lorin schultz
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Dolby Atmos isn't on the Apple TV 4K yet, but it is a must for home theater fans
Atmos will not allow a soundbar or other simple setup to magically emulate a multi-speaker theatre array. For Atmos to provide any benefit, the playback system, including speakers, has to be configured to take advantage of it.
The benefit of Atmos is that it changes the way the filmmaker describes where sounds are supposed to be located in physical space. Instead of assigning a specific sound to a particular channel, the mix engineer simply assigns a location for each sound. Atmos then automatically scales to the system on which it's being played. If you have a stereo playback system you'll still get stereo, even with Atmos.
On a typical 5.1 speaker system, Atmos won't sound a lot different than the "traditional" 5.1 surround mix. Where it begins to shine is in setups with additional speakers for side fill, overhead and front elevation. These systems provide Atmos the flexibility to steer sounds into additional physical placements, including height. That can be a definite benefit, but only if you have speakers in places that take advantage of it.
Unless you have more speakers around your room than a standard 5.1 setup, don't expect Atmos to revolutionize your listening experience.
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Testing the speed of iOS 11 versus iOS 12 on the iPhone 6 and iPad Mini 2
I agree that it doesn't seem to improve things much, at least at this point, but it's nice to know it won't make things worse. I heard a lot of complaining about slowdowns after updating to 11. If nothing else, perhaps iOS12 will calm the fear of upgrades.tylersdad said:
[...] It's nice to see Apple focusing on improving performance, but this will likely do little for those of us who don't buy the latest and greatest.
I wonder if this is a result of predictive text using a network connection to access its brain? It's annoying as hell, and often results in the phone missing characters I've typed.MisterKit said:[...] pull up the simple built in Notes app running all by itself and the keyboard chokes as you type.
Speaking of that, a wish for a future review: Test the time it takes between pressing an on-screen input and something actually happening.
My biggest complaint about my iPhone 6 with iOS11 is lag and response. I often have to press a button two or three times before it does anything. Sometimes it seems to just not register a touch, other times it just takes so long to DO anything that I think it missed the input. This is ironic given how one of the most common arguments in support of iPhones used to be "no lag." I'd be interested in knowing if iOS12 improves that. (I'm assuming that other people with older devices have similar issues and that it's not unique to me.)
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Video: Changes to the MacBook Pro we want Apple to make
Actually, I'll concede the dumbing down of Quicktime player as a point of disappointment for me. Moving to a "modern replacement" isn't as easy as just a trip to the app store in this case. Quicktime 7 does some useful things that are either not readily available elsewhere or require using tools that are much more involved and complicated. I can't think of another app off the top of my head that will do a quick trim without re-encoding, while also providing an easy way to add additional or alternative audio tracks, chapter markers, and captioning. I use it al the time for stuff like that. I could use Final Cut and Compressor to do those things, but doing so is comparatively slow, cumbersome, expensive, and adds an additional degradation layer.fastasleep said:[...] QuickTime Player 7 was last updated like 9 years ago. Yes, it had some handy features, and maybe Apple will update the current QuickTime Player to include some of those functions at some point. Maybe they already have or will in Mojave (or the subsequent release) but I haven't seen anyone check for sure. Maybe not.
Either way, if you rely on these ancient tools for some reason, run an older macOS in a virtual machine so you can access 32bit apps. Problem solved. I'd personally just find a suitable modern replacement though.
I suppose you're right that Apple may add similar features elsewhere, but I haven't heard or read anything that gives me reason to expect they will. In fact, hearing the words "deprecate Quicktime framework" in the Keynote leads me to believe it's unlikely.
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macOS Mojave brings Dark Mode, enhanced privacy, HomeKit, and more to the Mac
You're misinterpreting what's happening.paxman said:IOS apps on OSX. I have to say I love it. It certainly reduces the chance that I will be buying an iPad pro by about 99%.
You will NOT be able to just install an iOS app on your Mac.
Tools will be made available to developers of iOS apps that will make it easier for them to also create a macOS version.
The only way you will be able to run a particular iOS app on your Mac is if the developer decides to create a macOS version of it. Apple is just making it easier for developers to do that.
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Apple HomePod coming to Canada, France & Germany on June 18, gets AirPlay 2 & stereo pairi...
Except that it only satisfies one of the two critical criteria for a multi-channel experience. It may provide more than one audio channel, but they all radiate from the same point in space with no physical separation.zroger73 said:
Mono- = 1lorin schultz said:
The definition of stereo includes more than two discrete channels, it also specifies a spatial relationship between sources and listener. Having multiple channels emanating from the same point in space does not satisfy the definition.ericthehalfbee said:Lots of misconceptions about what the definition of stereo is.
Put simply, stereo sound is an attempt to create localization using two or more speakers. The reason we have two ears isn't so we can listen to "stereo" sound coming from left & right channels. We have two ears so that our brain can determine where a sound came from (localization). Is it to our left or right, in front of us or behind us, or even above or below us. Our brain is very good at taking sound arriving at both our ears, and based on slight differences in level and phase (time) it can determine where in 3D space the sound came from.
Early attempts at this involved using a pair of microphones (to simulate our ears) to record a live performance (like an orchestra). Then these two tracks were played back through a pair of stereo speakers with the intent of trying to recreate the original performance. There have been many other methods to try and recreate a soundstage for a listener (some involve processing to try and "trick" our ears while the most common method people are used to is a 5.1 or 7.1 sound system). Whatever the method, the end goal is the same - to try and create a 3D soundstage that approximates the original.
The HomePod also tries to create a wider soundstage. I haven't been able to try one yet, so I don't know how it works, but reviews say it's pretty good at this. By definition, it's impossible for the HomePod to be mono, since you can't create a soundstage with a mono speaker. You need multiple sources in order to do this, which would qualify the HomePod as a stereo speaker. The people claiming it isn't stereo are those stuck with the limited definition that "stereo" means left & right channels with left & right speakers.
The HomePod is not mono, but neither is it stereo. Having multiple channels emanating from a single point in space defeats the comparative arrival time and level differences our ear/brain uses to distinguish origin. Bouncing the signal off of walls to crate an artificial sense of space is novel, but inherently flawed. Remember that our finely-tuned ear/brain processing distinguishes between direct and reflected sound to determine distance and environment. A broadly-spread reverberant field is not the same as distinct spaced sources.
Stereo- = 2
Poly- = more than one
I would describe the HomePod's tweeter array as "polyphonic".
