Dolby Atmos may technically be a competitor to PlayStation 5’s proprietary 3D audio technology, but it still seems excited for the Tempest Engine, which was detailed by lead architect Mark Cerny last week. As part of an FAQ on its website, the organisation said that Sony’s announcement is a “crucial moment” which “can only be interpreted as a validation of the work we have done across all entertainment genres”.
Still, while it was largely complimentary of the Japanese giant’s efforts, it did have a bone to pick with the PlayStation maker. During his presentation, Cerny insinuated that Dolby Atmos could only simulate sound for 32 objects in 3D space where the PS5’s Tempest Engine can handle hundreds. Dolby Atmos countered that its solution can also accommodate hundreds of sounds, but it concluded that while “more is good [it’s] not necessarily better”.
It said: “We fall back on sage advice from developers of some of the first Dolby Atmos games: objects are a fantastic tool, but restraint should be shown with respect to the number of objects active at any time. Too many objects in motion can create a confusing soundscape.”
Despite the slightly barbed disagreement on utilisation, Dolby Atmos was generally very optimistic about Sony’s efforts. “We are excited to hear that Sony has committed to an evolution of its audio by establishing a bona-fide 3D audio platform for the PS5,” it concluded. “Tempest is not only a great name, but a great reference to one of our favourite arcade classics, as well.”
[source developer.dolby.com]
Comments 20
I am excited that Sony is returning to the days of dedicated sound processing, I am just bummed that virtualization is the focus.
Don't get me wrong, I use virtualized 3D sound with Dolby Atmos for Headphones on Xbox One and Windows 10 quite often (for applicable games), but it still doesn't compare to my full-blown sound system.
I'm more excited for tempest since it can be used on any hardware, can't wait to try it on my home system and headphone
I am excited by this. I don't do it as much as I'd like to but gaming with headphones is much more immersive so it's cool to see them improving this
Will it have 3D audio! The intro
that the question!
I'm excited to play Cyberpunk 2077 on my £15 headphones.
Yes please. I always use my Turtle Beach headphones so I've become an audio snob. I can't wait to have 3D audio that likes real life. It's gonna be crazy. I imagine more is better if your engine is good enough to make them clear and distinct. It's supposed to work with stereo, imagine what 7.1 will sound like then.
@GamingFan4Lyf
My problem with headphones is 3d works well for sounds coming from the sides or behind but not so good for sounds coming ahead of you.
I think you mean Dolby (company), not the audio codec (Atmos) lol
I'do prefer a better soundcard for the PS5, with plenty of low latency codecs and a higher resolution music decoding. If great games are not in the immediate horizon, at least we could dabble in audiophile territory with plenty of music Apps to choose from.
Now to find out what headphones are coming for PS5. I hope they launch new headphones at the same time as PS5.
Any news on this new technology supporting height speakers like Atmos or DTS:X? Otherwise it's just 2D sound actually…
@markkoo a sound card just a chip on a board with audio ports
What PS5 is a GPU chip as powerful as Ps4 to power audio n 3D ADUIO
Ok, but why not have Dolby atmos also built in for most who have a TV capable of outputing Atmos, or who have a soundbar, etc? Like I guess cost cutting is a factor, but for movies this seems kinda pointless since it appears purely game focused. I'd also wish games would run Dolby vision as well as Atmos and not HDR 10 that's just lagging behind with static metadata opposed to dynamic HDR optimised on a frame by frame or scene by scene basis. It's a little disappointing all round tbh but there could at least be a push for first party titles to adopt this and make a push.
@JohnKarnes Omg so very much this. This gen has been garbage for headset connectivity. Last gen both systems had decent offerings even single ear wireless! 360 one was awesome! PS3 just used open BT and that was great! This gen? Ugh!
The tempest engine and the dedicated audio chip in the PS5 are going to be ground breaking. Xbox SX may have more raw horsepower but they will have to use some of that for audio and their I/O pipeline isn't nearly as fast so Microsoft may not actually have a hardware lead.
@Chryssy75 the Tempest engine is supposed to solve that, as well as sounds coming from behind, above, and below you!
@Zachary_98 @Zachary_98 yea I'm sorry but Sony is doing what others have already brought to the masses and leaving out support for the stuff many have already invested in. For what? Open access? At the end of the day does open access really help when everyone has equipment designed for the long time leader in 3d audio tech?
Im much happier with Microsofts approach and the fact that we ALREADY have 3d positional audio today in both xbox one and windows 10.
It's great tech, that also happens to work great for not only my headphones which are not Dolby atmos branded, but also my very nice 7.1.4 home theater which IS Dolby ATMOS branded (along with many other technologies like dts:x)
Sony is basically trying to reinvent the wheel here and at the same time saying all you guys with wheel already yea you can't run them with our stuff.
@GamingFan4Lyf well atleast with Microsoft and Dolby you have the OPTION to use Dolby Atmos for Headphones OR Dolby Atmos for Home Theater. You can also do that in windows or Xbox TODAY.
This is Sony trying to save a buck and reinvent the wheel (and act like it's the first wheel as well)
@Cybrshrk
Not necessarily, upon closer inspection this is an evolution and advancement on their existing, albeit failed, attempt at "4D audio" as they called it which was supported by like one game: uncharted 4. It was very cool, but didn't really take off or have the market push it should have to do it justice. Regardless, PS4 still has positional sound, namely their own ps4 gold and platinum headsets that have their own app and EQ profiles. It's a cool gimmick, but this time round I think in addition to dedicated processing, this is a bigger push and appeal to devs to adopt this, since the floodgates have already been opened to raytracing processing cores, so why not kill two birds with one stone, much like how 4k is synonymous with UHD HRD, etc. Also, I stand corrected, PS4 supports Atmos, just not Dolby vision, though neither does the xbox with physical media. Maybe they're trying to keep costs low and offer a similar experience without those in the atmos ecosystem. Anyways, I think no matter what Sony do they're still going to be a guaranteed dominating market leader with consoles.
@Zachary_98 PS4 doesn't support Atmos that I have ever seen.
Yes, it can Bitstream Atmos tracks from the rare standard Blu-ray that has an Atmos track (Batman v Superman, Secret Life of Pets, Star Trek Beyond), but applications like Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon, Vudu, etc that have Atmos capabilities on Xbox One do not allow the Atmos to be used.
@Cybrshrk I agree on having the option. It would be nice if Sony allowed developers the option to use Atmos since it is something that a lot of streaming apps support now. DTS:X would just as nice. I don't agree that Sony is trying to save a buck (at this moment). I guess we will have to wait and see.
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