Frustrated Streaming Movies no longer in Atmos

[Beershaun]

I am increasingly getting frustrated that some streaming services are removing Atmos audio from movies and TV shows that previously had Atmos. They are downgrading them to 5.1 surround. Back to the 1990's! Anyone else experiencing this?

I can't seem to find a good answer as to what is going on.

Atmos is clearly the superior format for any multi-channel setup if for no other reason than it will adapt to however many speakers an individual has in their setup allowing them to take full advantage of their home theater.
My personal issue, I paid Amazon for Top Gun Maverick which at the time supported Atmos. It is now downgraded to 5.1. Grrrr. When I called Amazon customer service they had no reasonable explanation for me.

I invested a large amount of money into my 7.2.4 Atmos setup and now can't even get the benefits in many cases. Most of those sound bars people are buying are dolby Atmos capable. So i don't think it's a case of "no installed base."

Examples are:
Top Gun Maverick on Amazon prime and now Paramount+.
Dune on Max.
Amazon Prime Tomorrow War.
Matrix revolution on Max.

Netflix and Disney+ seem to be the only services that reliably provide Atmos.
For example: Dune is now on Netflix and Atmos is available and works great.

Amazon Prime seems to be the most inconsistent.
Paramount+ forces you to upgrade to their top tier for Atmos support. Sorry, your app is way too unstable for me to spend more.money Paramount.

 

[voodooless]

Both the HBO movies from your list show with Atmos support in the app. I don't think "Top Gun Maverick" on Netflix is in Atmos either.

 

[DVDdoug]

"Streaming is like a box co chocolates. You never know what you're going to get."

...Someone else is in control of what programs are available and in what format.

I just bought a DVD recently because it's become "politically incorrect" and I fear that it may become unavailable or it may become a rare, expensive, collector's item.

 

[Johnp]

All of those movies are playing in Atmos except for Top Gun Maverick on Prime. Paramount + and Max only provide Atmos with their top tiers now. Tomorrow War is Atmos, and I don't think there are tiers for quality on Prime.

 

[AdrianusG]

"Streaming is like a box co chocolates. You never know what you're going to get."

...Someone else is in control of what programs are available and in what format.

I just bought a DVD recently because it's become "politically incorrect" and I fear that it may become unavailable or it may become a rare, expensive, collector's item.

Ah yes, "politically incorrect" a nice description for Censorship.

 

[Beershaun]

Both the HBO movies from your list show with Atmos support in the app. I don't think "Top Gun Maverick" on Netflix is in Atmos either.

Have you tried playing them to see if they actually play in Atmos? When I tried to play Matrix revolution this weekend it said Atmos on the splash page but didn't actually play in Atmos. And Dune works on Netflix in Atmos but not on Max when I tried to play it on Max.

 

[Beershaun]

All of those movies are playing in Atmos except for Top Gun Maverick on Prime. Paramount + and Max only provide Atmos with their top tiers now. Tomorrow War is Atmos, and I don't think there are tiers for quality on Prime.

So we get dolby vision on the 4k tier but not Atmos. Buy why though? And why did Atmos get pulled from Maverick on Prime? This is the frustration. Chasing these moving targets.

 

[Johnp]

Atmos is now a premium feature, only available with Max Ultimate and Paramount + Showtime. If not on those tiers, no Atmos. I dont watch much Prime but was under the impression they only had Atmos for their originals.

 

[Soundmixer]

So we get dolby vision on the 4k tier but not Atmos. Buy why though? And why did Atmos get pulled from Maverick on Prime? This is the frustration. Chasing these moving targets.

Both DV and Atmos require licensing fees for their usage on streaming platforms. To cut costs (which they are doing big time now), you have to pick which you want to use, and which to ditch. The studios have decided that what we see (DV) is more important than what we hear (Atmos), because most viewers of streaming content use soundbars for listening to the audio, ditching Atmos is the logical choice to save cash.

