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Move Over Horse Armor - The New Xbox Wireless Headset Comes With 6 Months Of Dolby Atmos

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Imagine if was a sony practice, the outrage from people defending this bullshit.
“ARROGANT SONY IS BACK”

“ANTI CONSUMER”

🤭

This is more on Dolby from the initial, but MS does share the vehicle for it, as they did allow horse armor to be the starting point behemoth of DLC practices we have today.
 

martino

Member
For now, that's the thing. Everything is a service now. You have to RENT a function for a hardware. It's ridiculous.
That's not what happening here.
You have to pay to use a third party proprietary optional codecs.
And it's better to not have access to any of those codec at all /s
It's better to not see another brand use its famous plastic box as a trojan horse to push its proprietary tech locking options from people in the process. /s
where are the most blind fanboy again ?

edit : and MS is not better and doing the trojan thing a lot ...i will prevent some of you putting in my mouth something i didn't say. But on this subject it's funny to see people concerned to have access to third party solutions because you have to pay for them when competition is completely locking this choice from you.
 
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FranXico

Member
I'd honestly much rather my devices come w/ none of these licenses.. it would make MORE sense for consumers to be able to choose, and pay for what they actually use.. rather than have to buy a device where the manufacturer chooses what licenses to support, and still makes you pay for it whether you use it or not.
Fun fact: the PS3 had system settings for activating optional decoders. Consumers had the possibility to opt in, at no extra charge. Sony would pay the licensing fees, per activation.
 
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Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
As a subscription. Some fucking bullshit. This needs to stop on its tracks right now, otherwise Sony and Nintendo will be doing the exact same crap a year from now.
“ARROGANT SONY IS BACK”

“ANTI CONSUMER”

🤭

This is more on Dolby from the initial, but MS does share the vehicle for it, as they did allow horse armor to be the starting point behemoth of DLC practices we have today.
From horse armour, to on disk DLC, to microtransactions, to Microsoft attempting to make PC gamers pay for online, the list goes on. This is just another one in a long list and before you know it other manufacturers will be joining the club.
You get Sonic audio for free. Its upto Dolby to allow it to be free. Dolby Atmos itself only costs a one time cost of 15 dollar, there is no reason to increase the price of the headphone to include this if it comes with its own free 3D audio format
You are comparing it with systems that just provide their own free audio format without anyway to use Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.
I had an OG Xbox, and never bought that trash add on, why? Because the PS2 included it a year+ prior.
Because they have to pay license for every Xbox sold, but Sony does not. DVD format was made by Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips and Samsung. Why don't you be concerned that Xbox One S|X had the 4K Blu Ray but the guys who owned it didn't include it until 9th gen to sell their own 4K Blu Ray player.
 
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Reallink

Member
It basically comes down to whether you would rather pay $114 for the headset with the license included or pay $99 and have the option to pick up the license. Since this is a feature that is not required and a free alternative exists, the cheap ass bastard in me will take the $99.

This is similar to MS not wanting to license all of the OG Xbox systems for DVD playback, but moving the licensing costs to the remote. In this way only users that wanted that feature had to pay for it.

This headset probably costs MS less than $20 to manufacture, package, AND ship, which is why every company under the sun makes headphones these days. The margins are astronomical as there's little to no design or R&D work. Also the same reason every PC company sells a gaming chair. Entire cities in China do nothing but produce headphones and drivers for pennies on the dollar. Based on the shit tier performance of this thing, some MS contracted consultant went to Shenzhen and drew random drivers/electronics out of the $5 or less lotto tumbler.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Imagine if they only gave you a free year of Apple TV+ with it instead of a permanent subscription to a service they own.

Oh wait...😆
Imagine paying a subscription for an audio codec.

Don’t worry, they’ll probably Adobefy that in a decade or less time.
 
