Streaming service Netflix is joining forces with Sennheiser to add spatial audio to its series.
Binging series on the couch via your home cinema set and enjoying your Dolby digital surround sound via at least five speakers. Of course we all do. Not so. Streaming service Netflix is increasingly being watched on smartphones, tablets and laptops. In bed, on the train, on a plane or just on an old-fashioned TV with stereo sound, or worse, with the television’s built-in speakers.
Collaboration Netflix and Sennheiser
That is a waste of the mixing of the expensive series, at least according to both Netflix and Sennheiser. So they come up with a solution: Sennheiser AMBEO 2-Channel Spatial Audio†
The name says it all. The sound technology ensures that you experience surround sound via ordinary stereo equipment such as headphones. The good thing is, it works everywhere. You don’t have to switch on or turn on anything, just watch and experience.
Improvement experience
During development, Sennheiser has worked closely with the industry and Netflix in particular. The system is now available for licensing and Netflix is the first to actually implement it on some titles. Scott Kramer, Sound Engineering Manager at Netflix, believes AMBEO Spatial Audio is a significant improvement for Netflix users.
Re-recording mixers often tell me that the system can better translate their detailed immersive mixing to stereo. Crucially, this process preserves the original sound mix and respects creative intentions, resulting in a remarkably clean sound.
So you don’t need any special equipment to still have a spatial audio experience. With good noise-canceling headphones, you can imagine yourself on the plane or train in the cinema.
Stranger Things and The Witcher
Netflix has now added the spatial audio to the series The Witcher† Stranger Things 4 and the movie Red Notice† The intention is to provide even more series with this new technology in the future.