 

[Beershaun]

Both DV and Atmos require licensing fees for their usage on streaming platforms. To cut costs (which they are doing big time now), you have to pick which you want to use, and which to ditch. The studios have decided that what we see (DV) is more important than what we hear (Atmos), because most viewers of streaming content use soundbars for listening to the audio, ditching Atmos is the logical choice to save cash.

Yep. It's a cost cutting play. It's frustrating because most of those new soundbars support Atmos. And there is a huge installed base now. And it's impossible for the average person to try and figure out what is actually going on. I watched Pacific rim last night on Netflix (which I pay for the top tier of 4k hdr+Atmos)and it was in HD/5.1. it's such a huge step backwards.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I am increasingly getting frustrated that some streaming services are removing Atmos audio from movies and TV shows that previously had Atmos. They are downgrading them to 5.1 surround. Back to the 1990's! Anyone else experiencing this?

I can't seem to find a good answer as to what is going on.

Atmos is clearly the superior format for any multi-channel setup if for no other reason than it will adapt to however many speakers an individual has in their setup allowing them to take full advantage of their home theater.
My personal issue, I paid Amazon for Top Gun Maverick which at the time supported Atmos. It is now downgraded to 5.1. Grrrr. When I called Amazon customer service they had no reasonable explanation for me.

I invested a large amount of money into my 7.2.4 Atmos setup and now can't even get the benefits in many cases. Most of those sound bars people are buying are dolby Atmos capable. So i don't think it's a case of "no installed base."

Examples are:
Top Gun Maverick on Amazon prime and now Paramount+.
Dune on Max.
Amazon Prime Tomorrow War.
Matrix revolution on Max.

Netflix and Disney+ seem to be the only services that reliably provide Atmos.
For example: Dune is now on Netflix and Atmos is available and works great.

Amazon Prime seems to be the most inconsistent.
Paramount+ forces you to upgrade to their top tier for Atmos support. Sorry, your app is way too unstable for me to spend more.money Paramount.

Amazon Prime has removed Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision for those buying the standard service which has ads. If the upgraded "no-ads" service is purchased, then, when available, the movie will be streamed in Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. It's $3 more a month.

Amazon Cuts Another Free Prime Video Perk: Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision

Dolby Vision is a proprietary HDR format for richer visuals while Atmos focuses on surround sound. To get them on Prime Video, you'll now need to fork over another $2.99 per month.

www.pcmag.com

 

[wunderkind]

Buy the damn Blu-Ray 4K disc for Maverick. It's worth every cent.
I'd say the same for some top end high quality AV movies.

 

[Gjacobsn]

9n

Buy the damn Blu-Ray 4K disc for Maverick. It's worth every cent.
I'd say the same for some top end high quality AV movies.

The atmos on the streaming services is a compressed dolby digital Atmos version not the dolby true HD Atmos version found on disc. Maverick certainly deserves the disc. Do an experiment for yourself and AB a streamer and the disc of one of your favorite atmos movies on disc and a streamer. If you've got a decent system which I would postulate most on this forum do the difference will be easily apparent.

The only way outside of streaming or ripping uhd discs to a server to get a digital library is Kaleidescape. However they are increasingly leaving atmos out too I suspect for the licensing cost someone pointed out above. Which is super annoying to me as you pay a ton for the gear and more for the movies. Bottom line is there in no perfect system, but disc has the best quality. However release dates are delayed and you have to keep them around or rip them to a server which is painful.

 

[Beershaun]

9n

The atmos on the streaming services is a compressed dolby digital Atmos version not the dolby true HD Atmos version found on disc. Maverick certainly deserves the disc. Do an experiment for yourself and AB a streamer and the disc of one of your favorite atmos movies on disc and a streamer. If you've got a decent system which I would postulate most on this forum do the difference will be easily apparent.

