Netflix Audio Capability Fail/Oversight

[Meticulous G]

I'll open by acknowledging the possibility that I may be missing something/incorrect, buuut

I'm not a huge fan of netflix, never have been...but I've been enjoying the fact that streaming services have been making an effort to provide content with atmos sound, even if it is a slightly inferior version to its hardcopy disk counterpart

I 1st discovered this with disney, then max...having long given up on the 'flix. I also have a modest collection of uhd blu-rays which I break out when I really wanna jam a movie with good sound

Anyway, I caught wind of netflix having begun supporting atmos, so I finally made my way back to it, to see what they had to offer in the format, 'cause I burn through available titles rather quickly with the other 2 I subscribe to

To my surprise, despite the fact that I have everything I'm supposed to have, and have all the settings right...it was only offering me the 4K uhd dolby vision movies with 5.1 sound, and I couldn't understand why

...especially since I've been getting atmos with disney for at least a year and Max right behind it (earc from tv to marantz)

Chatting with their help center was useless, so I quit that, and made another round of checks & troubleshooting, both through phone app and site, since there's not even any setup options on my tv app version...with their reply still echoing in my head

"Yer device doesn't support netflix streaming with atmos", ...which I wasn't excepting, because I stream atmos movies every day with others

Then it hit me. They've got it programmed to check yer equipment 1st...then it decides for you what yer system can handle, and limits itself to only allowing ITS highest determined sound format

Yes my tv supports atmos, but it's not an atmos device itself. I use the passthrough setting on my tv to get it to my avr...which then handles it

So I went back to the chat to inform them of my findings, and to have them tell their programmers that it would be nice if they didn't treat us like we're ignorant children, and gave us a way to choose which sound format we want

Anyone else have a similar experience and/or find a workaround...am I right?

 

[Trebdp83]

What is the TV model? Unfortunately, some services do not support Dolby Atmos on some TVs.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yep apps vary, as do settings. Most of think of passthru more on the avr than tv, tho I have no desire for audio to originate in the tv myself....

Just because one service on a device has something doesn't mean another will...or when multiple devices are involved just which one is liable . Assume Netflix on this particular app/device did advertise Atmos was available before playing, did it confirm it after starting or during play?

 

[Meticulous G]

What is the TV model? Unfortunately, some services do not support Dolby Atmos on some TVs.

Interesting, thx

This 1's just a "crappy" low end (but modern 2022) hisense, which I'm actually quite surprised with, tbh...avr is marantz sr 7012

So even though the equipment can handle it, some services themselves just decide "screw you, you can't have all the features of this highest tier you pay for"?

And you caught the part where my tv is only a monitor? All audio is passed through to marantz, ya?

 

[Meticulous G]

Yep apps vary, as do settings. Most of think of passthru more on the avr than tv, tho I have no desire for audio to originate in the tv myself....

Just because one service on a device has something doesn't mean another will...or when multiple devices are involved just which one is liable . Assume Netflix on this particular app/device did advertise Atmos was available before playing, did it confirm it after starting or during play?

Ya, same...I don't think I've allowed a TV to handle sound since before the turn of the millennium...not even for PS or XboX the 1st

"Assume Netflix on this particular app/device did advertise Atmos was available before playing, did it confirm it after starting or during play?"

Sorry, I'm not positive I know what you mean by this...do you mean like how after a movie with Dolby Vision is started, the movie displays the "Dolby Vision" badge in the upper corner of the screen, when it 1st starts? (As confirmation that it's there and active)

But on the menu screen for movies on "flix, nothing EVER says atmos, even titles I know are/should normally be, available in atmos...the highest sound format it displays movies to have, is 5.1

This is next to the lineup where it shows the features/specs of the movie title, on the info & play screen, like 4K, UHD, HDR/Dolby Vision, etc

When a movie I'm streaming is mixed in atmos and everything goes right...I get the confirmation from the larger screen on my avr

These are apps on my tv that are doing the streaming, btw. Not sure if I was clear on that, sorry

Hope that answers yer question/ gives more complete info, thx

 

[lovinthehd]

Ya, same...I don't think I've allowed a TV to handle sound since before the turn of the millennium...not even for PS or XboX the 1st

"Assume Netflix on this particular app/device did advertise Atmos was available before playing, did it confirm it after starting or during play?"

