In 2022, Google and Samsung expressed the intention of offering a free alternative to the Dolby Atmos and HDR Dolby Vision audio and video formats, launching a project called “Caviar” for this purpose. As you probably know, Dolby Atmos and HDR Dolby Vision can be used by device manufacturers and audio-video platforms in exchange for specific agreements with Dolby Laboratories, most often in the form of a license. paid exploitation.
IAMF (Immersive Audio Model and Formats), the new Dolby Atmos ?££££
At CES 2024, Google and Samsung declared that the audio part of the “Caviar” initiative, called IAMF (Immersive Audio Model and Formats), would appear this year, posing as a royalty-free equivalent to Dolby Atmos. IAMF - which will probably benefit from a final name - would therefore arrive in 2024 on a selection of new Samsung products, certainly Smart TVs and soundbars, but also perhaps older models via firmware update. IAMF would also arrive on YouTube, a platform which is still not compatible with Dolby Atmos or HDR Dolby Vision.
Finally note that IAMF technology is adopted by the Alliance for Open Media (AOM), which pushes the AV1 video format and counts among its founders heavyweights such as Amazon, Apple, Arm, Google, Intel, Meta , Microsoft, Mozilla, Netflix, Nvidia and Samsung.