The only way outside of streaming or ripping uhd discs to a server to get a digital library is Kaleidescape. However they are increasingly leaving atmos out too I suspect for the licensing cost someone pointed out above. Which is super annoying to me as you pay a ton for the gear and more for the movies. Bottom line is there in no perfect system, but disc has the best quality. However release dates are delayed and you have to keep them around or rip them to a server which is painful.

Yep I understand the benefits of discs and agree with you. At this point I'm not ready to invest the additional money into a new player and a library of discs. My family wouldn't go through the extra steps vs streaming. Part of my goals in building the system is creating something that just works easily for the family to create the best experience possible. It's more about the streaming services completely confusing and jerking around customers.

 

[Gjacobsn]

Yep I understand the benefits of discs and agree with you. At this point I'm not ready to invest the additional money into a new player and a library of discs. My family wouldn't go through the extra steps vs streaming. Part of my goals in building the system is creating something that just works easily for the family to create the best experience possible. It's more about the streaming services completely confusing and jerking around customers.

Totally agree with you on all accounts! Wanting to have it all, I bought a used kaleidescape box on the cheap (not really all things considering, but less than the insane prices they charge) from ebay thinking it would have all the atmos, uncompressed and in the digital release window so the fam could watch early. Your post resonated with me though as I've been raging on the kscape forums as they are seeming to drop atmos as of late. I'm sure it has to do with the cost of licensing...

 

[Beershaun]

Totally agree with you on all accounts! Wanting to have it all, I bought a used kaleidescape box on the cheap (not really all things considering, but less than the insane prices they charge) from ebay thinking it would have all the atmos, uncompressed and in the digital release window so the fam could watch early. Your post resonated with me though as I've been raging on the kscape forums as they are seeming to drop atmos as of late. I'm sure it has to do with the cost of licensing...

Ugh! And that's a premium paid product. I'm thinking Dolby will have to rethink their business model if even the most premium services are pulling their latest and greatest format. It's a demonstrably better format for both creating content And listening to it. All these services and providers better start figuring it out.

 

[jhaider]

The atmos on the streaming services is a compressed dolby digital Atmos version not the dolby true HD Atmos version found on disc.

So what who cares.

Maverick certainly deserves the disc.

Why? It’s just another of those typical watch-once-and-forget blockbusters. (Yes, I’ve seen it. And saw no reason to do so again.)

Do an experiment for yourself and AB a streamer and the disc of one of your favorite atmos movies on disc and a streamer. If you've got a decent system which I would postulate most on this forum do the difference will be easily apparent.

If it doesn’t on music only (e.g. Abbey Road, Automatic for the People) the chances of that happening on video are vanishingly small.

Note these arguments are all tangential to the OPs point, which is basically that we’re now seemingly in an era of streaming shrinkflation, with Atmos being cut or segregated to “premium” tiers. That sucks. I hope Dolby has people working on fixing it.

PS very odd to leave out AppleTV+ as one that continues to offer Atmos.

 

[wunderkind]

With streaming, you are partaking in a subscription model and will be under the management of the service provider. I am sure it's stipulated in the EULA but you are too busy entering your CC nbr to care. Unlike disc, record, cassette etc. you no longer own them. It's nothing new, see software model.
IIRC some car manufacturers (ie Tesla) are doing the same as well. Many features are subscription based and cannot be transferred to the next owner. That's how to keep the $$$ rolling in.

You just have to be OK with the changes by service provider.

 

[restorer-john]

At this rate, you'll be watching it at 640x480, 8 bit colour with mono audio and ads before long.

Shrinkflation!

 

[valerianf]

"You just have to be OK with the changes by service provider."
I am not!
Also I will buy DVD/BR discs when possible.
For personal reasons I agree to pay extra money to get Netflix in 4k DV.
My wife is paying Disney+
But regarding Amazon video, I do not watch any more any of their videos.
And if I am buying a movie on a streaming service, I will try to avoid Amazon as retaliation.
We can choose where we are spending our $.