Spatial Audio in Indian Broadcasting: Standards, Workflows and the Road to Immersive Sound

Spatial audio is rapidly moving from premium cinema and experimental installations into mainstream broadcast and OTT workflows. As Indian broadcasters adopt UHD, immersive sports and next-generation OTT formats, object-based and spatial audio technologies are emerging as a critical layer for enhancing realism, accessibility and platform differentiation across linear and IP-delivered services.

As India’s broadcast and OTT ecosystem matures, attention is shifting from resolution and frame rates to a more complex and impactful dimension of viewer experience—sound. While Ultra HD, HDR and high frame rate production have become familiar engineering discussions, spatial audio is now entering the same conversation. For Indian broadcasters, the relevance of immersive audio is no longer theoretical. It is tied directly to workflow design, standards compliance, multi-platform delivery and long-term infrastructure planning.

Spatial audio represents a significant evolution from channel-based sound to object-based audio systems, where sound elements are treated as individual objects with metadata defining their position and movement in three-dimensional space. This shift has implications across the broadcast chain—from acquisition and post-production to playout, compression and consumer playback.

From Channel-Based Audio to Object-Based Broadcasting

Traditional broadcast audio in India has largely revolved around stereo and 5.1 surround sound. These formats, while reliable, are fundamentally limited by fixed speaker assignments. Spatial audio formats such as Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H Audio and Ambisonics introduce a more flexible architecture, allowing broadcasters to deliver a single master that can adapt dynamically to different playback environments.

From an engineering perspective, this transition aligns well with modern IP-based broadcast infrastructures. Object-based audio fits naturally into file-based workflows, cloud post-production and adaptive streaming pipelines. Instead of creating multiple discrete mixes for different platforms, broadcasters can author a single immersive mix that is rendered differently depending on device capability.

Broadcast Standards Driving Adoption

The adoption of spatial audio in broadcasting is closely tied to international standards bodies and regulatory frameworks. Two formats are particularly relevant to India:

Dolby Atmos, widely adopted across cinema, OTT and premium television.
MPEG-H Audio, developed as part of the ATSC 3.0 and DVB ecosystems, with strong relevance for next-generation terrestrial broadcasting.

Globally, MPEG-H is gaining traction for its broadcaster-friendly features, including personalisation (such as dialogue enhancement and language selection) and efficient bitrate usage. For India, where multilingual broadcasting is the norm, object-based audio with metadata-driven language control presents a compelling long-term advantage.

While India has not yet mandated next-generation audio standards for terrestrial broadcasting, the gradual modernisation of infrastructure—especially within public and private broadcast networks—suggests that immersive audio standards will eventually become part of the technical roadmap.

Production and Post-Production Workflows

From a workflow standpoint, spatial audio requires a rethink of traditional post-production pipelines. Immersive mixing environments typically exceed the standard 5.1 or 7.1 layouts and rely on advanced monitoring, calibration and room correction systems.

Modern immersive studios are designed to be format-agnostic. Sound designers and mixers work in object-based environments using tools such as real-time spatial processors and Ambisonics encoders, allowing them to author content that can be rendered in multiple formats at delivery.

For Indian post-production houses servicing both broadcasters and OTT platforms, this flexibility is essential. A single spatial audio master may need to deliver:

Stereo downmix for legacy television
5.1 surround for DTH platforms
Dolby Atmos for OTT and premium smart TVs
Headphone-optimised binaural output for mobile users

This convergence of deliverables makes spatial audio not just a creative enhancement, but a workflow efficiency tool.

OTT Platforms Leading the Curve in India

In India, OTT platforms have emerged as the primary drivers of immersive audio adoption. Global streamers operating in the country have already normalised Dolby Atmos as part of their premium content offerings, particularly for high-end series and feature films produced in India.

