Paramount+ now with German sound in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos
Two weeks after the launch of the premium subscription, the video streaming service officially offers German audio in the promised quality.
The Fire TV Cube is one of the players on which it is particularly easy to recognize whether the sound on Paramount+ is in Dolby Atmos.
(Image: Screenshot Paramount+)
Paramount+ is now offering selected titles in Germany with German audio in 5.1. The streaming service announced this on Wednesday and confirmed on request that this applies to the newly introduced premium subscription and the standard subscription.
On March 26, the US video streaming service Paramount+ also launched its “premium subscription” in this country, which offered 3D sound in Dolby Atmos format in addition to a 4K picture (3840 × 2160 pixels) for an extra charge (12.99 instead of 7.99 euros per month). The latter also applied to corresponding 3D sound systems from day one.
German sound only in stereo
However, the fact that the German sound was still only transmitted in stereo, even in the premium version, caused some surprise in the c't test. According to some users, they were told by the service's support team that this was correct. However, Paramount+ explained to heise online that this was an oversight.
“The Paramount+ Premium subscription offers premium video features such as 4K UHD, HDR10 and/or Dolby Vision on selected titles, depending on availability, internet connection and device characteristics,” the provider now states. “It also enables streaming on up to four devices simultaneously, compared to two devices with the standard subscription. In addition, the Premium subscription offers enhanced audio quality up to Dolby Atmos for selected titles in English and selected titles in German, depending on availability, internet connection and device characteristics.”
On its support page, Paramount+ lists the devices that are capable of playing the service's content with Dolby Atmos sound. The page currently only refers to the original English soundtrack, but this information will be updated shortly.
Videos by heise
Manageable range
Among the films that offer both English and German Dolby Atmos sound (with Dolby Digital Plus as the basis) is the film “IF: Imaginary Friends”. We were able to successfully elicit both soundtracks from the Apple TV 4K and the Fire TV Cube, Paramount+ is one of the few subscription video streaming services alongside Apple TV+ and Netflix that make German 3D sound available.
This does not yet include “Mission Impossible: Fallout”, for which only English 3D sound is available. Paramount also released the action thriller on UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray Disc without German Atmos sound at the time, but then offered it on iTunes for purchase or rental with such sound.
Overall, the range of titles with 5.1 and 3D sound is still quite limited. Paramount+ writes: “Our range of content in premium audio quality is constantly being expanded. If a movie or series is available in premium audio or video formats, this is indicated in the offer by corresponding symbols on the title page or by a note in the description field.”
(nij)
