AppleInsider Staff
If you're the type to use an iPad as a television, you can pencil in a subwoofer for your next summer blockbuster viewing party as Apple has extended its ecosystem support for Dolby Digital Plus to iOS 9.3.
Dolby Digital Plus is the venerable sound firm's answer for cinematic audio in the mobile generation. It allows for up to eight surround audio channels — front left and right, center, subwoofer, and four rear channels.
Apple had already brought Dolby Digital Plus support to the Mac and the fourth-generation Apple TV, leaving iOS in the cold until now.
To take advantage of the new features, you'll need a Lightning-equipped iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch and a Lightning Digital AV adapter. The Digital AV adapter provides HDMI output at up to 1080p, and carries a passthrough Lightning port for simultaneous charging.
Of course, you'll also need a 7.1-capable home theater receiver and a living room large enough to fit 8 speakers. Dolby recommends several brands including Onkyo, which has several models — like the Onkyo TX-NR545 — which also natively support AirPlay.
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
9 Comments
It's about time! Been waiting years for this.
Now I know what all those speakers on the new iPad are good for... ;)
It great to see that there will be improvements to the sound under iOS but I am not sure about the example given. Surely if you watch TV or films on an iPad it is all about being portable. Attaching to a surround system amp and 8 speakers does not sound very portable to me. If you want 8 speakers then you are probably going to watch on a big screen TV.
If Apple started selling 5.1 surround-sound content on iTunes for in-car surround-capable entertainment systems, then that would make an iPhone or iPad an important link in the chain. These days, there is plenty of well-mixed surround music to be had on DVD-Audio and Blu-ray. I'm not a fan of using expensive Blu-ray surround-sound music discs in a car, so having the option to buy and download a Dolby Digital version from iTunes onto my iPhone would be fine by me—and especially so if it was at a reduced cost for Blu-ray disc owners. (There could be some sort of iTunes money-off voucher included with a Blu-ray music disc.)