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Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
This headset probably costs MS less than $20 to manufacture, package, AND ship, which is why every company under the sun makes headphones these days. The margins are astronomical as there's little to no design or R&D work. Also the same reason every PC company sells a gaming chair. Entire cities in China do nothing but produce headphones and drivers for pennies on the dollar. Based on the shit tier performance of this thing, some MS contracted consultant went to Shenzhen and drew random drivers/electronics out of the $5 or less lotto tumbler.
Same you?
I genuinely believe they're trying to make something better than Dolby/DTS with their headphone (selectable and/or custom HRTF) and 2.0 simulated surround implementations (possibly self calibrating with the controller's mic). I'm not at all convinced by their discrete surround implementation, it seems to be an afterthought trying to force square wheels on an F1 car (no physical height channels).
To be fair, I would actually say Sony's headphone implementation is going to be quite a ways ahead of Atmos and DTSX. PS5 is going to have multiple HRTF's to choose from (presumably with some sort of calibration process) and may even eventually support custom ones based on a picture of your ear. Atmos and DTSX headphone just supports a single generic "best average" HRTF that's probably a poor fit for your personal head/ears.
 

Alright

Banned
Imagine if was a sony practice, the outrage from people defending this bullshit.

Why does this have to have anything to do with console wars? Nintendo, Sony Microsoft, Big Joe's consoles, all of them deserved to be raked over the coals for shite practices. Because when we sit back, we get the mtx ridden hell hole that gaming has become.
Why don't you be concerned that Xbox One S|X had the 4K Blu Ray but the guys who owned it didn't include it until 9th gen to sell their own 4K Blu Ray player.
cough HD DVD player cough.

I still have mine. Awesome little device
Console wars.
see above. This isn't console wars but a bad trend we should nip in the bud, not excuse, cover up and ignore.


Sorry, the quoting came out in the wrong order and I can't change it on my phone
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Why does this have to have anything to do with console wars? Nintendo, Sony Microsoft, Big Joe's consoles, all of them deserved to be raked over the coals for shite practices. Because when we sit back, we get the mtx ridden hell hole that gaming has become.

cough HD DVD player cough.

I still have mine. Awesome little device

see above. This isn't console wars but a bad trend we should nip in the bud, not excuse, cover up and ignore.


Sorry, the quoting came out in the wrong order and I can't change it on my phone
Season 9 Thank You GIF by The Office
 

DaGwaphics

Member
This headset probably costs MS less than $20 to manufacture, package, AND ship, which is why every company under the sun makes headphones these days. The margins are astronomical as there's little to no design or R&D work. Also the same reason every PC company sells a gaming chair. Entire cities in China do nothing but produce headphones and drivers for pennies on the dollar. Based on the shit tier performance of this thing, some MS contracted consultant went to Shenzhen and drew random drivers/electronics out of the $5 or less lotto tumbler.

I don't own the headset so can't speak to sound quality, but reviews have been favorable when comparing to other wireless headsets in the same range. Not sure how that plays into it.

Console accessories are always big money makers, that doesn't change the fact that MS doesn't want to give up their profits to support a third-party codec that isn't required. They provide you with the option to use it if you like (better than not having the option at all) and even give a free trial (although, they probably got paid for this inclusion, so not altruistic). Are you saying you would have preferred they didn't support Atmos for headphones and instead just only supported Windows Sonic for 3D audio?
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
You get Sonic audio for free. Its upto Dolby to allow it to be free. Dolby Atmos itself only costs a one time cost of 15 dollar, there is no reason to increase the price of the headphone to include this if it comes with its own free 3D audio format
You are comparing it with systems that just provide their own free audio format without anyway to use Dolby Atmos or DTS:X.

Because they have to pay license for every Xbox sold, but Sony does not. DVD format was made by Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips and Samsung. Why don't you be concerned that Xbox One S|X had the 4K Blu Ray but the guys who owned it didn't include it until 9th gen to sell their own 4K Blu Ray player.
You will admit that MS negotiating directly with Dolby could get the cost a lot lot lower if they guaranteed it per headset or per device...
 

Derktron

Banned
I mean I understand that you need to rent or buy the software, but why would Xbox only offer 6 months of the software when you spent $100 on a flagship headset you should at least get a year or two of the software.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Why don't you be concerned that Xbox One S|X had the 4K Blu Ray but the guys who owned it didn't include it until 9th gen to sell their own 4K Blu Ray player.

A lot of people said it was a shitty decision not to have UHD BD playback for PS4 Pro (I am not sure about DeepEnigma DeepEnigma , but I was not jumping of joy when I read it would not have that feature :LOL:. So what now? Back to the topic at hand?
 