Indian OTT platforms such as Netflix India, Amazon Prime Video India, Disney+ Hotstar and Sony LIV have steadily increased their focus on audio quality, especially for flagship originals. While not every title is delivered in immersive formats, spatial audio is increasingly used for:

High-budget drama and action series
Original feature films with cinematic intent
Event programming and music-based content

From an engineering perspective, OTT delivery simplifies some challenges associated with immersive audio. Adaptive bitrate streaming, device capability detection and cloud-based encoding pipelines make it easier to deploy object-based audio without impacting legacy systems.

Live Broadcasting and Sports: A Growing Use Case

One of the most promising applications of spatial audio in Indian broadcasting lies in live sports. Cricket, football and kabaddi broadcasts increasingly rely on immersive crowd sound, stadium ambience and spatial mic placement to enhance viewer engagement.

Broadcasters such as Star Sports and Sony Sports Network have already invested heavily in advanced audio capture for major sporting events. While full immersive delivery is still limited, object-based audio workflows are being used to improve spatial realism even in conventional surround outputs.

For live production teams, spatial audio introduces new engineering considerations:

Microphone placement and phase coherence
Real-time object tracking and mixing
Low-latency encoding and transmission
Compatibility with OB van and remote production setups

As IP-based live production becomes more prevalent in India, integrating spatial audio into remote workflows will become increasingly practical.

Public Broadcasting and Future Readiness

India’s public broadcaster Doordarshan represents a unique case. With its mandate to reach a massive and diverse audience, adoption of immersive audio is likely to be gradual. However, modernisation initiatives, HD channel rollouts and digital platforms provide an opportunity to future-proof audio workflows.

MPEG-H Audio, in particular, holds relevance for public broadcasting due to its efficiency and accessibility features. Object-based audio can enable personalised listening experiences without increasing bandwidth—a critical consideration for nationwide terrestrial services.

Distribution, Encoding and Playout Challenges

From a broadcast engineering standpoint, delivering spatial audio reliably requires alignment across the entire distribution chain. Key considerations include:

Encoder and decoder support across platforms
Metadata integrity through playout and transmission
Compatibility with legacy set-top boxes
Monitoring and QC for multiple render outputs

For DTH and cable platforms in India, backward compatibility remains a major concern. As a result, most immersive audio deployments today are hybrid in nature, with stereo and 5.1 outputs remaining mandatory alongside immersive streams.

This reality reinforces the importance of flexible audio infrastructures that can support multiple formats without duplicating effort.

Consumer Devices and Playback Ecosystem

The success of spatial audio in broadcasting is closely tied to consumer device penetration. In India, soundbars with Atmos support, smart TVs and headphones capable of spatial rendering are becoming more common, particularly in urban markets.

Even when full immersion is not available, object-based audio improves overall sound quality through better rendering and device-level optimisation. This ensures that investments in spatial audio benefit all viewers, not just those with premium setups.

Training and Skill Development

Another critical factor for adoption in India is skill development. Spatial audio requires a deeper understanding of acoustics, psychoacoustics and metadata-driven workflows. Broadcast engineers, sound designers and mixers must adapt to new tools and monitoring environments.

As more Indian institutions and training programmes incorporate immersive audio into their curricula, the talent pipeline is expected to strengthen—making large-scale adoption more feasible.

Conclusion: Engineering the Future of Broadcast Sound

Spatial audio is transitioning from a niche enhancement to a strategic component of broadcast engineering. For Indian broadcasters and OTT platforms, the challenge lies not in whether to adopt immersive sound, but in how to integrate it intelligently into existing infrastructures.

By aligning with international standards, investing in flexible workflows and prioritising compatibility, Indian broadcasters can leverage spatial audio to enhance viewer engagement without disrupting operations. As delivery platforms evolve and consumer expectations rise, immersive sound will become an integral part of how Indian content is produced, distributed and experienced.

In an industry long driven by visuals, spatial audio represents a recalibration—one where sound finally takes its place as a primary storytelling and engineering consideration.