To improve the overall watching experience, Netflix is finally bringing spatial audio support to its catalog of original films and series.
But what is spatial audio? In layman’s terms, spatial audio is designed to give an immersive, theater-like surround sound experience. Think of it like having speakers all over you when watching videos or listening to music.
In order to deliver spatial audio to any 2-channel stereo speakers without the need of home theater equipment, Netflix licensed the Sennheiser AMBEO technology to provide three-dimensional positional audio and surround sound experience.
If you don’t have surround sound speakers, the streaming service will automatically enable spatial audio. Otherwise, watching using Dolby Atmos or 5.1 surround sound is recommended if you already have the hardware for it.
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How to find movies and TV shows with Netflix spatial audio support
Not all titles support spatial audio, but it’s very easy to find which ones have it. All you have to do is click on the search icon and type “Spatial Audio.” Alternatively, you may click on this link.
As of writing, the list includes “The Witcher,” “Red Notice,” “Interceptor,” “Stranger Things,” and 17 other titles.
To verify that a movie or TV show has Netflix spatial audio, find if they have the following surround sound icons below.
Here’s how it looks like on Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad.
How to enable Netflix spatial audio on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
Not all Apple devices can enjoy the new surround sound experience on Netflix. Check out if your device supports it below:
Requirements
- iPhone 7 or newer with at least iOS 15.1
- iPad Air 3rd gen, iPad Pro 3rd gen, iPad mini 5th gen or newer with at least iPadOS 15.1
- Apple TV 4K or newer with tvOS 15 or above
- AirPods Max
- AirPods 3rd gen
- AirPods Pro
- Beats Fit Pro
To make it work, simply turn on the spatial audio setting on the Apple device and make sure that the Netflix streaming quality is set to High or Auto.