Microsoft is testing Dolby Atmos for Xbox One

Larry Hryb has announced that Microsoft is rolling out support for Blu-ray bitstream passthrough in a preview version of the Xbox One operating system this week. This allows digital audio signals to be passed to amplifiers unaltered.

Supported formats include Dolby Atmos, writes Hryb, who is known by the alias Major Nelson. The formats can be sent without modification via an HDMI cable to a digital amplifier, which itself decodes them into an analog signal for the speakers. Formats such as DTS, Dolby Digital and variants thereof are also supported.

Support will be available for both Xbox One and S versions. In order to download the software, the user must join the Insider Preview program. Users who participate in this program get access to early versions of the operating system. These early versions may still contain errors.

It is unknown when the feature will be rolled out to all users. Presumably, it will be available during the Creators Update, which is due out in early 2017.