By working over industry-standard Wi-Fi, Xperi believes that DST Play-Fi Home Theater can add a flexible surround sound capability to TVs without incurring additional hardware costs for manufacturers or consumers, as long as manufacturers support and license the technology. Xperi anticipates that televisions featuring DTS Play-Fi Home Theater will hit the market in the third quarter of 2021 and are compatible with the existing ecosystem of Play-Fi soundbars, speakers, and amplifiers in the market today - now mostly clearly dated models.
The reason for relaunching DTS Play-Fi is the belief that the company's latest innovation "solves long-standing industry issues related to poor sound quality from ever thinner TVs and the limited appeal of surround sound in the home due to the inherent aesthetic challenges of speaker wires and HDMI cables." But that is something that can be said of any wireless audio technology that supports multichannel surround formats - of which DTS is one of the major proponents, in direct competition with Dolby. The new Play-Fi Home Theater solutions is promoted as being able to offer "a number of configurations to wirelessly upgrade a TV’s audio performance and bring life-like surround sound to any room." No specific mention is done about immersive (spatial) audio support and only "surround" formats are specified.
Detailing a bit more about the revamped platform, Xperi says that Play-Fi Home Theater enabled TVs will be able to use the built-in speakers in the display as part of the surround system, or upgrade them with a Play-Fi enabled soundbar, or discrete Play-Fi enabled front speakers to improve audio quality without creating unsightly wiring between TVs and external speakers or electronics.
Of course, the expectation from Xperi is that consumers will decide to add Play-Fi enabled speakers as surround speakers to complete the circle, and add up to two Play-Fi enabled subwoofers to improve the impact of the system with the highly required bass. Users will be also able to utilize Play-Fi’s complementary functionality, like multi-room grouping of the TV with Play-Fi enabled speakers for music and TV audio, and app-based headphone listening. "DTS Play-Fi automatically adapts to the number of speakers connected to the TV giving users a modular way to meet the needs of their room or a path to upgrade over time as they purchase additional components," the company explains.
“We’re thrilled to introduce this latest DTS Play-Fi Home Theater technology to the market,” says Dannie Lau, General Manager DTS Play-Fi. “Consumers no longer need to compromise aesthetics for an improved audio experience. They can attain better sound quality simply by using a wireless subwoofer placed out of sight or build a high-performance home theater using a full complement of wireless speakers and subwoofers.”
Xperi still claims that DTS Play-Fi ecosystem "features the largest collection of products in the whole-home wireless audio space, with hundreds of interoperable speakers, televisions, soundbars, set-top boxes, and A/V receivers available from over 30 leading consumer electronics brands, allowing customers the ability to interoperate and find the right product for their individual needs."
www.xperi.com | www.dts.com
www.play-fi.com
