How do audio engineers develop an expertise in surround mixing and what are the elements that characterise a great immersive mix? David Davies speaks with the best ears in the business to discover more.
Along with 4K and HDR, the rise of immersive audio – led by Dolby Atmos and MPEG-H – has been one of the defining production technology stories of the past decade. From cinema releases and streaming series mixed in Dolby Atmos, to installations and live events being enhanced with different configurations delivered in multiple formats, audio is an increasingly immersive endeavour across application types.
Identifying a tipping point for a technology is not always easy, but in this case, one can pinpoint the mass availability of immersive audio music, via sites such as Apple Music and Tidal, as an important moment. But despite the increasing footprint of surround music in both professional and consumer domains, it’s arguable that – in relative terms – immersive audio mixing is still in its infancy as regards ‘standard practices’ and a commonly-shared notion of what constitutes a ‘great immersive mix’...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.

MPTS 2025 reveals a media industry struggling to keep pace
MPTS 2025 is the latest event to lay bare the faultlines running throughout the TV business which is being eviscerated by AI and the creator economy.

Modern MAM: Manual archives to AI-driven systems
What was once a process of physically storing film reels and manually logging footage has become an intricate dance of digital ingestion, advanced metadata tagging, and cloud-based workflows. With productions now generating thousands of hours of video per show, managing media efficiently is no longer optional; it’s a necessity.
DTG Summit: “We are living in the age of distraction”
DTG’s annual summit explored personalisation, AI, and the canny ways broadcasters have leveraged Roblox, YouTube and TikTok on their transition from transmission to streaming.

MAX-R: Interoperable tools for an immersive future
The MAX-R Pipeline initiative looked to define and demonstrate a complete workflow of tools for making, processing and delivering maximum-quality XR content in real time. James McKeown reports on the project’s evolution and legacy.

Creative Cities Convention: Concern and caution expressed by UK TV over tariff threat
Trump’s tariffs and diversity rollback hijacked the agenda at the Creative Cities Convention where creators were also prominent.