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Dolby Atmos = No Sound Pioneer SC-87

Lumpy05

Lumpy05

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 16, 2010
167
83
Bloomington, IN
Dang, Dang, Dang. Been really excited about Atmos upgrade I have a fully 9.2.2 setup in my theater with a Atmos capable Pioneer SC-87 receiver with latest firmware. No problems getting atmos via Sony bluray and Xbox One.

When I enable Dolby Atmos on the Apple TV and play an Atmos logod itunes movie (tried Bladerunner 2049, Hacksaw Ridge, New Jurassic World movie) I get no sound at all, receiver shows no input sound signal. I get all the menu sounds and such. The pull down shows Dolby Atmos during playback. Disabling Atmos in the setup and I get 7.1 no problems :(

I tried plugging ATV 4k into the Bluray input, changed cables. Rebooted everything. I am out of ideas, just disappointed.
 
Lumpy05 said:
I haven’t tried calling them. Of course this receiver is out of warranty but maybe they can answer that
Click to expand...

Lumpy05, I have had the exact same issue. I have a brand new Pioneer LX503 and have not been able to get Atmos to work through the ATV 4K. No sound for Atmos material unless you change the ATV audio setting to change format..then you get 7.1. I also have an Xbox One and it passes through the Atmos content no problem. Strange how it would process Atmos fine through one and not the other.
 
This is what I was looking for in the manual for your AVR Lumpy05, and not finding this kind of technical information there...
priitv8 said:
Can you check with Pioneer customer support, whether your AVR supports Dolby MAT 2.0 ??
Click to expand...
What I posted from Dolby about Atmos that mentions Dolby MAT 2.0 was written in 2015, I think this AVR first came out in 2014?

Did you see my last comment in the other thread you were in? I did see a firmware update for that AVR just came out two weeks ago Sept. 5th, have you updated?
 
Thebizz22 said:
Lumpy05, I have had the exact same issue. I have a brand new Pioneer LX503 and have not been able to get Atmos to work through the ATV 4K. No sound for Atmos material unless you change the ATV audio setting to change format..then you get 7.1. I also have an Xbox One and it passes through the Atmos content no problem. Strange how it would process Atmos fine through one and not the other.
Click to expand...
Try this thread here, maybe someone there can help: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...-official-pioneer-elite-vsx-lx503-thread.html
 
Thanks for all the ideas. Yes firmware is latest sept 5th. I tried gravity same behavior 1080p video no sound.

Also tried turning hdmi control back on no change in behavior.

Will call pioneer and report issue not holding my breath on resolution.
 
Thebizz22 said:
Strange how it would process Atmos fine through one and not the other.
Click to expand...
It is not strange at all, considering how aTV handles Atmos.
It does not pass the original Atmos bitstream out, it decodes it to multichannel PCM and adds Atmos metadata, a process called Dolby MAT.
If you were to ask, how does it do that, I could not answer, as I have no idea how this has been done technically.
 
Talked to Pioneer support at (844) 679-5350

We walked through troubleshooting/setup and he states the receiver "should be" capable of Dolby MAT 2.0 and that the problem is on the Apple TV side. My guess is that this may be one of few devices outputting MAT 2.0 and that there is an issue on the pioneer software side.

THEBIZZ22 I HIGHLY encourage you to call pioneer support and report your issue. Apparently I am the only person to call with the issue. They will escalate response if more customers call with problems.

As another side note, my other ATV 4k updated last night, it is connected to an older TV/receiver not capable of Atmos. That ATV4k is not displaying the enable ATMOS button at all which indicates to me that the HDMI handshake is not reporting ATMOS capability, likewise it seems that my pioneer SC-87 is reporting ATMOS to enable the ATV4k to display the option but there is some issue in the PCM stream decoding.
 
here is the quote:

"I want thank the person that posted a "reset" is required on the 4K Apple TV once you downloaded the new iOS 12 to it. I now see the blue "Atmos" light on my Onkyo receiver when I play a Atmos encoded movie from Netflix. So cool. Looking forward to more Dolby Atmos movies/programs on Netflix, Amazon and iTunes."
post #141 of 143

(although, I do not think this is "required" as he said, many people have Atmos working without a reset.)
 
Completed atv4k complete reset no change in behavior, deafaulted to atmos on, no sound with atmos soundtracks. Dang
 
Lumpy05 said:
Completed atv4k complete reset no change in behavior, deafaulted to atmos on, no sound with atmos soundtracks. Dang
Click to expand...

