Dolby Atmos is a next-gen surround and 3D sound format designed to put you right at the heart of the action for the Cinema. As well as sound coming at you from left, right, and center, It also delivers overhead sounds, so if there's a chopper flying overhead in the film you're watching, the sound will actually be coming from above you. Dolby Atmos is based on moving audio objects, which means sounds can be placed and moved anywhere in three-dimensional space. The idea is to make audio much more realistic and immersive.
The wonderful thing about Dolby Atmos is that, unlike a conventional surround sound arrangement, it doesn't merely convey sounds to a specific channel. Each sound, also referred to as a "object," is positioned at a specific location within the soundstage. Filmmakers can use up to 128 sound objects, which allows them to add sounds overhead or off-camera or shift the sound as the camera moves.
These 128 sound objects can be transmitted to as many as 64 speakers in a movie theater. However, you probably won't have that many speakers available at home unless you live in a movie theater. In a complete Dolby Atmos home setup, you're more likely to have 9 speakers: the front, center, left, and right speakers.
So if you wanted to watch a movie in the cinema, you could choose a studio with Dolby Atmos audio for a better watching experience.
The information is taken from: stuff.tv
