NetFlix Upgrades Their Audio....

[snakeeyes]

Does anyone know of any Ultra HD Blu-ray player that supports Netflix with Dolby Atmos? It appears Roku does not support Dolby Atmos on Netflix. and outside of Apple TV and Xbox which does, but I don't really want to purchase just to get Netflix with Atmos. I do need a Ultra HD Blu-ray player, do any support Dolby Atmos on Netflix?

When I add my ceiling speakers, I have Netflix Atmos support on my Apple TV 4K, but I use my Sony 4K player for discs. I wish my Firestick 4K had support as that is my favorite streamer and remote.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks, that would make sense why I haven't noticed anything, with my low speed connection (less than 10Mbps in the first place).

Who is your Internet provider? Just because you live in the country, is no excuse for lousy service. I had better Internet at my lake home in the Paul Bunyan State Forrest, than I have here in the Twin Cities metro.

The coop responded to my prompting over 10 years ago, that a fiber network would allow them to offer more service. So the world's first passive rural PON was constructed and the whole network had fiber into the home in next to no time. I could get a Gig there. The benefits to the coop where massive. A booster was only required every 20 miles instead of every 2 miles. Every customer could get a very high speed reliable connection. The service was far more reliable, and the cost of maintaining the system over a large geographic area dropped dramatically, stabilizing cost to the customer. They could also increase revenue by adding HD TV with DVR service to all customers as well as high speed Internet and phone service.

This whole deal was a massive win, win for all concerned.

You need to rattle some cages like I did.

 

[lovinthehd]

Who is your Internet provider? Just because you live in the country, is no excuse for lousy service. I had better Internet at my lake home in the Paul Bunyan State Forrest, than I have here in the Twin Cities metro.

The coop responded to my prompting over 10 years ago, that a fiber network would allow them to offer more service. So the world's first passive rural PON was constructed and the whole network had fiber into the home in next to no time. I could get a Gig there. The benefits to the coop where massive. A booster was only required every 20 miles instead of every 2 miles. Every customer could get a very high speed reliable connection. The service was far more reliable, and the cost of maintaining the system over a large geographic area dropped dramatically, stabilizing cost to the customer. They could also increase revenue by adding HD TV with DVR service to all customers as well as high speed Internet and phone service.

This whole deal was a massive win, win for all concerned.

You need to rattle some cages like I did.

That was my previous service. When I first came here there was only DSL provided thru CenturyLink who couldn't give a shite and never bothered improving on dsl even though the local government had a fiber line to access. After a while we got a competing service, Emerald Broadband, that did tap into the existing fiber, but it was a broadcast type and my trees prevented good reception. Then a few months ago got the Spectrum/Charter cable type service from new fiber they laid. I'm now at 100-120 kbps range, altho typical of many cable type delivery services, there are still the occasional hiccup/dropout....

 

[TLS Guy]

When I add my ceiling speakers, I have Netflix Atmos support on my Apple TV 4K, but I use my Sony 4K player for discs. I wish my Firestick 4K had support as that is my favorite streamer and remote.

In order to get Dolby Atmos from Netflix and Amazon, I have to use HDMI ARC and stream to the TV. I do not get Atmos from my 4K HTPC. The HTPC will stream a 4K picture though. Interestingly the ChromeCast Ultra from an Apple iPhone will stream Atmos. I have not tried either of my 4K disc players, a Panasonic and a Sony.

The good news is that the HDMI audio return on 4K devices works perfectly, much to my surprise, and is very easy to use. I just press the Netflix or Amazon buttons on the TV remote and select TV audio on the pre/pro remote and it works.

Amazon has never worked well for me as far as audio is concerned until this new 4K system with audio return and now it is very good.

Actually this ARC system on 4K systems has probably been the greatest benefit. I find the increase in PQ detectable but marginal. The increased SQ from Netflix and Amazon has been dramatic. I think there is a deliberate downgrade, especially from Amazon when not using an App.

By the way talking of PQ and audio quality, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra moved up to 4K via Facebook Live last year. They have simplified their mic arrangement and now just use three spaced omni mics and NO spots, not even for soloists. The sound and picture is absolutely superb. I steam that via my 4K HTPC.