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Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
You will admit that MS negotiating directly with Dolby could get the cost a lot lot lower if they guaranteed it per headset or per device...
Why should they pay for it when they have their own 3D audio solution which is free.
A lot of people said it was a shitty decision not to have UHD BD playback for PS4 Pro (I am not sure about DeepEnigma DeepEnigma , but I was not jumping of joy when ai read it would not have that feature :LOL:. So what now? Back to the topic at hand?
The topic is not about OG Xbox DVD player either.
 

Jemm

Member
Let's say I buy three headsets over the years and my choice is to pay $15 extra per headset (=$45) or pay the license once (one time fee of $15) that is valid for up to ten devices.

The latter (current model) is cheaper for me than paying the $15 extra each time, right?

Of course, I would prefer not to pay anything at all for DA for Headphones, but that's up to Dolby and their greed.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Rich company worth trillions advertising a feature and enjoying the free PR from people that think it ships with it included could negotiate for said feature to be more than a IOU with a free trial?
They already had it in Xbox One since 2017 and they never advertised it as free.
Windows Sonic for Headphones and Dolby Atmos for Headphones both enable spatial sound for all headphones, earbuds, and audio headsets. Windows Sonic for Headphones is available out of the box, while Dolby Atmos for Headphones is $14.99 USD and provides additional support for Dolby Atmos movies. To enable either of these on your Xbox One, navigate to [Settings > All settings > Display & sound > Audio output > Headset format] and select either Windows Sonic for Headphones or Dolby Atmos for Headphones. If you select Dolby Atmos for Headphones, you will be prompted to install the Dolby Access app and either purchase Dolby Atmos for Headphones or start a free 30-day trial.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
For self research on the codecs. You have some saying one is better than the other, others saying they are equal. Is this going to be a HDR10+ vs Dolby Vision or DTS vs Dolby like scenario?

Last I read WS was limited to 100 sound sources. Other codecs out there like Atmos, are far greater in the thousands.
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
For self research on the codecs. You have some saying one is better than the other, others saying they are equal. Is this going to be a HDR10+ vs Dolby Vision or DTS vs Dolby like scenario?

Last I read WS was limited to 100 sound sources. Other codecs out there like Atmos, are far greater in the thousands.

While Atmos can support thousands of objects, they strongly recommend limiting to one object per available track (I think 128) for coherency. Windows Sonic has the same 128 object limit, so not much difference there.
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
For self research on the codecs. You have some saying one is better than the other, others saying they are equal. Is this going to be a HDR10+ vs Dolby Vision or DTS vs Dolby like scenario?

Last I read WS was limited to 100 sound sources. Other codecs out there like Atmos, are far greater in the thousands.

It's 100 percent a spec sheet war for 99 percent of arguments.

So much more goes into sound other than the amount of sources.

Atmos can do thousands which is technically impressive but it's a pointless metric when you cant use that many sources in a coherent way.

Too many sources is actually a bad thing.
 
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THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
Or you could just use Windows Sonic and never spend the $15. 🤪

And then you'd be left with an inferior solution, since both are better than sonic.

I dont see the big deal, you can use them as basic stereo headphones or sonic for free.
If you want atmos, pay the $15. If you want Dolby, pay the $25. They have you a free trail, try it and see if it's worth it to you.
 
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Except that's not true. Atmos being "best" is not a fact in the slightest. And you don't need atmos for object based sound.

Every feature can be used out of the box without atmos.

Until I saw this thread I thought Xbox had atmos as standard, especially with the all the advertising. Well even Xbox fan boys here played down ps5 tempest engine with ‘yeah but series x has atmos’

Well it sounds like yeah you get it if you pay extra for it.
 

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
I bought Atmos about 2 years ago, it was cheaper than the $15 dollars it now is. I think maybe $12. It works with any headset, there is no added functionality to this new headset.

I don't see why they should now pay for and give you a free codec. The product page itself simply lists it as one of many supported formats, including Windows Sonic. Why would they offer their own solution and then also pay Dolby for theirs?
 
Is there an issue here? Almost all headsets I've bought work straight out of the vat with the standard Xbox/Windows audio. If you want DTS or Atmos you pay a one time licese with is tied to your account (not the device).

The device still works out of the box as standard
 

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
Until I saw this thread I thought Xbox had atmos as standard, especially with the all the advertising. Well even Xbox fan boys here played down ps5 tempest engine with ‘yeah but series x has atmos’

Well it sounds like yeah you get it if you pay extra for it.
It has atmos for home theatre. This is specifically the Atmos for headphones software.
 
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