technology, Dolby Atmos can support hundreds of objects simultaneously. Having said that, we refer to some advice from game developers who have already created content with Atmos support: objects are fantastic tools, but you should use them sparingly as regards their number in activity within the same scene. Too many moving objects can create a confusing sound environment. “
This may not be a jab from Sony towards Microsoft but a mere confusion in the information that was handed to Cerny. The number 32 could also indicate the number of speaker count support. It is true however that Dolby Atmos is capable of supporting hundreds of audio objects.
So this indicates to a safe speculation that both the PS5 Tempest Audio Engine and Dolby Atmos may be similar. After Dolby Atmos corrected Mark, the company did highlight PS5’s Tempest Audio indicating no bad blood between the two companies.
The company pointed out that it is intriguing and exciting because it represents the importance of the sound aspect which Dolby has worked on for years. Dolby further added that PS5 Tempest Audio will give audio developers sufficient space needed to express themselves better.
Dolby Atmos was previously supported on Xbox One in several video game. You can find all the games supporting Dolby Atmos on Xbox One here. We will Dolby Armos work in more advanced ways in the Xbox Series X which will release at the end of 2020.