I have always favored simple mic techniques over complex ones. That is what I always did for my broadcasts. Far better results are obtained compared to a forest of microphones. Although the latter can help poorer systems, and the former really allow good ones to shine.

These DSO streams from 2019 and 2020 until Covid 19 shut everything down are just staggeringly good, especially with the new Dolby upmixer. You absolutely feel you are there.

 

[highfigh]

Firstly...
U should check ur internet download speed @ the home theater system spot.
Here is a popular link.
https://www.speedtest.net


To be assured of a quality video & audio stream from NetFlix the download speed should be @ least 50Mbps... Once U are sure U have enough download speed, then select a later movie...

Just my $0.02...

speedof.me is another one I use when checking networks.

 

[NINaudio]

Who is your Internet provider? Just because you live in the country, is no excuse for lousy service. I had better Internet at my lake home in the Paul Bunyan State Forrest, than I have here in the Twin Cities metro.

The coop responded to my prompting over 10 years ago, that a fiber network would allow them to offer more service. So the world's first passive rural PON was constructed and the whole network had fiber into the home in next to no time. I could get a Gig there. The benefits to the coop where massive. A booster was only required every 20 miles instead of every 2 miles. Every customer could get a very high speed reliable connection. The service was far more reliable, and the cost of maintaining the system over a large geographic area dropped dramatically, stabilizing cost to the customer. They could also increase revenue by adding HD TV with DVR service to all customers as well as high speed Internet and phone service.

This whole deal was a massive win, win for all concerned.

You need to rattle some cages like I did.

Any advice on how to rattle some cages? We've got super limited options at our house, it was basically satellite internet or 4G cell based internet. We went the satellite internet route at first, but the latency and caps were horrific. Once we hit our monthly data cap (50 GB), we were throttled to under 1 MBps which made even checking email a tedious exercise. With cell based internet we get around 20 MBps most days and after we reach our monthly data limit (75 GB) we get throttled to around 5 MBps, which is at least tolerable and usable for most tasks. We're on a rather secluded street, with maybe a dozen houses surrounded by commercial zones and forest preserves.

 

[TLS Guy]

Any advice on how to rattle some cages? We've got super limited options at our house, it was basically satellite internet or 4G cell based internet. We went the satellite internet route at first, but the latency and caps were horrific. Once we hit our monthly data cap (50 GB), we were throttled to under 1 MBps which made even checking email a tedious exercise. With cell based internet we get around 20 MBps most days and after we reach our monthly data limit (75 GB) we get throttled to around 5 MBps, which is at least tolerable and usable for most tasks. We're on a rather secluded street, with maybe a dozen houses surrounded by commercial zones and forest preserves.

If yo can not get a sensible response from your provider, then the option is to organize a local cooperative to get the job done. That is what we had out of Bemdiji MN.

 

[mach250]

Firstly...
U should check ur internet download speed @ the home theater system spot.
Here is a popular link.
https://www.speedtest.net


To be assured of a quality video & audio stream from NetFlix the download speed should be @ least 50Mbps... Once U are sure U have enough download speed, then select a later movie...

Just my $0.02...

www.fast.com uses the netflix network for their speedtest.

 

[Auditor55]

Does anyone know of any Ultra HD Blu-ray player that supports Netflix with Dolby Atmos? It appears Roku does not support Dolby Atmos on Netflix. and outside of Apple TV and Xbox which does, but I don't really want to purchase just to get Netflix with Atmos. I do need a Ultra HD Blu-ray player, do any support Dolby Atmos on Netflix?

Sony X800 M2

 

[Auditor55]

Just announced...
Netflix has announced that it is now distributing “studio quality” and adaptive audio streaming, bringing sound up to the company’s established video quality benchmark, largely in response to the demands of content creators.
They have updated the subject algorithms for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital +, Dolby Atmos...
Now Netflix has upgraded to 640 kbps, a 10:1 compression ratio when compared to a 24-bit 5.1 channel studio master. The improvement was delivered by using a bitrate ladder for 5.1-channel audio ranging from 192 up to 640 kbps. For Dolby Atmos bitrates, this was increased for the highest offering to 768 kbps. Netflix advised the audio upgrade was requested based upon subscriber feedback.

Just my $0.02..

We can get this without e-ARC?

