Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

Dolby Atmos FlexConnect could eliminate home theater soundbars and HDMI cables

Simon Cohen
By
A diagram showing how Dolby Atmos FlexConnect combines wireless speakers with a TV's sound system.
Dolby Labs

Dolby Labs has a new home theater technology called Dolby Atmos FlexConnect. The company says it will let people with a compatible TV place wireless speakers anywhere that’s convenient, and the TV’s built-in microphones will automatically calibrate them to work with the TV’s speakers while ensuring the whole setup produces optimal sound. The technology will make its debut in the 2024 TCL X955 QD mini-LED 4K TV, but Dolby anticipates that other companies will also announce support for Dolby Atmos FlexConnect.

Because Dolby Atmos FlexConnect works wirelessly and uses a compatible TV’s built-in hardware and software, you’ll be able to set up a Dolby Atmos audio system that doesn’t require a soundbar or AV receiver as its central unit and doesn’t need an HDMI cable to send an audio signal to an external device.

Recommended Videos

Dolby’s tech is separate from a TV’s operating system — so we could see Dolby Atmos FlexConnect on TVs from any number of TV makers whether they use Google TV, Roku, or any other smart TV software, but it does require that the TV use the latest Dolby multi-stream decoder.

Related

Unlike Sonos, or technology platforms like DTS Play-Fi or WiSA, which rely on a combination of compatible software and hardware linked to each other using Wi-Fi, Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is connection and hardware-agnostic. Dolby is leaving decisions around the types of speakers and the wireless technology to the TV manufacturer, so if TCL (for instance) could figure out a way to link multiple wireless speakers using Bluetooth, that would be just as compatible with Dolby Atmos FlexConnect as Wi-Fi, or a proprietary wireless system.

There’s no hard limit to the number of wireless speakers or channels that Dolby Atmos FlexConnect can support, but it’s likely that TV makers will each have their own specific limitations based on the processing capabilities of their internal hardware. In theory, you could use a wireless speaker as the center channel, or simply rely on your TV’s speakers to shoulder that task.

I asked Dolby Labs if we can expect to see wireless speakers and/or subwoofers that promise Dolby Atmos FlexConnect compatibility, but apparently, that’s not really a thing. It will be up to each TV maker to decide which wireless speakers it wants to support and, presumably, some companies will choose to only support the wireless speakers that they make.

Dolby highlighted the following four benefits of Dolby Atmos FlexConnect:

  • The ability to add accessory wireless speakers to Dolby Atmos-enabled TV to elevate a system’s audio performance
  • The flexibility to place speakers anywhere, and make the best use of room dimensions, power outlet locations, and furniture arrangements as desired without compromising audio quality
  • Fast and simple setup, with no additional equipment or cables. Dolby acoustic mapping locates each wireless speaker in the room and calibrates the system automatically to ensure optimal audio performance
  • Audio is intelligently spread from the TV speakers to each wireless speaker, dynamically optimizing the sound signal based on the capabilities and location of all available speakers

Many Dolby Atmos soundbars from companies like Sony, LG, Samsung, Sennheiser, Bose, and Sonos have microphone-based calibration systems that perform a similar task to Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, but they’re generally much more strict about the number of speakers that can be used. Some, like Sony (Bravia Acoustic Center Sync), LG (Wow Orchestra), and Samsung (Q Symphony), can integrate with a TV’s built-in speakers, but it only works with select TV models from the same company. Some of Samsung’s soundbars can also connect wirelessly to the company’s TVs.

More details about TCL’s implementation of Dolby Atmos FlexConnect will be available when the company broadcasts its 2023 global flagship product launch at 2 p.m. CEST (8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT) on August 29 on YouTube.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
McIntosh’s new $8,000 AVR: gigantic power, with a Dolby Atmos catch
The McIntosh MHT300 Home Theater Receiver.

New York-based prestige audio brand McIntosh this week launched the MHT300, an $8,000, 7.2-channel home theater receiver that boasts a monstrous 120 watts to 150 watts per channel of power. That's right: up to 1,050 total watts. But what's impressive about this is that all that legendary McIntosh power is distributed to all seven channels, making for some serious movie-watching sound from all directions. Well, kinda.

The McIntosh MHT300 Home Theater Receiver will let you hear "every explosion, car chase, and high-speed fighter jet flyby," according to a press release, at 120 watts per channel into 8-Ohm speakers or 150 watts per channel with 4-Ohm speakers, with all seven channels driven.

Read more
JBL reveals its new flagship soundbar at CES 2023: 15 channels and 1170W of Dolby Atmos power
JBL Bar 1300X Dolby Atmos Soundbar.

JBL has taken the wraps off its most powerful Dolby Atmos soundbar to date at CES 2023. The Bar 1300X follows the same design principles as the company's previous top-of-the-line Bar series soundbars, including the line's signature detachable, fully wireless surround speaker modules, and a wireless subwoofer. But the Bar 1300X brings even more sound and power to your TV room, with an 11.1.4-channel configuration and a massive 1,170 watts of total power. It will be available on February 19, 2023, for $1,700.

The JBL Bar 1300X boasts both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatibility, but what sets it apart from JBL's other Atmos/DTS:X soundbars is its six dedicated up-firing drivers, which will presumably do a better job of delivering the height channel effects that these 3D surround sound formats are known for. It also has the largest wireless subwoofer in the Bar range, with a 12-inch driver.

Read more
Platin Audio’s wireless home theater speaker system now handles Dolby Atmos
Platin Audio Monaco 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos WiSA system.

When it comes to getting a true Dolby Atmos home theater sound experience, your choices are pretty simple. You either buy an A/V receiver and hook it up to a bunch of wired speakers, or you go the soundbar route. But now there's a third choice, with Platin Audio's new Monaco 5.1.2 wireless home speaker system, which can be pre-ordered starting September 13 for $1,499, with deliveries beginning in mid-October.

The Monaco 5.1.2 includes two front speakers, two surround speakers, a center channel, and a subwoofer, all of which communicate via the WiSA system for wireless audio. This means that each speaker is independently powered and can be placed anywhere within the same room. The speakers get their signal wirelessly from the included WiSA Sound Send module, which can transmit eight channels of lossless audio at up to 24-bit/96kHz, with incredibly low latency, so audio sync problems shouldn't arise.

Read more