Music streaming on Apple Music in 5.1 (Dolby Audio)

[sjcorne]

Looks like 360 Reality Audio is apparently a matrixed system. Imagine talking discreet quad master reels and encoding them to SQ files, and streaming that!

It's not a matrix system, it can play back in both discrete and binaural like Apple's Dolby Atmos - the problem is that the MPEG-H decoder needed to convert the 360 files into discrete multichannel PCM is currently exclusive to a handful of Sony products (such as their HT-A9 wireless speaker system). That may change in the coming months/years.

 

[fredblue]

however.. after a bit of "fiddling about" (thank you, Uncle Ernie ) it seems i can only stream Dolby Atmos content in 2-channel to the 4K Apple TV via AirPlay2 from the Tidal and Amazon Music Unlimited Apps on the iPhone.

ooh its a real melon-scratcher this!

 

[fredblue]

Maybe we should not talk about this one, it may have not been fully cleared... and it could be pulled down all of a sudden. Last time we got excited it went poof!

i wouldn't worry about all that, even if its pulled now the 360 RA files have all been backed up for a rainy 360 day you can be sure of it

fwiw all the files can be downloaded anytime from within the Tidal App, which is totally legit btw. Amazon Unlimited also allow this (and they have some 360 RA titles that Tidal don't, so that's handy!) and hopefully one day i can procure a 360 RA system (it may have to be a Sony AVR.. yikes... not had one of those since 1994 ) but that should enable playback in real-time in all its glory

we're at a tantalising stage right now, the Quads are all there on Tidal etc., in the (for want of a better expression) 'encoded' 360 Reality Audio format.. but Apple are steadily adding many of these same Quads and 5.1 mixes in discrete Dolby Audio form to Apple Music.. we just have to be patient..

as Liza would say;

"iiiiiiiiiiiii believe in musiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic,
iiiiiiiiiiiii believe in love..."



next year baby, just you wait and see

 

[fredblue]

Looks like 360 Reality Audio is apparently a matrixed system. Imagine talking discreet quad master reels and encoding them to SQ files, and streaming that!

not quite.. the Quads are encoded and only playable in 2-channel on most gear at present.. but not in a matrix-encoded fashion like SQ or QS at all.

think of 360 RA to QS/SQ more in terms of what Flac is to Wav.

with 360 RA, unlike SQ & QS, you don't lose anything.

its a way to literally squeeze the genie (i.e. discrete 4-channel or 5.1 content) into the bottle and you can get the genie back out again, unscathed, in discrete 4 or 5.1-channel sound!

i have no idea what magic the genie's using, it is quite amazing but it works!

it is arguably a bit unnecessary (like a lot of what Sony does?) maybe they should ditch it and just go straight to Dolby Audio or Dolby Atmos.. ah i dunno.. back to bed!

 

[Bob Romano]

https://music.apple.com/us/album/every-time-you-touch-me-i-get-high/1216936505

 

[quicksrt]

i wouldn't worry about all that, even if its pulled now the 360 RA files have all been backed up for a rainy 360 day you can be sure of it

fwiw all the files can be downloaded anytime from within the Tidal App, which is totally legit btw. Amazon Unlimited also allow this (and they have some 360 RA titles that Tidal don't, so that's handy!) and hopefully one day i can procure a 360 RA system (it may have to be a Sony AVR.. yikes... not had one of those since 1994 ) but that should enable playback in real-time in all its glory

we're at a tantalising stage right now, the Quads are all there on Tidal etc., in the (for want of a better expression) 'encoded' 360 Reality Audio format.. but Apple are steadily adding many of these same Quads and 5.1 mixes in discrete Dolby Audio form to Apple Music.. we just have to be patient..

as Liza would say;

"iiiiiiiiiiiii believe in musiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic,
iiiiiiiiiiiii believe in love..."



next year baby, just you wait and see

Great to hear, and that if something goes away, it's never truly really gone.

 

[quicksrt]

ongoing working list...
Aerosmith : Get Your Wings & Rocks,
Dave Mason : It's Like You Never Left, Dave Mason, Split Coconut,
Paul Simon : Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin' Simon,
all the Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter & Rick Derringer Quads,
Jefferson Airplane : Volunteers
Ted Nugent : Free For All
Phoebe Snow : Second Childhood
Dan Fogelberg : Captured Angel

It is things like these that have me really excited. Rhymin' Simon would be a delight, as I think it's his best album as a solo artist. We are just so close too.

