"75.1% of consumers enjoy music inside their cars" indicating a shift in trends

Automobiles are evolving beyond simple means of transportation, establishing themselves as another space enriched with various features. Recently, high-end sound systems and technologies have been added to allow the enjoyment of various entertainment content, enhancing the pleasure of listening within cars.Dolby Korea held a 'Dolby Day' event to experience Dolby Atmos audio technology. / Dolby KoreaDolby Korea held a 'Dolby Day' event to experience Dolby Atmos audio technology. Dolby, a company specializing in audio and video solutions, has begun to respond to changing automotive trends, with 'Dolby Atmos' as a representative example of next-generation immersive audio technology.Dolby Atmos was developed for film. It perceives each sound in a movie as an object to create rich soundscapes and enhance immersion. Music mixed in standard stereo is limited to left and right channels, but music mixed in Dolby Atmos can be arranged anywhere according to the creator's intent, without channel restrictions.This characteristic has already become popular in the music industry beyond cinema. In fact, as of last year, 92% of Billboard's Top 100 artists had produced tracks in Dolby Atmos. Additionally, all audio tracks nominated for this year's Grammy Awards were also created using Dolby Atmos.Kim Hyocheol, director of Dolby Korea, explaining the technical features of Dolby Atmos. / David HeoKim Hyo-cheol, Director of Dolby Korea, explained the technical features of Dolby Atmos: “Traditional sound systems provided rich audio by increasing the number of speakers. In contrast, Dolby Atmos materializes sound, allowing it to move based on the listener's position, making it a new concept audio system that isn't affected by the number of speakers.”He added, “Unlike previous sound systems, Dolby Atmos can provide an immersive sound experience with just four channels and four or more speakers, which is why it's rapidly gaining popularity.”In the automotive industry, Dolby Atmos is being adopted at a rapid pace due to the significant increase in the number of entertainment options available within vehicles.In Korea, Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis was the first in the industry to implement Dolby Atmos. Genesis plans to apply Dolby Atmos as standard equipment in five models, including the 2024 G90, G80, GV80, GV80 Coupe, and GV70, and will support Dolby Atmos through wireless software updates (OTA) for its OTT services.Furthermore, brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Polestar, Nio, Zeekr, Lotus, and Lucid Motors are also integrating Dolby Atmos into their key models.The Genesis infotainment screen supporting Dolby Atmos. / Daivd HeoAt Dolby Day, attendees had the opportunity to experience Dolby Atmos sound through models like the Genesis GV80 Coupe, GV70, and G80. The experience began in the GV80 Coupe.Using the infotainment system's OTT services, various audio and video content was played sequentially. Sitting in the back seat, the sensation of sound moving throughout the vehicle, in accordance with the creator's intent, was conveyed. Additionally, the instruments and details used in the audio were transmitted vividly, creating a sensation akin to layered pastry with each layer distinctly felt.The Genesis infotainment screen supporting Dolby Atmos. / David HeoIn the Genesis G80, equipped with a Bang & Olufsen sound system, the experience was even richer. Thanks to the high-quality sound system, immersion was significantly enhanced. The ability to experience uniform sound quality from all seats was particularly appealing.Kim Hyo-cheol noted, “Even in vehicles without the Bang & Olufsen sound system option, you can experience rich sound. This is due to one of Dolby Atmos's features, which is not constrained by the number of speakers and channels.”When audio supporting Dolby Atmos is played, the Dolby Atmos logo is displayed at the bottom of the screen. / David HeoWhen an audio track supporting Dolby Atmos is played, a Dolby Atmos logo appears at the bottom of the screen in the infotainment system. Dolby Korea has partnered with Genie Music and Melon to provide audio content, and Dolby Atmos can also be experienced on domestic and international video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+.Cho Cheol-ung, director of Dolby Korea, is presenting the results of a survey on consumer content consumption trends. / David HeoJo Cheol-woong, Marketing Director of Dolby Korea, presented the results of a survey on consumer content consumption trends. The reason for the availability of various content utilizing Dolby Atmos within vehicles is straightforward: consumer content consumption trends are changing.According to a survey by Open Survey, 75.1% of respondents enjoy music inside their cars. Additionally, 78.8% consider high sound quality and immersion to be important factors. Moreover, 83.4% of respondents indicated that vehicles equipped with Dolby Atmos felt more luxurious.Jo Cheol-woong stated, “As shown in the trend survey by Open Survey, the trend of enjoying music and movie content is shifting to vehicles, and we expect the number of brands and models supporting Dolby Atmos to expand further in the future.”