Sorry, I'm not positive I know what you mean by this...do you mean like how after a movie with Dolby Vision is started, the movie displays the "Dolby Vision" badge in the upper corner of the screen, when it 1st starts? (As confirmation that it's there and active)

But on the menu screen for movies on "flix, nothing EVER says atmos, even titles I know are/should normally be, available in atmos...the highest sound format it displays movies to have, is 5.1

This is next to the lineup where it shows the features/specs of the movie title, on the info & play screen, like 4K, UHD, HDR/Dolby Vision, etc

When a movie I'm streaming is mixed in atmos and everything goes right...I get the confirmation from the larger screen on my avr

These are apps on my tv that are doing the streaming, btw. Not sure if I was clear on that, sorry

Hope that answers yer question/ gives more complete info, thx

Sounds like maybe an external streamer might be in order. I never originate content in a tv, just use it as a display....if you're using the tv apps hard to know what they're setup to do.

 

[Chesapeake HT]

It can also depend on the tier of Netflix you have. Not all provide 4k hd and Atmos (Dolby and/or Vision).

 

[Trebdp83]

If other apps are passing Atmos over ARC, I wouldn’t think it was a setting that was fouling things up if using their top tier of service. It isn’t a cure for everything, but you might try unplugging power and hdmi cables for a bit and then hook it all back up and try it.

 

[Phil J N.Z.]

You will need to use eARC to get it to work correctly and if it has an option in the TV software to turn eARC on, I had the same problem with my LG TV and turning it on fixed it.

 

[Meticulous G]

Sounds like maybe an external streamer might be in order. I never originate content in a tv, just use it as a display....if you're using the tv apps hard to know what they're setup to do.

True, and I'd be more likely to consider that, if the atmos content I enjoy from Disney+ and Max didn't work, but they both do just fine
...it's only Netflix that's a flailer who doesn't make good

I've actually always hated Netflix, and have no problem living without it, tbh...but occasionally there's a few titles exclusively available there that are worth the time

I only recently gave it another chance to supplement/expand on available atmos titles, since I heard they've started supporting it 'cause I watch a lot of movies & they're still pretty limited between the 2 other services

There are times I care more about having the sound format, than what the movie even is...it just makes everything a little bit more fun & engaging, plus I'm into getting my $'s worth for all this stuff I bought & went through the trouble to set up

In the end, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it...I mostly just like to solve mysteries when present themselves

The strangest part is, that none of the movies even display that they have atmos sound available on the menu screens

...it's like the app looks at the equipment you have, and pre decides whether to offer the format to you based on what it "sees", and if it doesn't see yer tech as being atmos compatible
...it totally hides the word/option from you

It's not like it shows me titles with atmos sound, then they just don't play that way...it's really weird & just plain dumb

 

[lovinthehd]

True, and I'd be more likely to consider that, if the atmos content I enjoy from Disney+ and Max didn't work, but they both do just fine
...it's only Netflix that's a flailer who doesn't make good

I've actually always hated Netflix, and have no problem living without it, tbh...but occasionally there's a few titles exclusively available there that are worth the time

I only recently gave it another chance to supplement/expand on available atmos titles, since I heard they've started supporting it 'cause I watch a lot of movies & they're still pretty limited between the 2 other services

There are times I care more about having the sound format, than what the movie even is...it just makes everything a little bit more fun & engaging, plus I'm into getting my $'s worth for all this stuff I bought & went through the trouble to set up

In the end, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it...I mostly just like to solve mysteries when present themselves

The strangest part is, that none of the movies even display that they have atmos sound available on the menu screens

...it's like the app looks at the equipment you have, and pre decides whether to offer the format to you based on what it "sees", and if it doesn't see yer tech as being atmos compatible
...it totally hides the word/option from you

It's not like it shows me titles with atmos sound, then they just don't play that way...it's really weird & just plain dumb

I think it's your tv myself, just the Netflix app they installed. Have you tried deleting/reinstalling the app if that's an option? Especially if it doesn't indicate Atmos for any movies. Sometimes it is your equipment chain but since you have an adequate chain I'd think its just the version of the app in the tv. An Amazon FireStick 4k can be had for a good price on sale now and then....

 

[Trebdp83]

You will need to use eARC to get it to work correctly and if it has an option in the TV software to turn eARC on, I had the same problem with my LG TV and turning it on fixed it.

Streaming services themselves use lossy Atmos/DD+. They work over ARC. So, turning on eARC when connected to a receiver that only supports ARC will not help matters. Actually, it can mess things up.

