Dolby Laboratories will demonstrate a new technology next week at IFA 2023 in Berlin that automatically calibrates a smart TV's native sound system with whatever wireless speaker alignment a user already has established in their living room. 

Dolby Atmos FlexConnect (press release available here) utilizes a smart TV's own native microphone to create an optimal audio configuration based on what equipment you have ... and how your room is configured. 

TCL will be the first to deploy the new feature in its smart TVs starting next year. 

“Consumers shouldn’t have to move their furniture to experience better audio, but rather audio should adapt to them,” said John Couling, senior VP of entertainment for Dolby, in a statement. “Dolby Atmos FlexConnect is an entirely new category of experience that offers consumers the freedom and flexibility to choose how they want to arrange their devices while still getting a great immersive Dolby Atmos experience.”

Ars Technica dug a little deeper on how the technology works and received this response from Dolby: "After each speaker is placed, the TV will undergo an automatic calibration using acoustic mapping, [using TV microphones], to understand the location of each speaker. The TV then intelligently and seamlessly optimizes the sound image after analyzing this data combined with information the TV can gather on each speaker’s acoustic capabilities. Together, this information allows the TV to adjust the rendering of each speaker to optimize the sound to ensure listeners are enjoying a great audio experience."

Note that in its press release, Dolby says its new technology works with "accessory" speakers -- the company hasn't clarified yet if FlexConnect will work with all brands of wireless speakers. 

Native TV sound equipment is notoriously ... well, bad. The Verge noted the possibility for FlexConnect to optimize and make us of this weaker equipment: "If your TV’s speakers aren’t all that capable when it comes to bass — and most aren’t — Dolby Atmos FlexConnect will know to leave those frequencies to the wireless speakers instead of pushing the integrated drivers too hard." 

WarnerMedia is throwing the gamut of advanced home entertainment technologies at its Dec. 25 release of Wonder Woman 2 on HBO Max.

The would-be summer blockbuster will be the first HBO Max movie available in 4K Ultra HD. The streaming service will also make Wonder Woman 1984 available in HDR 10, as well as in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. 

The move was announced by director Patty Jenkins on Twitter Tuesday. 

Also read: Wonder Woman 1984’ Day-And-Date Release on HBO Max Could Reshape Hollywood

The enhanced viewing experience will be supported by Apple TV 4K devices, as well as Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube and 4K Fire TV Edition smart TVs. Google’s Chromecast Ultra will also support the features, along with select Android TV boxes, such as those distributed by AT&T TV. 

WarnerMedia said it will expand the capabilities to other films and TV shows on HBO Max throughout 2021. 

WarnerMedia is distributing the $200 million film simultaneously on HBO Max and in the limited number of North American theaters that are still open. 

Amazon is broadening its Fire TV lineup with a new model that bakes in support for 4K, High Dynamic Range, 60 frames-per-second video and Dolby Atmos audio, plus an Alexa-powered voice remote, for $69.99.

The addition, which is also equipped with Alexa “skills,” is also 40% more powerful than the Fire TV stick, and follows a 4K-capable Fire TV device, which has more processing power than the product announced today, that Amazon introduced in the fall of 2015.

The new Amazon Fire TV is now available for pre-orders and will start to ship to U.S. customers on Oct. 25.

The new device, which uses a dongle-style form-factor, comes equipped with a 1.5 Ghz quad-core processor, dual-band 802.11ac WiFi, 2GB of memory, and 8 GB of storage. Amazon noted that the Alexa component of the device will also bring voice control and navigation to apps and services that include Hulu, Showtime, PlayStation Vue, CBS All Access, NBC, Bravo, CNBC and NBC News.

RELATED: Hulu Slates Fall Support for Amazon’s Alexa

Amazon said Fire TV is also working with partners to bring single sign-on capabilities to TV Everywhere apps from programmers such as ESPN, NBC, ABC, Disney Channel, AMC, CNN, Food Network, E!, Freeform and USA, among others.

For a limited time, Amazon is also bundling the new Fire TV and Echo Dot for $79.99 or the Fire TV Stick and Echo Dot for $59.99. Eligible customers who buy and activate the new Fire TV by Nov. 15 will also get two free months of Hulu (the SVOD service with limited commercials or no commercials), one month of Showtime’s OTT direct-to-consumer service, and a $10 credit to rent or buy content from Amazon Video.

Amazon’s new streamer will go toe-to-toe with other streaming players and platforms from Apple, Roku and Google (Android TV and Chromecast) that support new video and audio formats.

Of that group, Apple recently launched a version of the Apple TV that embraces 4K video, HDR 10 and Dolby Vision, but starts at a loftier price of $179. Amazon’s new device uses HDR 10, but not Dolby Vision.

RELATED: Apple Intros Apple TV 4K

“In terms of performance, the new Fire TV device is notably slower in graphics/gaming performance than the PowerVR GPU-equipped 2nd-gen Fire TV that it replaces, falling in between the aforementioned and the current Fire TV Stick in GPU capabilities,” Paul Erickson, senior research analyst for service provider technology at IHS Markit, said in a statement.

He said Amazon went in that direction so that it could deliver core capabilities while reducing cost substantially at the expense of gaming performance.

Amazon also introduced a new version of the Echo smart home hub for $99.99; a new Echo Plus for $149.99; and the Echo Spot, a compact version with a screen, for $129.99.

Comcast is using this week’s CEDIA show in Dallas to  debut a rack-mounted X1 box that is tailored for home theater installers.

“The new, sleek box delivers all of the features of the X1 platform, but in a device designed to fit easily into standard home theater racks,” Neal Roberts, senior manager, special operations at Comcast, said in this blog post.

Curious to know what it looks like? We are too, and have requested Comcast to pass along some pics of the new device. 

Update: A photo of the rack-mounted X1 device has been added to this story. 

As part of its efforts to make X1 “the centerpiece of any home theater system,” the MSO is also demonstrating two new features for the new boxes that are expected to launch early next year:

-IP Control: Comcast said it will make it easier for home theater users and installers to seamlessly operate X1 over both standard and customized universal remote controls.

-Dolby Atmos Integration: Comcast noted that Atmos “delivers rich, detailed and clear sound that can be precisely placed and moved anywhere in three-dimensional space, including overhead.” Comcast said it’s poised to become the first MVPD to offer this next-gen sound experience.

Roberts said all three home theater-facing developments come out of the MSO’s Custom Xfinity Integration (CXI) program, which was created in 2012 to serve the custom home integrator community.

The program “also serves as a clearinghouse and central contact point for home integration companies to access tools and support that was previously not available to them,” he explained. “This allows the integrators to set up and adjust Comcast Services and ensures a smooth installation experience on the behalf of our joint customer.” 

TiVo took aim at the high-end A/V market with last year's launch of the TiVo Mega, a rack-mounted device that sports 24 terabytes of storage (but doesn't seem to appear on the TiVo web site).