Windows 10 and Xbox One to get support for DTS:X spatial sound

By Arif Bacchus Published January 30, 2019

windows 10 october update — Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the best ways to spice up the audio quality on your Windows 10 PC or Xbox One console is with Dolby Atmos, but you soon could have another option. Support for the DTS:X spatial sound standard is reportedly coming, promising for enhanced and immersive audio experiences when gaming or watching videos.

The news comes via a tweet from Steven Wilssens, a lead program manager at Microsoft. Responding to a positive comment made about Dolby Atmos, he explains that DTS:X spatial sound will be “coming to PC and Xbox in the coming weeks.” He also suggests that the audio standard will be available for Windows Insiders to beta test first, and then make its way over to Xbox. “After testing, the feature will then make its way to everyone else on retail builds,” Wilssens explains.

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Currently, there is a DTS:X Ultra app listed in the Microsoft Store. Though it promises to allow consumers to DTS:X Ultra audio effects, it can’t be downloaded, according to a report from Windows Latest. The presence suggests that an official release could be coming soon and that testing could have previously been done internally at Microsoft.

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A website dedicated to DTS:X details that the audio codec “places sound where it would occur naturally in space, creating the most lifelike, multi-dimensional audio experience ever.”

A subsequent tweet from Wilssens also adds that Microsoft will be improving on Dobly Atmos on Windows 10 and Xbox. “We have some great enhancements coming to Dolby Atmos on PC and Xbox One. Including enablement enhancements (PC & XB1), laptop speakers (PC), customization (PC & x XB1), and Dolby Atmos upmixing for legacy channel based content with home receivers (Xbox),” he explained.

Microsoft originally added support for Dolby Atmos in Windows 10 and Xbox One in 2017. The standard creates a more immersive audio experience, and you need Dolby Atmos-ready A/V receiver and speakers to make the most out of it, though headphones work as well.

It is not clear if Microsoft is planning to release support for DTS:X spatial sound as part of the incoming April 2019 update. You can, instead, expect Microsoft’s Windows and Xbox Insiders to test out and report bugs on the new support for DTS:X spatial sound before it sees a rollout to everyone else.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…

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