Apple TV Audio output issues.

[paulwgraber]

Apple TV latest gen. - HDMI to Onkyo rz50- HDMI Onkyo out to Sony XR85X90L HDMI 3 (Earc).
When streaming HULU or any other app on my Apple TV I am only getting pcm 2.0 input to my onkyo when apple tv is set to Atmos. When I set my ATV to DD 5.1 I can get pcm 5.1.

So whats the deal? I have to manually change to atmos on my apple TV everytime I watch Atmos content such as Star Wars content on Atmos?

 

[lovinthehd]

@Trebdp83

 

[TLS Guy]

Apple TV latest gen. - HDMI to Onkyo rz50- HDMI Onkyo out to Sony XR85X90L HDMI 3 (Earc).
When streaming HULU or any other app on my Apple TV I am only getting pcm 2.0 input to my onkyo when apple tv is set to Atmos. When I set my ATV to DD 5.1 I can get pcm 5.1.

So whats the deal? I have to manually change to atmos on my apple TV everytime I watch Atmos content such as Star Wars content on Atmos?

I do not have Apple TV, but I think what you are experiencing is pretty general. I think you always have to select Atmos, even on disc that is true.
Most of my Atmos watching come from the BPO, and you have to toggle to Atmos between each work, as it will default back to stereo between each.
Why it seems to be this way I really don't know.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I do not have Apple TV, but I think what you are experiencing is pretty general. I think you always have to select Atmos, even on disc that is true.
Most of my Atmos watching come from the BPO, and you have to toggle to Atmos between each work, as it will default back to stereo between each.
Why it seems to be this way I really don't know.

On my Atv, I don’t have to select Atmos at all. If the program carries it, it’s automatically sent to my AVR. This works with Apple TV, but apps like Netflix won’t send the Atmos encode because my tv is 1080p. Even when I’ve purchased the premium package, which I later cancelled because of that. Thankfully the Apple TV service doesn’t care what my display is. Vudu does this too.

 

[paulwgraber]

So do I just leave it on DD 5.1?

 

[lovinthehd]

I'm not an apple person but if IIRC the ATVs don't have ability to do bitstream of Atmos but can send it out as PCM with meta data? Or am I misremembering?

 

[Trebdp83]

The Apple TV 4K converts ALL signals to LPCM by default. DD/DD+ 5.1 tracks will display as MULTICHANNEL PCM 5.1 on the Onkyo. Two channel tracks will display as PCM 2.0.

The Apple TV 4K supports Dolby MAT so that Atmos metadata is not lost when converting the signal to LPCM for output. Dolby Atmos tracks will simply display as Dolby Atmos.

Selecting Dolby Digital for output on the Apple TV 4K means Dolby Atmos is off the table and DD 5.1 is the max.

Depending on the service tier of some streaming services, 4K HDR/Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos may not be available at all and the audio settings of a given streamer will not matter concerning Dolby Atmos.

More information about the services apps used here and the service tier subscriptions would be helpful.

 

[TLS Guy]

So do I just leave it on DD 5.1?

May be. DD 5.1 is an upmixed signal from 2 channel.

All I can tell you is that if the receiver display does not say Dolby Atmos then you are not getting it.

 

[paulwgraber]

The Apple TV 4K converts ALL signals to LPCM by default. DD/DD+ 5.1 tracks will display as MULTICHANNEL PCM 5.1 on the Onkyo. Two channel tracks will display as PCM 2.0.

The Apple TV 4K supports Dolby MAT so that Atmos metadata is not lost when converting the signal to LPCM for output. Dolby Atmos tracks will simply display as Dolby Atmos.

Selecting Dolby Digital for output on the Apple TV 4K means Dolby Atmos is off the table and DD 5.1 is the max.

Depending on the service tier of some streaming services, 4K HDR/Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos may not be available at all and the audio settings of a given streamer will not matter concerning Dolby Atmos.

More information about the services apps used here and the service tier subscriptions would be helpful.

So what you are saying is I do have to change it everytime?

 

[TLS Guy]

So what you are saying is I do have to change it everytime?

Yes, join the club!

 

[Trebdp83]

No. Let it decode the signal and output LPCM. 2.0 and 5.1 tracks will be output to the corresponding channels without issue. A benefit of this is that the Dolby offset will not be activated at the receiving end.

With Change Format(Dolby Digital) OFF and the Immersive Audio(Dolby Atmos) setting ON, Dolby Atmos tracks will display as Dolby Atmos, not Atmos/DD+ because it is not a bitstream and has been decoded and converted to LPCM before being sent to the receiver. Other receivers will display the signal as Atmos/PCM when using a device that supports Dolby MAT.

There is no need to change audio settings for different audio signals. And, again, different apps and streaming services tiers may or may not support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The Hulu app does not support Dolby Atmos at all. It supports 2.0 and 5.1

Assuming all service tiers and apps used here support Dolby Atmos, except Hulu, the red Dolby audio indicator on the Onkyo front panel display should light up only when playing Dolby Atmos tracks using the Apple TV 4K with optimal settings. It should display PCM in green for all non Atmos signals.

Now, use the Smart TV’s apps and send audio to the receiver over eARC and things change a bit as the TV can bitstream signals. So, using the TV’s Hulu app, a 5.1 signal may display as DD+ 5.1 rather than MULTI CH PCM 5.1 when using the Apple TV 4K. Dolby Atmos bitstreams from the TV should display as Atmos/DD+ on the Onkyo. Atmos metadata from bitstreams can be lost and the streamed signal displayed as just DD+ if a non compliant speaker configuration is in play.

The Apple TV 4K does not support DTS at all. It cannot accept, decode or output DTS signals. The Sony TV here does support DTS and I believe is one of the supported models of Disney+’s IMAX Enhanced Signature Sound by DTS. If using the TV’s Disney+ app with highest service tier and selecting an IMAX Enhanced title, with a few exceptions, the IMAX DTS:X track should be an option for output. When using the Apple TV 4K, DTS:X is not available at all and Dolby Atmos will be output.