Image: Sony
Sony has announced a new beta firmware update for the PlayStation 5 console, and one of the new features is Dolby Atmos support. The PS5 can now deliver audio in Dolby Atmos format to compatible devices. Previously, this feature was limited to Blu-ray playback and only through bitstream output. The new beta enables software encoding of Atmos audio for games, too.
When playing games that use the PS5 Tempest 3D AudioTech, the console will encode the audio in Dolby Atmos if needed so you can enjoy it on your Atmos-enabled speakers, soundbar, or television. This also includes support for height channels, which is done by the console itself so games don’t have to be updated for Atmos and can keep using the Tempest 3D AudioTech as usual.
This is a significant change from a few years ago before the launch of the PS5 when Sony’s Mark Cerny claimed that the company’s audio tech was superior to Atmos and Dolby responded with a blog post. Looks like that's a thing of the past now.