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Apple Releases 14.2 Software for HomePod With New Siri, Intercom and Home Theater Features

I just talked to the Apple support. I was told, that the feature (Dolby Atmos) might be rolled out step by step during the next 24 hours.
 
I have updated my apple tv 4k And both homepods to 14.2 paired them and can select them as default speaker in Apple tv. I cant se atmos in menu, however I only get sound from my right speaker. Ive tried to restart apple tv, deleted the speaker and ad them again but still only sound from right speaker... when i airplay from my phone it plays in stereo.
I have manage to get atmos logo in netflix a bit randomly.
 
Lordcord96 said:
I just talked to the Apple support. I was told, that the feature (Dolby Atmos) might be rolled out step by step during the next 24 hours.
Click to expand...
Strange. The update (14.2), was released yesterday. Maybe they are refering to actually play Atmos with the Homepods on Netflix and Disney+, because for me the atmos logo (with homepods), only appear with certain content (ie Netflix The Irishman, shows the Atmos badge with the homepods, but other vontent which have atmos doesnt show the badge), but in Disney+, for example, content that I know that have Atmos only shows the 5.1 badge when Homepods are selected as the audio output.

Apple TV+ and Itunes purchases, however, show the Atmos badge with the Homepods in all content that applies.

The enveloping and directional sound on the Homepods , however, is very noticeable for me even with regular 5.1 tracks. Much better than before.
 
vandenhoogen said:
I have updated my apple tv 4k And both homepods to 14.2 paired them and can select them as default speaker in Apple tv. I cant se atmos in menu, however I only get sound from my right speaker. Ive tried to restart apple tv, deleted the speaker and ad them again but still only sound from right speaker... when i airplay from my phone it plays in stereo.
I have manage to get atmos logo in netflix a bit randomly.
Click to expand...

Doesn´t select them as default. That appears to have some bugs right now (for me, it kills my wifi) Try to just choosing them as an audio output in the control center of the Apple TV. The sound will be the same, to enjoy home theatre processing is not necessary to choose the Homepods as the default permanent output. Just make sure that are in the same room as the apple tv and both have 14.2 installed.

Also make sure that in the apple tv "Audio and Video" menu you have disabled "change format" option and also the audio format it set to auto.
 
glindon said:
Okay, so I got home and tested this out. Took a bit of messing with the home app and restarting my homepods because my stereo pair was showing up twice in the home app and twice in the default output options on the ATV. Took several tries to get the audio calibration to work as the ATV kept connecting to my sound bar to play the sound or the prompt wouldn’t come up on my phone, or the test sound would play and the prompt would tell me that it didn’t hear the test sound.

First impressions playing Blade Runner 2049: The homepods sound pretty good, good bass as I expected. I can tell that there is an “ambient effect” and it’s better that hearing the movie in stereo. Sounds and effects have a spaciousness, however none of the “effects” give the illusion of coming from the rear or sides. It’s not mind blowing. Switching back to my Atmos sound bar with sub and rear speakers... there is no comparison. The sound bar wins hands down as I expected. I could see where homepods would make better sense in a smaller bedroom and there is a cost difference ~$700 for stereo homepods vs ~$900 5.1.2 sound bar w/ sub and wireless rear speakers. But my money would be on spending the extra $200 If you were choosing between the two. Of course if you already have bought a pair of homepods it‘s a nice upgrade, but calling it “surround” or Atmos is kinda stretch. Slightly better than the old stereo mode is what I’d say.
Click to expand...
Which 5.1.2 sound bar w/ sub and wireless rear speakers are you using? Thanks.
 
Does your appleTV need to be on WiFi for home theater to work? Don’t see the options to set HomePod as default speakers (AppleTV is plugged into my LAN)
 
B/D said:
Strange. The update (14.2), was released yesterday. Maybe they are refering to actually play Atmos with the Homepods on Netflix and Disney+, because for me the atmos logo (with homepods), only appear with certain content (ie Netflix The Irishman, shows the Atmos badge with the homepods, but other vontent which have atmos doesnt show the badge), but in Disney+, for example, content that I know that have Atmos only shows the 5.1 badge when Homepods are selected as the audio output.

Apple TV+ and Itunes purchases, however, show the Atmos badge with the Homepods in all content that applies.

The enveloping and directional sound on the Homepods , however, is very noticeable for me even with regular 5.1 tracks. Much better than before.
Click to expand...
But dos it say in settings->audio format in the Apple TV “auto, atmos available” when you select the homepods as output? Can anyone post a picture of that menu option with the homepods selected as output?
 
eth said:
But dos it say in settings->audio format in the Apple TV “auto, atmos available” when you select the homepods as output? Can anyone post a picture of that menu option with the homepods selected as output?
Click to expand...


No. When you select Homepods as output, it´s says audio mode "auto". This is the correct setting. The Home Theatre processing will kick in as soon as you play some content with a 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos track. The difference for me, is pretty noticeable when compared with the previous 14.1 firmware.



Now the homepods are much more enjoyable to use for movies o tv shows.
 
I´m seeing this in reddit:

So for those of you not seeing Atmos in netflix (with the homepods), just start playing a movie that has atmos (like the old guard) and then after a few minutes of watching, back out and you should see the atmos tag next to HDR or Ultra HD 4K
 
GIZBUG said:
Does your appleTV need to be on WiFi for home theater to work? Don’t see the options to set HomePod as default speakers (AppleTV is plugged into my LAN)
Click to expand...