 

[snakeeyes]

Sony X800 M2

I don’t think it has Atmos for Netflix unless there was a recent update.

 

[thebrieze]

Firstly...
U should check ur internet download speed @ the home theater system spot.
Here is a popular link.
https://www.speedtest.net


To be assured of a quality video & audio stream from NetFlix the download speed should be @ least 50Mbps... Once U are sure U have enough download speed, then select a later movie...

Just my $0.02...

Doesn’t really answer the actual questions asked, so let me try this again, this time with a little more detail.

While watching a show on Netflix, is there a way to tell what the actual received bitrate/audio codec is? Maybe an Info screen, or some packet sniffer app?

Separately, is there a way to search for such shows - to compare the difference between enhanced audio and regular? This would be similar to the 4K, Atmos, Dolby Vision etc symbols.

Available bandwidth (measured by fast.com etc) is only one variable that determines what audio/video quality you get. There are others. Device model, software version etc. also even if you “should” get a particular version, once the stream is playing, it might switch to something else. Being able to call up the actual received bitrate is useful, to troubleshoot and investigate

 

[Auditor55]

I don’t think it has Atmos for Netflix unless there was a recent update.

Really! Well I do know that Xbox One S/X does with that Dolby app, but its kind of glitchy. However, the Xbox One S/X does not support Dolby Vision via its Blu Ray drive.

 

[Auditor55]

Why do you want a Blu Ray player with Atmos for Netflix?

 

[M Code]

Doesn’t really answer the actual questions asked, so let me try this again, this time with a little more detail.

While watching a show on Netflix, is there a way to tell what the actual received bitrate/audio codec is? Maybe an Info screen, or some packet sniffer app?

Separately, is there a way to search for such shows - to compare the difference between enhanced audio and regular? This would be similar to the 4K, Atmos, Dolby Vision etc symbols.

Available bandwidth (measured by fast.com etc) is only one variable that determines what audio/video quality you get. There are others. Device model, software version etc. also even if you “should” get a particular version, once the stream is playing, it might switch to something else. Being able to call up the actual received bitrate is useful, to troubleshoot and investigate

Download speed, bandwidth, compression, bit rate are all interrelated to determine the final audio/video quality of an internet stream. Netflix, YouTube implement adaptive bitrate streaming, that works by detecting a user's bandwidth, CPU capacity, system resources in real time and adjusting the quality of the media stream accordingly. Also other factors come into play including bandwidth throttling by the carrier and amount of buffering. Thats why in our AV install biz, we try and steer the user to invest into the higher capacity/speed modem and support services that are capable of handling/delivering the higher speeds.

Just my $0.02...

 

[shadyJ]

Any advice on how to rattle some cages? We've got super limited options at our house, it was basically satellite internet or 4G cell based internet. We went the satellite internet route at first, but the latency and caps were horrific. Once we hit our monthly data cap (50 GB), we were throttled to under 1 MBps which made even checking email a tedious exercise. With cell based internet we get around 20 MBps most days and after we reach our monthly data limit (75 GB) we get throttled to around 5 MBps, which is at least tolerable and usable for most tasks. We're on a rather secluded street, with maybe a dozen houses surrounded by commercial zones and forest preserves.

I am so sorry for you, that sounds like a living nightmare!

 

[NINaudio]

I am so sorry for you, that sounds like a living nightmare!

lol, it's sad when you look at the fiber suppliers and realize you're in that 0.2% of the town that they don't cover. Assuming of course they're not exaggerating about their 99.8% fiber coverage.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Why do you want a Blu Ray player with Atmos for Netflix?

Ummmm probably for the Atmos track?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

lol, it's sad when you look at the fiber suppliers and realize you're in that 0.2% of the town that they don't cover. Assuming of course they're not exaggerating about their 99.8% fiber coverage.

Don’t feel too bad. For years all I could get was “clearwire”. Wireless modem with a whopping 3gb, which it never delivered since they kept adding customers but never fortified the network. Now we have fiber. Costs me 50 bucks a month for 50gb up/down. When I run Speedtest, we usually get about 65-70dL and well over a hundred UL. Good times!

 

[afterlife2]

Mi box and fire stick 4K can both do atmos. I Don’t have 4K, but know they both support it.