The YouTube app is frustrating to use with certain settings on an XBOX. When two channel content is played on YouTube using the “Dolby Atmos for home theater(HDMI only) audio output setting, two channel signals are placed in a container that appears as Dolby Atmos on the receiver display. Its a multichannel PCM container with a Dolby Atmos metadata flag. But the two channel info only outputs into the front channels and cannot be processed with Dolby Surround or DTS Neural:X. Some DSP modes like ALL CHANNEL STEREO will work. But, what you want is dialog just in the center channel without crazy reverb from various silly DSP modes.
This behavior concerning YouTube is not exclusive to the XBOX. It is a similar affair over a browser on my Mac using multichannel PCM output settings. To be able to get dialog in the center channel watching two channel content on YouTube using my Mac mini M1 or XBOX Series S, I have to change the audio output to 2.0. This means selecting “Stereo uncompressed” in the XBOX. Then, when playing the two channel content on YouTube, the receiver’s Dolby Surround and DTS Neural:X upmixers work and output dialog right in the center, though Dolby dialog bleed is horrible on my Onkyo when applied to two channel content over the XBOX. DTS Neural:X NEVER has dialog bleed into other channels. It’s an issue with the Dolby Surround upmixer on several different receiver and device combos.
This work around is an annoyance as it means changing the audio output setting when wanting Dolby Atmos output from content that has it back to Dolby Atmos for home theater(HDMI only). If one wants passthrough of 5.1 audio from certain apps so the receiver can upmix it rather than the XBOX, “Allow passthrough” must be checked in the Additional options as well. It’s such a mess and is the reason I don’t use the XBOX Series S for anything but gaming and just settle for it upmixing games that do not support Dolby Atmos as I don’t care to keep changing the audio output settings.