I did an ATV reset as well, still no sound with Atmos. I did contact Pioneer and they told me that since it works via the Xbox, they believed its an issue the ATV. I contacted Apple, but they really didn't have any solutions yet. I tried Atmos on ATV through Netflix, Amazon and iTunes rentals, none of which worked. I tried changing out the HDMI cable as well, still no luck. Will continue pursuing with Apple and see what they can find. So disappointing.
 
Lumpy05, for what its worth, I sent Pioneer a message through their Support team to see if they can confirm whether or not they have tested and been able to reproduce Atmos playback via the ATV on the VSX-LX503. Its a brand new receiver and should work, but I'll see what they say and let you know what I find out.
 
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Also, number of AVRs from other manufacturers (mine is from Sony) work, so it is hard to believe it is aTV issue.
 
Here is another solution for someone else:

"I had the exact same problem, but did something a little unorthodox and the issue has since been resolved.

1. Go to video and audio settings - under audio options select change format and switch to on. This will disable the Dolby Atmos setting.

2. Play a movie from your collection that contains Dolby Atmos audio and play it for about 10 seconds.

3. Exit out of the movie. Go to the audio and video settings and select the change format option to on.

4. Go to system settings, select restart.

5. Once the Apple TV box has restarted and allowed enough time for your internet to get back up to speed, select the same film you picked earlier, and choose start from the beginning instead of resume playing.

Hopefully Dolby Atmos will trigger and should be working across your library that supports it.

This may seem convoluted but had tried multiple restarts of the unit and this was the only way I got mine to trigger.

Best of luck."

source: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=306393&page=6
 
Thanks benji888 will give that a shot, I am guessing that in step three that is turn change format option to off?

I am not hopeful that will change anything as I have turned settings on/off and the results have been consistent I can play 2.0, 5.1, and 7.1 but as soon as the Atmos track is enabled my receiver cannot decipher the stream.
[doublepost=1537448722][/doublepost]
benji888 said:
maybe you can revive this thread also, get another's input?: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...er-sc-89-87-85-82-81-vsx-80-44-thread-27.html
Click to expand...
I revived my AVSforum account and left a reply on that thread, thanks for reminding me of that forum its been a while since I visited.
 
oh, there is a typo there, yes, step three should say change format option to OFF/best quality available.
[doublepost=1537450687][/doublepost]
Lumpy05 said:
I revived my AVSforum account and left a reply on that thread, thanks for reminding me of that forum its been a while since I visited.
Click to expand...
It's still pretty active over there.

Here's another thread to check out: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-n...6-apple-tv-os-12-update-adds-dolby-atmos.html

They also have an all-inclusive ATV owners thread, it can get pretty messy though since the ATV 4K came out, (607 pages): https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-n...streaming/1278071-apple-tv-owners-thread.html
 
Thanks for giving us some other ideas. I just tried the method above...but unfortunately no luck. My receiver is showing a MultiCh PCM 5.1 feed, but no sound and Atmos didn't trigger on.
 
Well tried new beta 12.1 and same result no sound when atmos is enabled. Convinced it’s the receiver but pioneer won’t acknowledge that.
 
Unfortunately, I know of no other signal source for Dolby MAT 2.0, besides appleTV. That would allow to test if Pioneer might be able to decode it.
 
FYI, from one of the Pioneer forums on AVS:

As of 7:30 pm yesterday, they claim they have had multiple calls regarding this issue and assured me that they are in fact working on a solution. Of course they are blaming Apple for the communication error between the devices. Apples software works perfectly fine with a 301 from 2017. I wonder if this years denons are having issues. Might have to swap it out and try a different brand.
 
Thebizz22 said:
FYI, from one of the Pioneer forums on AVS:

As of 7:30 pm yesterday, they claim they have had multiple calls regarding this issue and assured me that they are in fact working on a solution. Of course they are blaming Apple for the communication error between the devices. Apples software works perfectly fine with a 301 from 2017. I wonder if this years denons are having issues. Might have to swap it out and try a different brand.
Click to expand...

Well thats a start that they are acknowledging an issue, maybe that will be enough to prompt them to investigate.

I otherwise love my Pioneer but would have to seriously look into another brand if this does not get resolved. A Denon with 11 amp channels starts to become attractive. I am almost fully bought into Apple TV using it for itunes movies and now streaming tv service. I need it to work with my gear.
 
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