Netflix is looking for an added edge in the streaming wars between other companies. Photo / Getty
Netflix is looking for an added edge in the streaming wars between other companies. Photo / Getty
The streaming wars are heating up and Netflix is spending big to stay ahead of the pack.
The company says it will spend $7.8 billion (NZ$8.640 billion) on developing original content this financial year and a further $1.3 billion ($1.440 billion NZD) on the tech side of things, reports news.com.au.
Part of that is a recently announced partnership with Dolby Laboratories to produce flagship content capable of being played in the company's stellar high-dynamic range video format, Dolby Vision, as well as being mixed in Dolby Atmos, a multidimensional surround-sound technique that is object-based, rather than channel-based.
Essentially, it's about as good as TV can look and sound.
Dolby's twin technologies are revolutionising the home theatre experience and the streaming giant believes adding the immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound format to its repertoire gives it a serious edge against rivals.
Netflix also hopes the partnership with Dolby will help it attract big-name directors and writers to the platform by promising new tools to enhance creative storytelling.
As competition increases in the streaming video-on-demand market, services are rolling out 4K, high-dynamic range (HDR) video support but Netflix is the first service to partner with Dolby, which has been a player in Hollywood for decades.
The first Netflix movie to receive the treatment was Okja and the streaming giant said it will provide Dolby support for all of its flagship content going forward if creators are keen.
Dolby technologies are revolutionising the home theatre experience. Photo / Getty
The company spruiked its partnership with Dolby this week in Singapore where it placed two TVs side-by-side to compare the same scenes in 4K Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) and 4K HDR in Dolby Vision.
As you might expect, the sharpness and vibrancy of colour achieved by the latter was hugely noticeable.
Dolby markets itself as a "science-driven company" and conducts extensive testing on the physiological response of viewers to various stimuli.
"We've got labs where we monitor things like brain waves, skin reaction and heart rate," a Dolby spokesperson said.
Mathias Bendull, vice president of Multiscreen Audio Services at Dolby told news.com.au: "We like to see how the body responds to specific impulses, whether they're visual or acoustic and then we translate that as far as we can into concepts [for an enhanced viewing experience].
"And then we start engaging with industry like the movie studios to see what makes sense for them."
Surround-sound has been around in movie theatres and homes entertainment systems for ages, but Atmos - first introduced to the cinema in 2012 - gives filmmakers increased flexibility in creative choices.
Dolby Atmos treats sound elements as virtual objects that can be placed anywhere in the theatre or, given the right equipment, your lounge room.
"All of a sudden, dialogue becomes an object, music becomes an object that can be moved around the room," Richard Smith, senior product manager at Netflix told news.com.au.
For instance, the sound of lightning and rain could be played from different speakers around the room, giving you the sense you're sitting in the middle of a thunderstorm.
For Steve Lightfoot, the writer and executive producer of Netflix's forthcoming Marvel spin-off The Punisher, the Dolby partnership has opened up new doors for story telling.
"They became tools that you could say to the editors and the guys you're working with, 'hey, can I make the audience] feel this here?'" he said. "And more often than not, the answer was yes."
In the past, traditional picture rendering would take a one-size fits all approach but Dolby Vision uses what it calls dynamic metadata which provides "a shot-by-shot way to tune the picture for the best display", Mr Smith said.
You will need a TV, audio equipment and Netflix platform that supports Dolby - which in the past hasn't been easy to find - but as more TVs and devices become compactable Dolby Vision, it means users can get top notch picture quality without breaking the bank.
"It really enables great picture on TVs that cost a lot less money than the really amazing flagship TVs," Mr Smith said.
