Dolby Atmos

KidJoe

thank you much for the mediainfo tip. My Dune file from earlier this year is showing E-AC-3,JOC Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos, now for the real question. How do i play this file with Atmos. Using Plex on an Apple tv4k it shows as 5.1. Is there a different video app I should try, or possibly a different streaming device? And yes I have an atmos setup and have no issues with the apple tv playing atmos from itunes, vudu, disney plus, hbomax and moviesanywhere.
wthomas69

Is PLEX transcoding/re-encoding the audio as it plays or is it Direct Playing the audio? The player app should have a playback info option, or you can look at your plex server's Status/Dashboard, or use the Plex Dash app on your mobile device. It needs to direct play. If it is transcoding, then you'll lose the atmos information and be normal 5.1 or such.

if time permits in the coming days I'll hook a couple of extra speakers to my family room receiver (without mounting) to enable atmos and see what happens with my Roku Ultra 4800.

AGuyWithAComputer

Looks like Apple only let specific apps use Dolby Atoms and Plex is not one of them. A quick google search of "apple tv4k10 plex atmos" will tell you that.

Yet another reason not to use apple products, but that's just my opinion.

jpp72

Yet another reason not to use apple products, but that's just my opinion.
AGuyWithAComputer

Amen! :D

KidJoe

Looks like Apple only let specific apps use Dolby Atoms and Plex is not one of them. A quick google search of "apple tv4k10 plex atmos" will tell you that.

Yet another reason not to use apple products, but that's just my opinion.
AGuyWithAComputer

Keep in mind that many of the search results for "apple tv4k10 plex atmos" are talking about TrueHD Atmos, and not EAC3-JOC Atmos. Two different things, hence there is confusion about it, and why questions will continue to come up.

It is correct to say the AppleTV can't pass through TrueHD, so it re-encodes it to PCM and loses the meta data for Atmos. This is true for just about every device except the NVidia Shield Pro (I'm not sure if the Shield "tube" can do it)

BUT the question here is Can the AppleTV pass through EAC3 JOC Atmos (like what StreamFab downloads) when using Plex, or not.

This thread -> (see posts 3 and 4 specifically). seems to indicate the AppleTV device CAN, of course assuming the AppleTV device is directly connected to a FULLY ATMOS capable audio setup, either AV Receiver or SoundBar

And there is a post in this Reddit thread -> which seems to imply you need to use Infuse instead of the normal plex client app for it to work.
[quote]Somar2230 ·7 mo. ago
The ATV can do Atmos when using E-AC3, it does send it out as LPCM with the Atmos metadata. You will need to use Infuse instead of the Plex app.

served via a Plex server. Infuse can also play them over a network share.

Atmos via TrueHD will not work as others have said but the audio is still pretty good. I do have a Shield that I use when playing TrueHD audio tracks or I use my Blu-ray player.
[/quote]

KidJoe

Is PLEX transcoding/re-encoding the audio as it plays or is it Direct Playing the audio? The player app should have a playback info option, or you can look at your plex server's Status/Dashboard, or use the Plex Dash app on your mobile device. It needs to direct play. If it is transcoding, then you'll lose the atmos information and be normal 5.1 or such.

if time permits in the coming days I'll hook a couple of extra speakers to my family room receiver (without mounting) to enable atmos and see what happens with my Roku Ultra 4800.
KidJoe

And time permitted. I just hooked up 2 height speakers to the living room receiver, and configured it for 5.1.2, then opened Plex on the Roku 4800 and played back The Batman I downloaded from HBOMax (has EAC3-JOC, 6 channel audio).

Picture of Plex on the Roku 4800 with Plex playback info in background and Pioneer Receiver's info display in the foreground. As you can see Plex shows the audio as EAC3 5.1 DIRECT PLAY and the receiver shows the input as Dolby Atmos/DD+, and output as Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 ch

I also tried the same file using Plex on my FireTV 4K Max stick, also direct play, the receiver showed the same Dolby Atmos/DD+ in and Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 ch out. .

wthomas69

And time permitted. I just hooked up 2 height speakers to the living room receiver, and configured it for 5.1.2, then opened Plex on the Roku 4800 and played back The Batman I downloaded from HBOMax (has EAC3-JOC, 6 channel audio).

Picture of Plex on the Roku 4800 with Plex playback info in background and Pioneer Receiver's info display in the foreground. As you can see Plex shows the audio as EAC3 5.1 DIRECT PLAY and the receiver shows the input as Dolby Atmos/DD+, and output as Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 ch

I also tried the same file using Plex on my FireTV 4K Max stick, also direct play, the receiver showed the same Dolby Atmos/DD+ in and Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 ch out. .
KidJoe

Thanks for your input. I have some homework to do. I’m going to try infuse pro on the Apple TV. Next I’ll try my fire 4K stick that I usually only use while on vacation because of its portability. Thirdly I have a Roku 4 that I will try. Just trying to avoid spending $200 on an Nvidia shield to play the occasional Dolby digital with atmos download file

AGuyWithAComputer

I checked with my Google Chromecast with Google TV, which is like $40 in the US, and it does support Atmos when plugged directly into my receiver.

