LG has announced that it has become the first brand in the world to offer support on its TVs for Apple’s Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos format.
This new feature won’t only be available on LG’s most recent TVs, either; it’s being rolled out via firmware update to any LG TVs running the webOS 4.0 smart platform or higher, which means it will be available for LG OLED models released as far back as 2018, and QNED LCD TV models from the Q90T series and above.
In fact, the Apple Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature will even be available on LG’s recently released StanbyME, StanbyME Go and MyView Smart Monitor lifestyle screens.
The update bringing Apple Spatial Audio With Dolby Atmos support to LG TVs is scheduled to roll out this week – meaning that it may well already have arrived on your compatible LG TV if you have one, even if you haven’t yet noticed it’s there.
Apple Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos is a feature of Apple Music designed to make your listening experience much more immersive and expansive. The Spatial Audio component creates a multi-dimensional effect that improves clarity and depth, and makes you feel like you’re at the heart of the ‘space’ of the sound by introducing effects like making the sound more prominent in your right ear if you turn your head to the left relative to the position of the TV.
Dolby Atmos creates a three-dimensional sound scape into which sound effects are placed, rather than effects just sounding as if they’re coming from the location of your speakers. While Apple’s system enables Spatial Audio to work on sources that aren’t mastered in Dolby Atmos, the two can work together to take your immersion in a Dolby Atmos 3D sound space to an even greater level. Note that songs and albums available in Dolby Atmos through Apple Music carry a label to that effect.
The Apple Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature will enable LG TVs to automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks in the surround format using their built in speaker systems. In addition, even owners of LG Smart TVs that don’t themselves support Dolby Atmos playback will be able to enjoy Apple’s Dolby Atmos tracks if the TV is paired with a compatible Dolby Atmos soundbar. Or compatible LG smart TVs can provide a portal to a Dolby Atmos experience by directly connecting to Apple AirPods or other Apple devices by Bluetooth.
If you have a recent LG TV that’s capable of joining forces with compatible LG soundbars, you can enjoy the Apple Spatial Audio With Dolby Atmos effect shared across the speakers of both audio devices for a more immersive effect.
The new spatial audio/Dolby Atmos support even includes a loudness normalization algorithm, so that you don’t have to worry about sudden jumps in volume when switching to Dolby Atmos tracks.
To celebrate its new hook up with Apple Music, LG is offering three months of Apple Music subscription free to LG Smart TV users across the world. Anyone who wants to take advantage of this offer just needs to access it via the Apple Music app on compatible LG Smart TVs.
There’s no indication at this point as to how long Apple Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support might be exclusive to LG TVs, but it certainly feels like quite a coup for the South Korean brand – and provides a timely reminder of the reach and popularity of its long-running webOS smart platform.
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