Ignacy Giżyński
A few years ago, DTS:X was considered a natural competitor to Dolby Atmos. Today, its position is so weak that finding a new film on Blu-ray with DTS:X sound is almost impossible.
Fewer and Fewer Movies
As noted by FlatpanelsHD (based on data from 4KFilme), since December 2024, not a single Blu-ray disc (including 4K or 3D) with this audio format has been released in Germany – one of the largest markets for physical media. In the United States, the last known release with DTS:X was the exclusive steelbook edition of The Last Witch Hunter in January 2025. What's the next known title? A limited edition of Serenity is only planned for July.
The statistics leave no illusions – there are only 113 UHD discs with DTS:X in the FlatpanelsHD database, while Dolby Atmos graces over 600 releases. For comparison – most titles with DTS:X date back to before 2020.
Change of the Balance of Power
This is a massive shift from the era of classic Blu-ray, when DTS-HD Master Audio was the dominant choice for most studios (Fox, Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate). Dolby TrueHD was mainly used by Warner Bros and occasionally by Disney.
However, the advantage of Dolby Atmos does not only apply to physical media. In streaming, DTS:X is virtually non-existent. It is only supported by two platforms – Disney+ and Sony Pictures Core – and only within the IMAX Enhanced standard. Worse still, many TVs and players do not support DTS at all. LG will once again drop DTS support in 2025, and Samsung has been doing this for years. You won't find it on Apple TV 4K or Google TV devices either.
Does DTS still have a chance?
DTS tried to compete in the streaming market by introducing the DTS:X version in lossy compression (profile 2) as part of IMAX Enhanced. So far, however, it has failed to gain broader hardware support. Currently, only Philips TVs with Google TV play this format from Disney+. TCL – while theoretically compatible – has practical issues with it.
Without strong partnerships with giants like Apple, Samsung, or Google, DTS:X seems to be increasingly marginalised. And a new player is emerging on the horizon – Google and Samsung are jointly working on an open standard for Eclipsa Audio as part of the Alliance for Open Media. If this format actually gains traction, DTS could find itself outside the mainstream audio market. The situation is not helped by LG's decision, which has announced the end of support for DTS:X in its 2025 line of TVs – this means that another major manufacturer is completely withdrawing support for this format.
