Netflix Introduces Additional Spatial Audio, Downloads for Premium Plan Subscribers
You don’t always get what you pay for in life, but Netflix is attempting to ensure that its highest-paying customers get worthwhile features in return. The world’s largest streamer has announced that it will offer subscribers to its Premium Plan more shows and movies with spatial audio, as well as the ability to download content on more devices.
Spatial audio provides users with a theater-like, surround-sound, immersive listening experience by using directional audio filters. It is intended for built-in stereo speakers on any device receiving a stereo stream. It also provides a more immersive experience on headphones. Spatial audio is primarily optimized for laptops and tablets, but it’s also noticeable on TVs (up close) and phones with stereo speakers (usually when in landscape mode).
Netflix has added spatial audio to its top 700 titles for Premium subscribers. To find shows and movies with spatial audio enabled, simply type “spatial audio” into the Netflix search bar. The service will be adding more titles with this enhanced sound soon, including the new season of “You,” “Your Place or Mine,” “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” and “Tour de France.”
If you do not have surround-sound speakers, spatial audio will automatically be enabled when you begin streaming a compatible title in stereo audio. However, if you do have a surround-sound set-up, watching TV shows and movies in 5.1 surround sound or Dolby Atmos is recommended.
Netflix does warn that some TVs use the 5.1 audio output setting by default, which will automatically disable the streamer’s spatial audio option. So, if your equipment does not have surround sound speakers, the service recommends changing your device’s settings to stereo audio in order to hear the immersive spatial audio.
Another new feature now available to Netflix Premium users is the ability to download content onto more devices. Premium customers can now download shows and movies for offline viewing on up to six devices. Previously, users on Netflix’s highest-priced tier were limited to four devices capable of supporting downloads at the same time.
Netflix first began testing its spatial audio feature in January of 2021. In June 2022, it rolled out the feature to all users on a few select titles, including “Stranger Things” and “The Witcher.”
These new additions mean that customers of Netflix’s Premium tier will be able to watch over 700 shows and movies with the highest quality sound and picture available. Netflix Premium is the only price plan that the service offers that allows viewers to watch shows and movies in ultra-high-definition 4K. Combine that with the spatial audio that Netflix is offering on over 700 titles, and you’ve got a viewing experience that will be hard to beat.
Netflix
Netflix is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 3,000+ movies, 2,000+ TV Shows, and Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Crown, Tiger King, and Bridgerton. They are constantly adding new shows and movies. Some of their Academy Award-winning exclusives include Roma, Marriage Story, Mank, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.