Best value
12 months1 connection
€49.99
€4.17 / month
Dolby Atmos, explained properly
Atmos is the audio half of a premium picture. This page tells you what it changes, where you will actually hear it on Prima 4K, and the one setting most people have wrong.
What Dolby Atmos is
Classic surround sound sends fixed channels to fixed speakers: 5.1 means five speakers and a subwoofer. Dolby Atmos treats sounds as objects with a position in space, including above you, and the sound system places each one on whatever speakers it has. A helicopter passes overhead instead of sliding from the left speaker to the right one.
On streaming and IPTV, Atmos travels inside a Dolby Digital Plus track, the same format Netflix and Disney+ use. It is efficient: an Atmos track adds well under 1 Mbps to a stream, so it costs you nothing in bandwidth next to the 4K picture.
Where you will hear it
Atmos is a property of the programme, not of the subscription. We pass through whatever the broadcaster or studio provides: a growing set of cinema channels and on-demand films and series are mastered in Atmos, and a small number of premium sport productions carry it for the big fixtures. Most live television is still stereo or 5.1.
The line-up changes as broadcasters upgrade. Ask on WhatsApp for the current list of Atmos channels and titles before you decide on that basis.
What you need
Four things, in order. If one is missing you still get sound, just not Atmos.
A sound system that decodes Atmos
An Atmos soundbar, an AV receiver with Atmos, or a TV that advertises built-in Atmos. Two-channel TV speakers cannot do it, whatever the menu says.
A player that passes the track through
Fire TV Stick 4K and 4K Max, Apple TV 4K, Google TV and Android TV boxes, and recent LG, Samsung and Sony sets all pass Dolby Digital Plus with Atmos. The standard Fire TV Stick and older MAG boxes do not.
HDMI ARC or eARC to the sound system
If the player plugs into the TV, the TV must hand the audio on through HDMI ARC or eARC. Plain ARC is enough for streamed Atmos; eARC only matters for Blu-ray formats. Optical cables cannot carry it.
Audio output set to passthrough, not PCM
This is the setting most people have wrong. In the player's audio settings choose Auto, Bitstream or Passthrough. PCM makes the player decode to plain stereo before the sound system ever sees the track.
If your setup is not Atmos
Nothing to configure. An Atmos track carries a full 5.1 mix inside it, and a stereo mix inside that. A 5.1 system plays the 5.1 layer, TV speakers play stereo, headphones on a phone get stereo or the phone's own spatial effect. You lose the height and the precision, not the sound.
Why Atmos may not light up
The soundbar shows PCM
The player is decoding before passing the audio on. Set its output to Auto, Bitstream or Passthrough and restart the app.
It shows Dolby Digital, not Atmos
Everything is wired correctly and this programme simply has no Atmos track. Try a title that is known to carry one.
The TV is in the middle
Check the TV's own audio menu: the digital output must be set to Passthrough or Auto too, and the sound system must be connected to the HDMI port marked ARC or eARC.
On a phone or tablet
Recent iPhones and iPads render Atmos as spatial audio on AirPods; most Android phones play stereo. It is a good effect but it is not the same as a room with height speakers.
Hear it on your own system first
A free trial account lets you check Atmos on your soundbar or receiver before paying. The 12-month plan is the best value if it convinces you.
Free trial (opens WhatsApp in a new tab)