PlayStation 5 To Support Atmos Output on Games

[PurpleMoustache]

…kinda
https://blog.playstation.com/2023/0...ancements/?_thumbnail_id=382868&sf268137366=1Today Sony announced they’re rolling out a new beta update to PS5 users, usually these betas are semi-open with codes to download it floating around after a few days, with a full release 1-2 months later.

The PS5 has an extra CPU just for audio, deemed the “Tempest Engine”. The Tempest Engine powers object based 3D audio, much like Atmos, but has been limited to headphone use only since the release of the PS5. They made a comment about how they’d be working on bringing it to other devices but otherwise have been radio silent for 2 years.

Until now. Based on the wording in the blog, this will not be a true Atmos signal, like the Xbox Series S/X can do, but instead porting the data stream from Tempest to Atmos in real time. Looks like EU/UK codes are floating around, but no US ones at this time.

Sony has also mentioned that media apps (Netflix, etc) can update to support Atmos, meaning there’s a possibility that the PS5 version of Apple Music might get Atmos support!

 

[jlladuke]

I got a beta code, just updated the console to Beta 3.0, updated the Apple Music app, and can confirm that I'm able to pass Atmos!! AND, Sony seems to have figured out how to properly deploy Atmos! 1) there doesn't seem to be a 10db audio reduction like there has been on every other device I've used to stream Atmos music via Apple or Tidal. 2) The 1st few seconds is NOT getting cut off when starting playback. These issues have existed on every other platform since Day 1 of streaming Atmos; thank you, Sony for figuring this out!!

 

[PurpleMoustache]

I too got a beta code and spent yesterday poking at it.

I couldn’t get Apple Music to play Atmos through the PS5… perhaps I’m missing something but I also do note that in the lil fine print at the bottom of the PlayStation Blog Post they do mention that Media Apps using Atmos is “not supported in beta” so… there’s that.

When it works, it’s wonderful. Returnal, a game marketed as the showpiece for the Tempest tech, is marvelous, with thunderstorms, bird monsters, and all sorts of atmospherics hovering above you.

Tetris Effect, one of my favorite games claims to support full Tempest, and I heard a bit of height action trying out the “Ambient: Wind” quick play feature (no fail, special music, designed to zone out and chill).

Fortnite initially didn’t work, and then I realized that the PS5 was set to audio device “TV Device (HDMI)”, instead of “AV Receiver”, which people claim gives the best results, I flipped to that and did notice action in the heights. Not a lot… but some.

I’m wondering if games will need an update to fully support speaker based output. What I do know is that Atmos output is limited to games that fully utilize the Tempest system with its own object based metadata. And that is a small list. There’s this helpful chart on video game forum ResetEra, any game with the golden “3D” badge in this list *should* support Atmos out of the box:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ps...rate-backwards-compatibility-and-more.324880/
And that’s also not every game. Jett: The Far Shores is an indie game that marketed itself on “3D Audio on PS5” on launch and is missing from that list. Annoyingly, much like Apple Music, there’s no real good way to find/sort all games that support it

 

[jlladuke]

I too got a beta code and spent yesterday poking at it.

I couldn’t get Apple Music to play Atmos through the PS5… perhaps I’m missing something but I also do note that in the lil fine print at the bottom of the PlayStation Blog Post they do mention that Media Apps using Atmos is “not supported in beta” so… there’s that.

When it works, it’s wonderful. Returnal, a game marketed as the showpiece for the Tempest tech, is marvelous, with thunderstorms, bird monsters, and all sorts of atmospherics hovering above you.

Tetris Effect, one of my favorite games claims to support full Tempest, and I heard a bit of height action trying out the “Ambient: Wind” quick play feature (no fail, special music, designed to zone out and chill).

Fortnite initially didn’t work, and then I realized that the PS5 was set to audio device “TV Device (HDMI)”, instead of “AV Receiver”, which people claim gives the best results, I flipped to that and did notice action in the heights. Not a lot… but some.

I’m wondering if games will need an update to fully support speaker based output. What I do know is that Atmos output is limited to games that fully utilize the Tempest system with its own object based metadata. And that is a small list. There’s this helpful chart on video game forum ResetEra, any game with the golden “3D” badge in this list *should* support Atmos out of the box:
https://www.resetera.com/threads/ps...rate-backwards-compatibility-and-more.324880/
And that’s also not every game. Jett: The Far Shores is an indie game that marketed itself on “3D Audio on PS5” on launch and is missing from that list. Annoyingly, much like Apple Music, there’s no real good way to find/sort all games that support it

Down at the bottom of the screen where you changed the home theater settings, there's another setting that needs to be changed called something like 'preferred audio format '. Youll have to select Dolby Atmos from that drop down menu.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

Down at the bottom of the screen where you changed the home theater settings, there's another setting that needs to be changed called something like 'preferred audio format '. Youll have to select Dolby Atmos from that drop down menu.

I have that selected but Atmos tracks through Apple Music are coming through as stereo. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Heights are definitely working in Returnal and AstroBot’s Playroom, however.

 

[jlladuke]

I have that selected but Atmos tracks through Apple Music are coming through as stereo. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Heights are definitely working in Returnal and AstroBot’s Playroom, however.

That's interesting; are you sure you're playing Atmos tracks in Apple Music? One thing I did nothice about the PS5 app is that it doesn't label the Atmos/ Lossless/ Normal tracks at all; fortunately, I've been using an AppleTV to stream Atmos tracks up until now, and have them saved in my library for easy reference on the PS5. If you're still having issues, you may try deleting/ reinstalling the Apple Music app.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

That's interesting; are you sure you're playing Atmos tracks in Apple Music? One thing I did nothice about the PS5 app is that it doesn't label the Atmos/ Lossless/ Normal tracks at all; fortunately, I've been using an AppleTV to stream Atmos tracks up until now, and have them saved in my library for easy reference on the PS5. If you're still having issues, you may try deleting/ reinstalling the Apple Music app.

I went to tracks in my library that I knew were Atmos, like this one:

On my Apple TV it’s obviously in Atmos, with sounds in rears and heights, on the PS5 it’s just stereo… putting my ears to the rears confirms there’s no sound.

I’ll give deleting and re-downloading a try…

 

[popshop]

I just get stereo from the apple music app via ps5. Any tricks to get atmos?
I've tried all the settings in sound.
Blurays work in atmos, but not the apple music app.

 

[ProgRules]

I just get stereo from the apple music app via ps5. Any tricks to get atmos?
I've tried all the settings in sound.
Blurays work in atmos, but not the apple music app.

Same here. The only way to get Atmos from Apple music is to get an AppleTV- unless you have certain Samsung or LG TVs, which have the Apple Music App. I can't get it on my Sony OLED. Funny thing is the display on my AVR says 5.1 when I use the PS5 app, but it is definitely only stereo.