 

[HomerJAU]

It's not a matrix system, it can play back in both discrete and binaural like Apple's Dolby Atmos - the problem is that the MPEG-H decoder needed to convert the 360 files into discrete multichannel PCM is currently exclusive to a handful of Sony products (such as their HT-A9 wireless speaker system). That may change in the coming months/years.

MPEG-H is much like Atmos where it delivers a mix based on the users speaker configuration. For example, it can be created as 7.1.4 mix but play without loss of any music on a 5.1 system.

 

[Ephi82]

ongoing working list...
Aerosmith : Get Your Wings & Rocks,
Dave Mason : It's Like You Never Left, Dave Mason, Split Coconut,
Paul Simon : Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin' Simon,
all the Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter & Rick Derringer Quads,
Jefferson Airplane : Volunteers
Ted Nugent : Free For All
Phoebe Snow : Second Childhood
Dan Fogelberg : Captured Angel

It is things like these that have me really excited. Rhymin' Simon would be a delight, as I think it's his best album as a solo artist. We are just so close too.

Get Your Wings is available in Dolby audio 5.1? How do you find it on Apple Music. It shows as lossless, not Dolby audio

 

[ted_b]

Let me understand: FredBlue's extensive list of quads (thanks Fred), now in 360, are available on Apple (since that is the thread subject)? Or are these only Tidal (or are some Amazon)?? And isn't there a "surround stuff on Tidal but not Apple" thread too? I'm not trying to be the thread police here, I'm trying to understand the significance of that large list on this thread.

Maybe better asked: where do I go to hear the surround mix of Nilsson Schmilsson?

Thx

 

[fredblue]

Get Your Wings is available in Dolby audio 5.1? How do you find it on Apple Music. It shows as lossless, not Dolby audio

its only in 360 Reality Audio at the moment

 

[fredblue]

Let me understand: FredBlue's extensive list of quads (thanks Fred), now in 360, are available on Apple (since that is the thread subject)? Or are these only Tidal (or are some Amazon)?? And isn't there a "surround stuff on Tidal but not Apple" thread too? I'm not trying to be the thread police here, I'm trying to understand the significance of that large list on this thread.

Maybe better asked: where do I go to hear the surround mix of Nilsson Schmilsson?

Thx

its a partial list of Sony Quads in 360 Reality Audio on Tidal and Amazon Music Unlimited

 

[sjcorne]

I was just checking out Secret Treaties in Dolby Audio and it sounds like the quad mix has been tampered with - the rhythm guitar that kicks off "Harvester Of Eyes" used to appear only in the left rear speaker, yet now it's in both rear channels? The hard-panned stereo spread in the rears generally seems a lot narrower than the AF SACD. There's also a bit of drums/bass/lead vocal bleed from the fronts in the rears.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

It's not a matrix system, it can play back in both discrete and binaural like Apple's Dolby Atmos - the problem is that the MPEG-H decoder needed to convert the 360 files into discrete multichannel PCM is currently exclusive to a handful of Sony products (such as their HT-A9 wireless speaker system). That may change in the coming months/years.

Wondering if this Mc. can get the lead out , pricey though...

https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/home-theater-processors/MX123A
The MX123 is also fully compatible with all the leading home theater surround sound and object-based 3D audio formats such as Dolby® Atmos (including Dolby Atmos Height Virtualizer); DTS:X® Pro; Auro-3D®; Sony's 360 Reality Audio, an immersive audio experience utilizing Sony’s spatial sound technology; and MPEG-H Audio. MPEG-H Audio, primarily developed by Fraunhofer IIS, is an open ISO standard and the industry’s most advanced audio system for UHD-TV and streaming. It supports both immersive sound and the ability for users to adjust elements in the audio to their preferences. MPEG-H has been on the air since 2017 on all TV networks in South Korea under the ATSC 3.0 standard

 

[quicksrt]

I was just checking out Secret Treaties in Dolby Audio and it sounds like the quad mix has been tampered with - the rhythm guitar that kicks off "Harvester Of Eyes" used to appear only in the left rear speaker, yet now it's in both rear channels? The hard-panned stereo spread in the rears generally seems a lot narrower than the AF SACD. There's also a bit of drums/bass/lead vocal bleed from the fronts in the rears.

That's a bummer. Well, at least we have the AF SACD on that one. And Edgar's "Shock Treatment" is said to be wonderful except for one track with reversed F & R sets of chans.

But these errors are showing us that many of these have the potential to be screwy in some manner.