My receiver reported that it was playing Dolby Atmos from my download of Obi-Wan using streamfab

KidJoe

Thanks for your input. I have some homework to do. I’m going to try infuse pro on the Apple TV. Next I’ll try my fire 4K stick that I usually only use while on vacation because of its portability. Thirdly I have a Roku 4 that I will try. Just trying to avoid spending $200 on an Nvidia shield to play the occasional Dolby digital with atmos download file
wthomas69

I spoke to a friend who has an Apple TV 4K, I'm not sure what model/year. He DOES have an Atmos setup, but does NOT use StreamFab or the like to download so he doesn't have any movies with EAC3-JOC audio.

I shared access to my plex server, and he tried playing a few titles. When playing Movies with EAC3-JOC audio from my server via Plex, Plex reports the audio and video are DIRECT PLAY, but his receiver shows PCM 5.1. It does NOT show ATMOS.

Conversely, when playing on his Apple TV 4K device using the Disney+ app, his receiver DOES report PCM 5.1 Atmos. So I'm not sure what the Apple TV is doing. I don't know if its a PLEX thing, or a ATV4K thing.

IF you start looking at a new player, here is my experience. And keep in mind I now use Plex Media server running on a dedicated Windows 10 box, holding my disc rips and StreamFab downloads. I also dump the pictures and videos taken with my phone there. I also share the folders with my movies so that Kodi can access them and play them back.

I started with 1st Gen Fire TV BOX! upgraded to a 2nd gen box with 4k, and kept with Fire TV's. At the time they worked great with Kodi and passed through the 5.1 audio streams at the time (DD, AC3, DTS). A firmware update in 2021 meant the Fire TV 1st Gen Cube, and 4K Stick w/DV no longer supported pass through of audio, it all is converted to DD+ so I switched to Plex on the Roku. Its what my wife and our son are now used to.

Lack of Atmos wasn't an issue before, with my Family Room setup of 5.1 only. BUT I did wire the basement for 5.1.4 Atmos, so I am wanting the support for my streaming box and Plex so I don't have to go grab discs. (fingers crossed the basement will finally be completed this week or next).

The Fire TV 4k Max now converts all audio to DD+ (including AAC, AC3, DTS). The previous FireTV4k stick also does this, as does my Fire TV cube 1st gens (and 2nd gen cube from what I've read). I notice this with Plex and Kodi and my disc rips, as well as some of my StreamFab downloads that don't include EAC3/EAC3-JOC audio tracks. Its why I don't use my Fire TV Sticks and Cubes much any more. If you're using mainly using supported streaming services like Prime Video, Prime Channels, HBOMax, Disney+, etc. then you wont notice it. NOTE: I did add a USB3.0 1GBps ethernet adapter so I could better play UHD Disc rips.

The Roku Ultra 4800 can pass AC3, Eac3, Eac3-JOC, DTS (core not MA/HD), and AAC through which is nice. Of course it wont pass through lossless audio formats like TrueHD, TrueHD w/Atmos, DTS-MA/HD when using Plex which is what I want for my DISC rips. I haven't looked to see if there are alternate players like Plex for the Roku, obviously Kodi is not available. I do also have Roku Ultra 4670 (doesn't support Dolby Vision), with the exception of DV it performs the same as the Ultra 4800. NOTE: I don't have the 4670 hooked up at the moment, so I can't test EAC3-JOC/Atmos with it. NOTE: has only 100mbps network adapter built in, so unless you can get a STRONG and STABLE Wifi signal, forget about higher bit rate UHD rips.

I have a couple of Roku Streaming Stick+ 4K (3810). When I connected it to the family room receiver, i Couldn't get a strong and stable wifi connection, and it doesn't have wired ethernet, so I am only using them in rooms where I don't have an AV Receiver or surround setup. Therefore I can't comment on its audio.

I have a Verizon JS8V streaming box. It was sent to me unsolicited for FREE by Verizon for some reason (apparently they sent them to many customers) Its a generic Android TV box. It doesn't passthrough HD audio, and converts everything to DD+ 5.1. Also only has 100mbps network, and no USB to try to use a USB adapter, so again not ideal for many UHD rips.

I did break down and by a Shield Pro yesterday. Not because of ATMOS with these downloads, but rather the ability to pass through TrueHD and TrueHD w/Atmos, as well as many other audio types natively, without transcoding, which is a better scenario for all the Bluray and 4K discs I own that I have ripped. And yes, it is worth it! I wish it wasn't a "2019" version, but rather more current hardware, but it works and does what I want.

wthomas69

Atmos works on my Fire Stick 4k, checked with Dune and FB Dumbledore. Have you gotten any other titles with Atmos? The firestick wouldn't even open a couple titles from peacock (The Northman and Ambulance), the play fine on my PC, will check to see if they play with atv4k.

KidJoe

Atmos works on my Fire Stick 4k, checked with Dune and FB Dumbledore. Have you gotten any other titles with Atmos? The firestick wouldn't even open a couple titles from peacock (The Northman and Ambulance), the play fine on my PC, will check to see if they play with atv4k.
wthomas69

I've downloaded several 4K titles from HBOMax that have EAC3-JOC Atmos in them. And there are some Disney+ series. Amazon doesn't have as many titles with Atmos in fact I can't recall what I've downloaded from there with Atmos.

I've not had any issues with playing files (via Plex or Kodi) on my FireTV 4K Stick or FireTV 4K Max stick, or my Rokus.

« Previous Page