Dolby Atmos: Determined At All Costs (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

You NEED to watch the beginning jungle fight and end assault/forest scenes again in Atmos. Trust me on this.

Yes. Blind buy 2049. Very different movie and best synth bass in a film ever. Incredible in Atmos

 

[John Sparks]

Just bought 2 Polk V60s in-ceiling speakers for $100 each at Amazon, everywhere else had 'em for $200 each. Best Buy was out in California, I guess everyone was probably price matching.

Now, to get a new or reconditioned 9.2 AV receiver to up my setup to 7.1.2 so I can start enjoying Atmos!

 

[John Sparks]

Just received two Polk V60 speakers and it looks like I'll go for the Denon 4300H (reconditioned) at ASSESSORIESFOR LESS.COM for about $900. Maybe the guy that will be reprogramming my remote can get me a better price and that includes shipping and TAX!!!!

 

[Ronald Epstein]

John,

Best of luck with your setup. Looking forward to you reporting the results once done.

 

[John Sparks]

Thanks Ron, I can't wait until it's up and running.

John

 

[TonyD]

John have you considered the 3400?

I was looking at the 4300 too until I was given some info on its specs.

“I like Denon's AVR-X4300H and the price is very good. It's a 2016 model and does not have the full 18Gbps HDMI bandwidth so it's not a great receiver for the future of UHD/HDR and the ARC does not work well.”

 

[John Dirk]

We all know why I had to finally do this. Not because I wanted to, but due to the utter frustration that Dolby Atmos has become a premium product.

This is a real "F-You" across the board from all consumers who bought into Dolby Atmos thinking it would be available for them on all releases.

I think this will all work itself out soon enough. Dolby Atmos [and DTS:X] are truly revolutionary additions, unlike some of the other things we've seen over the years. I can't imagine many titles being mastered without one of these formats a couple of years from now. Of course, by then they'll be trying to sell us the "next thing"

 

[DaveF]

I write this post with a bad taste in my mouth, but I suppose, some sense of satisfaction.

...
We all know why I had to finally do this. Not because I wanted to, but due to the utter frustration that Dolby Atmos has become a premium product.

This is a real "F-You" across the board from all consumers who bought into Dolby Atmos thinking it would be available for them on all releases.

Amen

Because of this I'm reconsidering my decision to not buy UHD discs until I've got a UHD-capable system, which is a year or two away. Combined with some unexpected HTPC developments that I'll explore in the coming weeks, I might start buying some UHD releases if only for their Atmos soundtracks.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave,

I tried to contact the folks at Dolby to express our dismay at what is happening, but I suppose they aren't too happy with my opinion on this matter. I had hoped they would be an advocate for the studios, but perhaps Dolby is part of the problem themselves. Don't know. They remain silent.

I tried. I don't think they care about our opinions here, even though I did direct them to this thread.

What I will say is this....

You should always buy new releases in 4k UHD. First, you are future-proofing that purchase in case you ever decide to upgrade. Second, you are getting the Atmos track that has become a "premium only" product. Finally, you also get a Blu-ray.

I won't buy catalog titles in 4k right now because I am pretty sure I won't be upgrading anytime soon due to projector prices being out of control and no set standards in place when it comes to the enhanced formats.

 

[DaveF]

Dave,

I tried to contact the folks at Dolby to express our dismay at what is happening, but I suppose they aren't too happy with my opinion on this matter. I had hoped they would be an advocate for the studios, but perhaps Dolby is part of the problem themselves. Don't know. They remain silent.

I tried. I don't think they care about our opinions here, even though I did direct them to this thread.

I don't know how Dolby Atmos being on *fewer* discs bought helps Dolby's licensing revenue. Maybe they plan to make it up in volume?

Dave,
You should always buy new releases in 4k UHD. First, you are future-proofing that purchase in case you ever decide to upgrade. Second, you are getting the Atmos track that has become a "premium only" product. Finally, you also get a Blu-ray.

I won't buy catalog titles in 4k right now because I am pretty sure I won't be upgrading anytime soon due to projector prices being out of control and no set standards in place when it comes to the enhanced formats.