 

[quicksrt]

Get Your Wings is available in Dolby audio 5.1? How do you find it on Apple Music. It shows as lossless, not Dolby audio

All of those I listed are from Tidal / Amazon 360, and we are waiting for them to appear in quad on Apple. I thought it was clear that these were on the working list still.

Anyway, those are the ones I am most looking forward to appearing on Apple.

 

[quicksrt]

Maybe better asked: where do I go to hear the surround mix of Nilsson Schmilsson?

Thx

I know, that was a glaring omission from the Nilsson list of 360s. Just a matter of time I'd guess. I can hold on and wait for that one for now. Anything previously out on quad reel I can wait for. It's the Aerosmith, Winters, Santanas, Simons, Nugent, and that lovely P. Snow album (Q8, SQ only), that I am just head over heels about, and can't wait till Apple uploads them.

 

[Bob Romano]

https://music.apple.com/us/album/secret-treaties/186069324

 

[surroundophile]

i haven't found a way to break into the AirPods and get it on the AVR.. yet..

absolutely, its the S&G Quad and it sounds great.

the following are among the CBS Quads streaming in 360 Reality Audio right now;

Aerosmith : Get Your Wings & Rocks,
Dave Mason : It's Like You Never Left, Dave Mason, Split Coconut,
Paul Simon : Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin' Simon,
all the Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter & Rick Derringer Quads,
all 4 x Earth Wind & Fire Quads (+ Gratitude in 5.1),
BÖC : T&M, Secret Treaties,
Isley Brothers : 3+3, Live It Up, The Heat Is On (most of the album is on Amazon in 360, afaik the other tracks are in 360 on Tidal), Harvest For The World, Go For Your Guns,
Santana : Santana, Abraxas, III, Greatest Hits, Live With Buddy Miles, Love Devotion Surrender, Borboletta, Illuminations, Festival,
Blood Sweat & Tears : New City, Mirror Image, New Blood,
Harry Nilsson : Nilsson Schmilsson, Duit On Mon Dei, ***** Cats, Sandman,
Jose Feliciano : Feliciano, Compartments,
Mountain : Best Of,
Herbie Hancock : Secrets,
Billy Joel : Piano Man, Turnstiles,
Michael Martin Murphey : Swans Against The Sun,
John Denver : Poems, Prayers & Promises,
Miles Davis : ******* Brew, Live Evil,
Billy Paul : Live In Europe, War Of The Gods,
The Youngbloods,
Mike Nesmith : Loose Salute,
Lee Michaels : Nice Day For Something,
Tanya Tucker : Greatest Hits (prev unreleased),
Dolly Parton / Porter Wagoner : Various (incl unreleased),
Elvis : Aloha, MSG, Country, On Stage, That's The Way It Is, Live in Memphis, Today,
Jefferson Airplane : Volunteers,
Labelle : Nightbirds, Phoenix,
Jimmy Castor Bunch : Both Quads,
Ted Nugent : Free For All,
Johnnie Taylor : Ear'gasm,
MFSB : Love Is The Message, Philadelphia Freedom.
Jeff Beck : Rough & Ready, Blow By Blow, Wired,
Loggins & Messina : L&M, Full Sail,
Mac Davis : Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me,
Liza Minnelli : The Singer,
Janis Joplin : Pearl, Greatest Hits,
Johnny Mathis : Love Story, Me & Mrs Jones, I'm Coming Home,
Friends Of Distinction : Grazin', Love Can Make It Easier,
Buddy Rich : A Different Drummer
Redbone : Message From A Drum,
Phoebe Snow : Second Childhood,
Dan Fogelberg : Captured Angel,
West, Bruce & Laing : Why Dontcha

plus;
Airto, Deodato x 2, George Benson, Azteca, Mott The Hoople, Burton Cummings, Guess Who x 5, Hues Corporation x 2, Eddy Arnold, Ray Price, Argent, both Art Garfunkel Quads, RTF Musicmagic, Poco Crazy Eyes, Weather Report Mysterious Traveller, Tower Of Power Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now, The Main Ingredient, O'Jays x 3, Hugo Montenegro x 3, Charlie Rich x 4, Andy Williams Love Story, Percy Faith x 4, Ray Conniff x 5.

What?? Janis Joplin's greatest hits were never issued in Quad (nor 5.1 for that matter) !

 

[Cheezmo]

tvOS 15.2 has been released so everyone should feel free to update to eliminate that Dolby Audio/Atmos channel bug and free yourself from hanging on the skip back button.