Adventures in AV: Apple is in a prime position to make Dolby's next-gen tech the actual "future of home cinema"

Next week, Apple is hosting a series of “special experiences” across the globe, and that’s exciting for two reasons.

First, because it’s a different approach to Apple’s usual live stream format for events. What that specifically means we don’t yet know, but it’s always nice to shake things up every now and then.

Second, because we’re expecting a wealth of new hardware, ranging from an affordable (by Apple standards) iPhone 16e to a new HomePod speaker.

But the big ticket item according to the rumour mill is a new Apple TV 4K. Why is this important? Well, on the one hand its because the current Apple TV 4K remains the best streaming box you’ll find for serious movie fans.

Hence its ongoing place in our best video streamers buying guide, despite being a bit long in the tooth. So any upgrades, even to basic performance metrics, would be awesome.

But it's mainly because there’s one key upgrade for which Apple’s new streaming box would be the perfect launchpad: Dolby Vision 2.

For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention to What Hi-Fi?’s homepage recently (shame on you), Vision 2 is a new HDR standard that Dolby haphazardly unveiled at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin last year.

I say haphazardly as it kinda came out of the blue – to the point its supposed launch partner Hisense, and pretty much every other TV maker we chatted to at the time seemed as “surprised” as we were by the announcement.

But, since then, as more information about it has become available, it does sound very interesting and has a lot of potential. The cliff notes are that the new standard is split into two tiers: Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max.

Both aim to offer filmmakers much more powerful and granular control over their movies, and TV makers the ability to deliver a “more authentic” experience that matches the director's vision.

Key upgrades include more accurate bi-directional tone mapping, for improved image-accuracy on compatible hardware, and new tools for the directors making films and TV shows.

The most interesting of the latter is the Max tier’s Authentic Motion service, which will let filmmakers manually adjust motion processing when required, to help reduce judder and make things like panning shots generally look more realistic.

All very cool, even if I’m not convinced that having so many different HDR tiers, which all heavily overlap, will be a hit with non-cinephile movie fans (simplicity is king here). But, that aside, as I’ve said before, there are two big hurdles that need to be overcome, ideally concurrently, for this to work and fpr Vision 2 to become “the future of home cinema” as Dolby claims it will.

To sell the standard, you need TVs capable of recognising and playing Dolby Vision 2 or Max signals, and content mastered in it that will work together to show the new tech’s benefits – the proof is in the pudding and all that.

And while we’ve seen plenty of TV makers confirm new sets will support Dolby Vision, there’s still very little word on what specific movies, shows and their ilk will be shot and mastered with it. All we know so far is that Peacock will be the first to adopt it, and Canal+ is an official partner.

And it’s at this point that I think Apple should step in, as, truthfully, outside of Amazon, which owns MGM, and maybe Sony, it’s the only company I can think of that controls every element of its entertainment and hardware ecosystem.

Think about it. While I’m still yearning for Apple to make an actual, full-sized OLED TV, it makes lots of hardware designed for media consumption – iPhones, iPads, and of course its Apple TV streamer.

It also has its own digital movie store and streaming service, in the shape of Apple TV+, and commissions, shoots and provides a lot of the hardware used to make the exclusive shows on it.

Editor’s Note: The team and I are still obsessed with the latest season of Shrinking. If you haven’t watched it already, definitely do. It’s the new Gilmore Girls / feel-good show we all need.

It’s also already shown its ability to leverage this control of the user’s entire experience to launch some nifty new home cinema tech, albeit at a smaller scale.

Take a look at the cool haptic feedback tech it added to its F1 movie trailer as an example. Terrible movie, awesome experience that was reportedly watched 845 million times and a clear example of Apple’s power to champion new tech and experiences on its platform.

I mean, it literally shook the industry with the F1 trailer.

And for me, if it did that again, unveiling a new movie, or show mastered in it, to launch concurrently, or even bundle free, with a new Dolby Vision 2-ready Apple TV 4K, well, wouldn’t that be something…

MORE:

These are the best OLED TVs we’ve tested

Our picks of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars

We rank the best TVs money can buy