Disney Plus says it will become the first of the major streaming service providers to support DTS:X surround sound audio. It’s planning to launch support for select titles and series on its service in May, joining the Dolby Atmos format it already offers on a wide range of its content. 

The company first began enhancing its streaming content when it embraced the IMAX Enhanced aspect ratio in 2021 for a small number of titles. At the time of that announcement, it said it was planning to add the option of listening to a DTS:X audio track alongside those titles, which include Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers. 

It might have taken almost three years to live up to that promise, but the company has finally gotten around to doing it – so it’s a case of better later than never at all. 

DTS:X has until now been exclusive to standard Blue-ray and 4K Blue-ray discs, but DTS recently made a new streaming-friendly coded available that has allowed Disney to finally fulfill its promises. It’s unlikely to achieve the same quality as DTS:X on physical media, but it probably won’t matter to most users, as the overall sound experience should still be much better than listening to standard soundtracks. . 

Disney said the format will be known as IMAX Enhanced Sound on its streaming service, and the first title to add support for it will be the upcoming Queen Rock Montreal concert film. In addition, the DTS:X format will also come to the 18 titles within its existing Marvel Cinematic Universe library of movies, which includes films such as The Marvels and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 

Given the slim selection of DTS:X-enhanced content, Dolby Atmos will remain by far and away the most widely supported audio format on Disney Plus, and for titles that support both formats, users will likely be offered a choice. 

Disney said a large number of TVs and sound devices already support DTS:X sound, including many TVs from brands such as Sony, Hisense, Sharp and Xiaomi, which run the Android TV and Google TV platforms. AV receivers made by companies including Denon, JBL and Marantz will also support the DTS:X sound format, Disney said.