I believe "Futureproofing" is often a canard regarding consumer technology. Moreso with movies given how they drop in price in a year or two or with holiday sales. I can't justify paying the UHD price premium on everything if I'm not watching it in UHD for perhaps years from now.

But for Atmos-specific UHD, I'm now considering it more seriously.

That's me. Everyone collects differently. My wife wants me to stop buying so many discs and use more streaming rentals from Amazon or Netflix.

 

[Edwin-S]

Already watched WAR on 7.1 before the new player. Not going to revisit it.

I would buy Bladerunner 2049, but really did not like the original. Worth a blind purchase?


Addition: Again, an Oppo is an Oppo. Don't want to get sucked into xBox and have gaming temptations there.

Could you remind me, again, of what you didn't like about "Blade Runner"? If pacing was one of the issues then I really wouldn't recommend a blind buy of the sequel. It would be better to watch it on a stream or regular broadcast first.

 

[Rachael B]

It doesn't bother me all that much that the majority of videodiscs coming out don't have Atmos or DTS-X. My Integra processor is good at turning 5.1 or 7.1 into 11 channel. Everything seems likes it's coming up Atmos.

 

[John Dirk]

Dave,


What I will say is this....

You should always buy new releases in 4k UHD. First, you are future-proofing that purchase in case you ever decide to upgrade. Second, you are getting the Atmos track that has become a "premium only" product. Finally, you also get a Blu-ray.

Ron. I would respectfully disagree. New releases will eventually become old releases and that's when I would suggest buying them if the offerings aren't attractive when they are first available. For those who need the latest title at the earliest release date then maybe so. In my case, it's always "new to me" when I buy it. I already have a fairly large collection of catalog titles I need to be spending more time with anyway. The premium releases of today will eventually end up in bargain bins. I'll be waiting.

 

[John Dirk]

It doesn't bother me all that much that the majority of videodiscs coming out don't have Atmos or DTS-X. My Integra processor is good at turning 5.1 or 7.1 into 11 channel. Everything seems likes it's coming up Atmos.

It does bother me, but not extensively, because I know truly great titles will eventually be remastered in Object -Based formats and we'll also come to a point when it will be considered sacrilege to not present a major release that way. Object-Based audio is a paradigm shift, not just another one of the "new feature announcements" we've seen before as the formats evolved.

Patience is the key.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron. I would respectfully disagree. New releases will eventually become old releases and that's when I would suggest buying them if the offerings aren't attractive when they are first available. For those who need the latest title at the earliest release date then maybe so. In my case, it's always "new to me" when I buy it. I already have a fairly large collection of catalog titles I need to be spending more time with anyway. The premium releases of today will eventually end up in bargain bins. I'll be waiting.

John, I agree.

I didn't word my answer correctly.

You don't have to buy new releases day one. What I was trying to say is that if you are looking to buy a new title it is always worth going for the 4k version as long as a Blu-ray is included. I do agree that it's better to wait for the title to reach its lowest price point if one is not in a hurry to view it.

 

[John Sparks]

John have you considered the 3400?

I was looking at the 4300 too until I was given some info on its specs.

“I like Denon's AVR-X4300H and the price is very good. It's a 2016 model and does not have the full 18Gbps HDMI bandwidth so it's not a great receiver for the future of UHD/HDR and the ARC does not work well.”

You know Tony, I was only going to use it for the Atmos (7.1.2) and leave the main cable thru the Sammy K8500. That's what I'm doing right now with the Onkyo 608.

I need a 9.2 player, so you're saying the 3400 is 9.2 and does Atmos?

 

[TonyD]

It only goes to 7

 

[Sam Posten]

The only Denons capable of 7.1.4 are the 6000 and 8000 series. Not sure on 7.1.2

 

[sidburyjr]

What I will say is this....

You should always buy new releases in 4k UHD. First, you are future-proofing that purchase in case you ever decide to upgrade. Second, you are getting the Atmos track that has become a "premium only" product. Finally, you also get a Blu-ray.

*I* will buy my new releases in 3D (if they were made in 3D) rather than 4K. But then I love 3D.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

*I* will buy my new releases in 3D (if they were made in 3D) rather than 4K. But then I love 3D.

That goes without saying