Netflix adds spatial audio support for hundreds of movies and shows

Netflix is introducing two new benefits exclusively for its premium subscribers: rolling out support for spatial audio across the streaming platform’s top 700 titles and increasing the number of download devices from four to six. Announced via a press release, both new features are available globally today and come at no additional cost to premium-tier Netflix subscribers who pay $19.99 / month for 4K HDR and other perks.

Netflix first introduced the feature in July last year across a limited number of the platform’s original titles. Now, spatial audio will be available across 700 titles, including The Watcher, Wednesday, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and will be added to new titles as they’re released, including You, Your Place or Mine, Luther: The Fallen Sun, and Tour de France. To see the full list of titles currently available to watch with spatial audio, just type “spatial audio” into the search bar on Netflix.

Spatial audio is a feature that can emulate immersive surround sound through stereo speakers or headphones across a range of devices — including TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones — without requiring any specialist audio equipment. Spatial audio likely won’t benefit users who do use multichannel surround sound systems, but the feature should provide a noticeable improvement for folks who don’t have access to professional audio equipment.

Regarding how best to listen to spatial audio content, Netflix has disclosed the following guidance:

Spatial audio is intended for built-in stereo speakers on any device receiving a stereo stream. It also provides a more immersive experience on headphones. Spatial audio is primarily optimized for laptops and tablets. It’s also noticeable on TVs (up close) and phones with stereo speakers (usually when in landscape mode).

Premium tier subscribers can also now download Netflix content onto two additional devices, increasing the total number of download devices from four to six. “With people more connected than ever through multiple devices, we’ve learned through research that members would like the option to download Netflix series and films to watch offline on more devices, particularly as they travel and switch between devices,” said Netflix.