Dolby’s plan for 2018 includes Atmos and Vision in more places
It’s no surprise that many companies are touting Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in products announced at CES. You’re making a safe bet if you assume that’s an annual occurrence. However, there’s always something unique about the devices that carry Dolby’s visual and audio tech, and this year is no different. Here’s a quick rundown of what was announced in Vegas and what Dolby has in store for 2018.
For the first time, Dolby Vision is available in a PC — thanks to Lenovo’s Thinkpad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga. Windows 10 already includes support for Dolby Atmos, so the new Thinkpad now completes the pair. Speaking of Atmos, a number of companies rolled out audio gear that featured the tech, including Sony. Sony typically announces new Atmos home theater gear at CES and this year one of those was the HT-Z9F soundbar.
During our time at the Dolby Showroom, we watched sports, movies and a TV show with Atmos simulated surround sound just from the soundbar. You definitely still get the same effect of spacial audio, but with only one speaker. What’s more, those devices that offer Dolby Atmos are now way more affordable. In fact, one of Sony’s new models will retail for $600. You used to have to spend $1,000 or more to get your hands on Atmos gear in the not-too-distant past.
Then there are the TVs. Dolby Vision has been available on pricey sets for a while, but it’s begun popping up on more affordable displays as well. New TVs from TCL and Hisense are a couple options that shouldn’t completely break the bank when they’re available later this year. The models we saw during our time with Dolby look quite impressive, even positioned close to an LG OLED TV.
Dolby also touted more supported content for 2018. From live sports to movies and streaming, expect the Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos stamp to appear more places you watch stuff. And while Atmos has already popped up on Xbox with a few supported titles (like Gears of War 4 and Assassin’s Creed), the company says that it expects most big-name games to be supported in 2018. It’s always good news when you’re moving through battle zones and the audio realistically reacts to your position.
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