Netflix has added support for spatial audio on a number of its original shows and movies.
Stranger Things, The Witcher, The Adam Project, the Fear Street trilogy, and Castlevania are among the small selection of Netlfix projects that now have spatial audio. The upcoming Resident Evil show will also support it.
Spatial audio, sometimes known as 3D audio, helps increase immersion by creating a ‘sphere’ of sound, enabling noises and effects to be heard from more precise locations, rather than simply just left or right stereo channels. Importantly, this is still provided through a stereo speaker set up, so your regular TV, soundbar, or headphones should work just fine with this new audio system.
Netflix has teamed up with Sennheiser to provide spatial audio on streamed movies and shows, so the streaming giant is definitely working with a company renowned in the world of sound.
“Netflix spatial audio helps to translate the cinematic experience of immersive audio to any stereo, so the work creators do to bring you into the story happens no matter what device you use to watch Netflix,” the streamer said in an update post.
To find all of Netflix’s supported spatial audio content, simply type ‘spatial audio’ into Netflix’s search bar to see a list of all of the movies and shows that have been upgraded.
Netflix said that spatial audio will roll out “starting” now, and so it seems like we can expect more shows and movies to be upgraded in the future.
Elsewhere, 3D audio in gaming has become a big part of making next-gen games feel more immersive, and was a selling point for the PS5.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.