The eARC support setting should not be ON when connected to a receiver that only supports ARC. But, HDMI-CEC will need to be ON in both the TV and receiver for ARC to work.

 

[Meticulous G]

It can also depend on the tier of Netflix you have. Not all provide 4k hd and Atmos (Dolby and/or Vision).

Yep, I double and triple checked
...Premium Ultra HD tier

I get 4K and even Dolby Vision offerings, but then no matter what title it is, sound is always stated as being 5.1...even for titles that were listed when I searched for Netflix movies with atmos...it just doesn't make sense

The customer service person I chatted with says the app checks yer equipment and feeds it the maximum resolution and sound format yer equipment is capable of supporting, so the best I can figure is that there's some poorly written code/programming that handles that

If they'd just make it so every possible format was selectable under the audio part, once ya get into the movie, instead of feeling the need to make the app determine that for us...it would remove the room for human error on their end, but they've gotta treat everyone like we're all idiots who need to be babysat & have our hand held

 

[lovinthehd]

Yep, I double and triple checked
...Premium Ultra HD tier

I get 4K and even Dolby Vision offerings, but then no matter what title it is, sound is always stated as being 5.1...even for titles that were listed when I searched for Netflix movies with atmos...it just doesn't make senseView attachment 64877

The customer service person I chatted with says the app checks yer equipment and feeds it the maximum resolution and sound format yer equipment is capable of supporting, so the best I can figure is that there's some poorly written code/programming that handles that

If they'd just make it so every possible format was selectable under the audio part, once ya get into the movie, instead of feeling the need to make the app determine that for us...it would remove the room for human error on their end, but they've gotta treat everyone like we're all idiots who need to be babysat & have our hand held

Be more interesting if the customer service can say whether or not the version/device intention of the app itself is the limitation

 

[Meticulous G]

If other apps are passing Atmos over ARC, I wouldn’t think it was a setting that was fouling things up if using their top tier of service. It isn’t a cure for everything, but you might try unplugging power and hdmi cables for a bit and then hook it all back up and try it.

Yeah, that's something I haven't done...I can try that, thx

Will report back

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah, that's something I haven't done...I can try that, thx

Will report back

Yep a soft reset can often clear up glitches, if it is one....

 

[Meticulous G]

I think it's your tv myself, just the Netflix app they installed. Have you tried deleting/reinstalling the app if that's an option? Especially if it doesn't indicate Atmos for any movies. Sometimes it is your equipment chain but since you have an adequate chain I'd think its just the version of the app in the tv. An Amazon FireStick 4k can be had for a good price on sale now and then....

Aha...I know the app is up to date, but I suppose a glitchy install could be a culprit...delete, reinstall is a good idea too

Will include that in my troubleshooting, thx

The firestick would feel like a step down for me, tbh since this tv does all I want/need it to do with other apps...making just the netflix app the weak link/variable

 

[lovinthehd]

Aha...I know the app is up to date, but I suppose a glitchy install could be a culprit...delete, reinstall is a good idea too

Will include that in my troubleshooting, thx

The firestick would feel like a step down for me, tbh since this tv does all I want/need it to do with other apps...making just the netflix app the weak link/variable

I switched to an external app generally for a much better selection of available apps plus hate ARC/HDMI-CEC.....perhaps a newer tv is better at that. I don't know which has greater app access, but the firestick has way more than I'll ever need (and more than my smart tvs). What would constitute a step down do you think?

Trying resets, including even pulling/refitting cables, would be good ways to help eliminate what's going on or not....

 

[isolar8001]

Interesting, thx

This 1's just a "crappy" low end (but modern 2022) hisense, which I'm actually quite surprised with, tbh...avr is marantz sr 7012

So even though the equipment can handle it, some services themselves just decide "screw you, you can't have all the features of this highest tier you pay for"?

And you caught the part where my tv is only a monitor? All audio is passed through to marantz, ya?

Hisense sets have serious issues with HDMI passthrough...what model?
Your set is most certainly not just a monitor...its messing with things.

I have a U8H....incredible picture, but EARC is hopelessly broken.
If you plug a streamer into your Marantz, all should be fine.
Otherwise, you are creating your own issue....Atmos kinda sucks anyhow.

 

[Meticulous G]

You will need to use eARC to get it to work correctly and if it has an option in the TV software to turn eARC on, I had the same problem with my LG TV and turning it on fixed it.

Yup, it's running earc, with ultra high speed hdmi, cec on, etc