Jordan O'BrienIt is already the world’s cheapest 4K Blu-ray player, but now the Xbox One S is set to add 3D surround sound support to its list of features. Microsoft revealed the news at an event in New York City, confirming that both bitstreaming and Dolby Atmos will be supported for TV shows and movies, as well as games played on the console. CE Pro Europe can reveal that DTS:X and Auro-3D will also be supported.
Countless AV receivers have launched onto the market supporting all three formats, meaning it’s entirely possible to create one device that supports them all. To support all three formats, Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, manufacturers only need to support bitstreaming – which is exactly what Microsoft just announced as part of an upcoming update. In a statement to CE Pro Europe, Microsoft confirmed that not only will 3D surround sound formats be supported, but the update will bring support for all Blu-ray bitstream formats.
Added support for Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X will likely please Xbox One S users the most – after all they can also take advantage of 4K Blu-ray discs and HDR. The Xbox One launch model will also be getting support for the formats.
Both Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 already support bitstreaming, so have been capable of playing Auro-3D, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X content for a while. The big difference between the Xbox One S and the PlayStation 4 Pro consoles however, is the fact that Sony has chosen to omit support for 4K Blu-rays, whereas Microsoft’s console is able to boast the fact that it is the world’s cheapest 4K Blu-ray player.
There are already a number of games available supporting Dolby Atmos – including Overwatch and Star Wars: Battlefront. Not a single game supports DTS:X or Auro-3D. Despite games supporting the 3D surround format, it’s not necessarily always a good thing. While CE Pro Europe has consistently been impressed with the format, some of those playing Overwatch have criticised the format for making the in-game audio sound ‘muddy and boomy’ – other players have reported a better experience with Dolby Atmos however.