Check your multicast settings. Maybe your router is blocking the traffic between the LAN and the WLAN.


But before any of that... do you have your apple tv and your homepods in the same room in the home app (this is necessary)?. Or do you have your apple tv in a TVOS beta (this would prevent the feature from working correctly)?
 
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B/D said:
Check your multicast settings. Maybe your router is blocking the traffic between the LAN and the WLAN.


But before any of that... do you have your apple tv and your homepods in the same room in the home app (this is necessary)?. Or do you have your apple tv in a TVOS beta (this would prevent the feature from working correctly)?
Click to expand...

Homepods are in kitchen and ATV is in living room
 
glindon said:
First impressions playing Blade Runner 2049: The homepods sound pretty good, good bass as I expected. I can tell that there is an “ambient effect” and it’s better that hearing the movie in stereo. Sounds and effects have a spaciousness, however none of the “effects” give the illusion of coming from the rear or sides. It’s not mind blowing. Switching back to my Atmos sound bar with sub and rear speakers... there is no comparison. The sound bar wins hands down as I expected. I could see where homepods would make better sense in a smaller bedroom and there is a cost difference ~$700 for stereo homepods vs ~$900 5.1.2 sound bar w/ sub and wireless rear speakers. But my money would be on spending the extra $200 If you were choosing between the two. Of course if you already have bought a pair of homepods it‘s a nice upgrade, but calling it “surround” or Atmos is kinda stretch. Slightly better than the old stereo mode is what I’d say.
Click to expand...

This is exactly the feedback i was looking for with this...I've got 2 Homepods (mismatched though as one is white and other is space gray) used in 2 different rooms that I was curious about moving both into my Living Room to try out the Atmos...but now reading this, I'd rather go with my previous plan of going with an actual Atmos setup.
 
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ThankYouRob said:
This is exactly the feedback i was looking for with this...I've got 2 Homepods (mismatched though as one is white and other is space gray) used in 2 different rooms that I was curious about moving both into my Living Room to try out the Atmos...but now reading this, I'd rather go with my previous plan of going with an actual Atmos setup.
Click to expand...


Of course a dedicated setup is going to sound much, much, much better, but I think that the comparison is unfair. If you have the money and the actual physical space in your home then by all means go for a dedicated AVR+ speakers, and do a proper calibrated Atmos setup. But the Homepod are pretty impressive to my ears for what they are, much better now for movies and tv shows than with previous firmwares . Better than, for example, a couple of stereo paired Amazon Echo Studio with Atmos content, which would be a more adequate comparison to do.
 
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ThankYouRob said:
This is exactly the feedback i was looking for with this...I've got 2 Homepods (mismatched though as one is white and other is space gray) used in 2 different rooms that I was curious about moving both into my Living Room to try out the Atmos...but now reading this, I'd rather go with my previous plan of going with an actual Atmos setup.
Click to expand...
You won’t regret this decision.
 
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I’ve got this working on Netflix but not Disney plus. Disney plus still
Shows 5.1 but Netflix shows atmos. Any advice??
 
glindon said:
You won’t regret this decision.
Click to expand...
ant24577897 said:
I’ve got this working on Netflix but not Disney plus. Disney plus still
Shows 5.1 but Netflix shows atmos. Any advice??
Click to expand...

We have to wait. Home Theatre on the Homepods also works with regular 5.1 and is very noticeable.

I think that the Atmos badge will appear shortly on Disney+ or perhaps the app will be updated.


There is no Atmos in Amazon Prime Video, right?
 
duh - I just figured out AppleTV and Pods need to be in the same room... in Home App...
 
Ok guys, flatpanelshd just published a set up guide.

  • Update Apple TV 4K and HomePod(s) to the public 14.2 software. If you are using a beta profile on HomePod, remove it first to gain access to the public 14.2 release.
  • From the Home app on iPhone/iPad set Apple TV 4K and HomePod(s) to the same room. All devices must also be enabled as home hubs.
  • If you have two HomePods you must pair them from the Home app now.
  • On Apple TV 4K, go to Settings -> Video and Audio -> Default Audio Output -> Select HomePod(s).
  • Make sure that Video and Audio -> Audio Format is set to 'Auto'. The Atmos option, which is visible when Apple TV 4K is connected to a compatible TV, will apparently disappear when connected to HomePod.
    You are still getting the Atmos soundtrack though. This can be confirmed by bringing pressing 'menu' on the Apple remote while watching an Apple TV+ show.
  • Find content with Dolby Atmos on Apple TV+ or iTunes. It does not appear to work with all apps at this time.
https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1604643418
 
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Blowback said:
If you change the Format from 'off' to 'on' you'll see the new Dolby option.
Click to expand...
When I did that I got:
'Change Format.........On'
'New Format.............Dolby Digital 5.1'

This is under 'Audio Format' in the Apple TV 'Settings.....Video and Audio'....settings.
 
Blowback said:
When I did that I got:
'Change Format.........On'
'New Format.............Dolby Digital 5.1'

This is under 'Audio Format' in the Apple TV 'Settings.....Video and Audio'....settings.
Click to expand...

Follow the flatpanelshd guide that I just posted here. Change format should be off, and Audio format should be on "Auto"
 
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