HBO Max, Amazon, Paramount+ not sending Atmos signal?

[TheTallOne89]

Hey all. I have a Denon 3700x with an Apple TV as my primary streaming device, with a 5.2.4 speaker setup. Recently, somewhat out of the blue, various streaming services are no longer (apparently) sending Atmos through the way they used to. Disney+ and Apple TV+ still do; the Atmos text comes up on the Denon screen and it is very clearly Atmos when you listen to it.

But HBO Max, Prime, and Paramount+ are not seeming to send Atmos, all of a sudden. HBO Max, in particular, was working fine until the last few days (Prime I hadn't used in a few weeks so it is possible it was recent as well, Paramount+ I just started using, so again, nothing to recently compare it to). The exact same media no longer comes up in Atmos. It defaults to Multi Channel In, and I can't select Atmos no matter how hard I try. I can get sound out of the height channels by switching to Multi Ch In + Neural X, so it isn't a speaker problem, per se.

To bypass the Apple TV itself, I used the default TV apps (LG) and signed into HBO Max there, and it is not clear to me whether it is picking up Atmos or not. The receiver says Multi Ch In + DD (so, not Atmos), but when I cycle through the receiver options, I come across an option for Atmos/DD Surround, and when I select that, it then shows... Multi Ch In + DD. It does come through the height channels on that setting, but even Multi Ch In + Neural X will send output to the height channels, so I don't know if that really is Atmos or just mimicking it.

I have done some searching around to figure out what the problem might be, but nothing seems to answer it. Not clear whether it is the Apple TV, the receiver, the Apps themselves (though that seems unlikely because this has all happened kind of at the same time). Nothing I have found explains it. The Apps are updated, my download speed (at least according to speed tests) is fine (300 mb range), and of course, Disney+ and Apple TV+ are sending Atmos fine, so there's that, too.

I have never entirely understood what Multi Channel In really even is, so it is possible I am just entirely misunderstanding what is going on here, but at the most basic level, when I watched certain movies a week ago on HBO Max, they were showing Atmos on the receiver and clearly sending the surround/height sounds, and now they are not. Any advice/help/suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd read before that the AppleTV doesn't pass out the codec, but rather converts to lpcm as you see on your avr (multi ch in). Maybe @Trebdp83 will pop in....

 

[afterlife2]

Atmos works on the firestick 4K on amazon prime, HBO+, etc. I have a Denon 4K receiver and I see the options if I want Atmos. Recheck your settings on Apple TV and your Denon. Replug HDMI as well.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yes, the Apple TV 4K takes all of the streaming services’ signals and outputs them as LCPM. It uses Dolby MAT to retain the Atmos metadata for output using LPCM. So, rather than get a Atmos/DD+ bitstream at the receiving end, one will get Atmos/PCM. Some receivers will display as much while others will display just Atmos. If Atmos metadata is missing, a MULTI CH PCM input signal will be displayed.

If Atmos is not displayed at all on the receiving end, then the service may not be streaming in Dolby Atmos for one of many reasons. Dolby Atmos is not available in any but the highest tier of some streaming services. If one can select Dolby Surround or DTS Neural:X, Atmos metadata is not present as those options will not be available when Atmos metadata is detected in the LCPM signal coming from the Apple TV 4K.

 

[Trebdp83]

I forgot to ask about the LG TV sound settings. The LG TVs can also output multichannel PCM with Atmos metadata as well after decoding a signal using the Auto setting in the Digital Sound Output settings with eARC Support ON

But, they can also send the streaming service bitstream to the receiver to be decoded by it using the Pass Through setting in the Digital Sound Output settings. When using Auto, Dolby Atmos signals will display as Dolby Atmos while the Pass Through setting will display the bitstream as Dolby Atmos/DD+. If using Auto setting and MULTI CH IN is displayed when playing a track that should be Dolby Atmos, there is no Atmos metadata in the signal. Pass through might display DD or DD+ in this case.

It can be frustrating because services that support Dolby Atmos on the Apple TV 4K may not support it on LG TVs. This is the case with Paramount+.

 

[TheTallOne89]

One bit of new info: I was testing various Prime shows, and it turns out Reacher does come through with Atmos, but various others I tested (Maverick, Guy Ritchie's the Covenant) don't, even though they are listed by Prime as having Atmos.

