- Google and Samsung’s Atmos -Rival, ECLIPSA, will come to LG and Google TVs
- The 3D sound format is also baked in Android 16
- No support from any streaming services except YouTube so far
There’s a new 3D sound format in the city, but when does TV owners hear that?
While informed listeners may know their way around Dolby Atmos, DTS: X or even the Auro-3D format coming to Nvidia Shield devices, Eclipsa is a new open source 3D audio format developed by Google and Samsung.
Imagine as a competitor to Dolby Atmos – just like how Samsung’s HDR10+ image format – competitors Dolby Vision – Eclipsa was formally revealed on CES 2025 and confirmed to launch in all 2025 Samsung TVs and sound bar.
In a speech with Flatpanelshd, Google representatives confirmed that Eclipsa will be baked into the Android 16 operating system, which means it will get support on Google TVs and other smart TV producers using Android OS, such as Hisense, TCL, Sony and Philips TV. In addition, the goal is to get Eclipsa sound to run on mobile devices and web browsers with AV recipients. Flatpanelshd also reports that support comes to webos used on LG -TVs.
But the question still is: Where and how does anyone access Eclipsa-coded sound?
The waiting game
Eclipsa is channel-based, which means it binds audio sources to specific channels (as in a 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround sound setup) rather than individualizing each audio source (as in the object-based Dolby Atmos format). However, Eclipsa ‘up to 28 input channels’ supports, according to Flatpanelshd, so there is more than enough information to create a convincing 3D audio range for hometown. Although it acts a little flexibility and specificity of location, it is also somewhat easier to implement and recreate consistently.
Given Google’s commitment, ECLIPSA sound is angled as a multifunctional 3D audio format that can be rolled out over its massive network of Android devices for any audio source, even Humdrum YouTube videos, rather than primarily to focus on advanced entertainment production such as movies, TV shows, music and games. YouTube creators will apparently be able to upload Eclipsa-Coded Content later in 2025.
In a blog post describing the new format, Google says that “spatial sound technologies were first developed over 50 years ago, and playback has been available to consumers for over a decade, but creating spatial sound has mostly been limited to professionals in the film or music industries. That’s why Google and Samsung Eclipsa Audio release an open source spatial audio format for everyone. “
However 3D sound formats in general have been pushed on advanced TV models and larger TV streaming services, with interest driven by cinephiles/audiophiles who are eager to improve their home theater experience with more immersive sound. Nor is it clear whether YouTube creators will feel incentive to start creating content in the new format in mass.
As Flatpanelshd notes, the Atmos-Minded Netflix has not yet voted its support, despite its commitment to Google and Samsung in the Alliance for Open Media (AOM), and Google Reps couldn’t comment on Apple’s plans for its tvos or iOS either -Platforms.
The notion of Open Source 3D sound is very appealing, especially if it improves the kind of everyday sound experienced through Android smartphones and tablets or through the YouTube app. But it will be difficult to shout about Eclipsa until some larger players in the field – and content creators on Earth – actually decide to get involved. A format on the best TVs and best sound beams does not do well if there is nothing to look at.