I do wonder whether HBO Max subtly took away Atmos without telling me, I'll check into that. But I don't understand why Prime would be sending some with Atmos and some without. I suppose this could be a receiver problem, although I am not sure how exactly to test that. I don't have a spare receiver lying around.

 

[Trebdp83]

Was your MAX subscription through a cable plan? Things changed recently and the Ultimate Ad-Free plan from MAX is now required for 4K and Dolby Atmos streaming.

 

[afterlife2]

Prime also states that movies are 4K and most are HD on my 4K TV.

 

[TheTallOne89]

Was your MAX subscription through a cable plan? Things changed recently and the Ultimate Ad-Free plan from MAX is now required for 4K and Dolby Atmos streaming.

This was it. Without telling us they dropped our 4k/Atmos streaming.

So shady. I guess Paramount+ has a similar plan distinction, and I have no idea what is going on with Prime, but regardless this appears to be an App problem, not a hardware problem. Thanks everyone for helping me figure this out.

 

[Trebdp83]

Prime is just a mess on any platform. Take “Reacher.” While labeled Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, both seasons are in HDR10 using my Amazon Fire TV Cube, Apple TV 4K and LG TV Prime Video apps and Dolby Atmos works on Season 2 but not Season 1. Those with HDR10+ TVs may have a different experience still.

“Carnival Row” is in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on my Amazon Fire TV Cube, Apple TV 4K and LG Prime Video apps. Different folks with different service tiers using different devices for playback on different TVs will have different experiences when streaming movies and tv shows.

 

[tmurnin]

So I'm getting this same "Multi Ch In" signal on my AVRs (both a Denon and an Arcam) regardless of what streaming app it's coming from - Netflix/Prime/Max or if I buy/rent a movie directly from Apple that is supposed to have Atmos. My question is - is this just a metadata issue where the "Dolby Atmos" signal isn't registering but I am still getting the actual Atmos sound (in which case I don't care?) or is this an issue where the AVR isn't processing an Atmos signal correctly?

 

[lovinthehd]

So I'm getting this same "Multi Ch In" signal on my AVRs (both a Denon and an Arcam) regardless of what streaming app it's coming from - Netflix/Prime/Max or if I buy/rent a movie directly from Apple that is supposed to have Atmos. My question is - is this just a metadata issue where the "Dolby Atmos" signal isn't registering but I am still getting the actual Atmos sound (in which case I don't care?) or is this an issue where the AVR isn't processing an Atmos signal correctly?

What streamer? Is audio out set to bitstream or?

 

[tmurnin]

What streamer? Is audio out set to bitstream or?

AppleTV, which doesn’t really give you that option. It outputs as uncompressed multichannel LPCM

 

[lovinthehd]

AppleTV, which doesn’t really give you that option. It outputs as uncompressed multichannel LPCM

Yeah, from what @Trebdp83 has mentioned about ATVs that the metadata comes thru but no bitstream available.

 

[Trebdp83]

So I'm getting this same "Multi Ch In" signal on my AVRs (both a Denon and an Arcam) regardless of what streaming app it's coming from - Netflix/Prime/Max or if I buy/rent a movie directly from Apple that is supposed to have Atmos. My question is - is this just a metadata issue where the "Dolby Atmos" signal isn't registering but I am still getting the actual Atmos sound (in which case I don't care?) or is this an issue where the AVR isn't processing an Atmos signal correctly?

To which of your systems is the Apple TV 4K connected and what is the speaker configuration of that system? Wait, is it an Apple TV 4K or HD? Is Atmos turned ON in the Immersive Audio setting of the Apple TV?

 

[tmurnin]

I have an Apple TV 4K connected to both systems and immersive audio is turned on

 

[Trebdp83]

When an Atmos track is working properly using the Apple TV 4K and a connected AVR, the incoming signal should be displayed as Atmos, or Atmos/PCM on certain AVRs. There should be no corresponding input channel info. If it is not working properly, you will get a MULTI CH PCM input signal with corresponding channel info. I'd think it was a service tier issue with streaming services but the movies rented or purchased from Apple with Dolby Atmos tracks should work. Is the channel info for tracks that are supposed to be in Atmos reported as MULTI CH PCM 5.1 or 7.1?