Hopefully we’ll see the public release of 15.6 in the next week or so. Can’t wait for this issue to be fixed.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Some Apple TV Users Complain of Dolby Atmos Audio Issues
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hopefully we’ll see the public release of 15.6 in the next week or so. Can’t wait for this issue to be fixed.
That seems to be the implication. I would take that with a grain of salt, however, based on only one user report here.
Well, lets hope for the best. I personally dont use any betas in any of my devices, so I cannot wait for a release that final fixes this infuriating issue.
The release notes for 15.6 or even 16 don't mention anything about fixing Atmos:
developer.apple.com
developer.apple.com
I really want to believe but I seriously doubt Apple will ever fix this. It seems to be some sort of hardware issue and we all know how bad and slow Apple is at recognizing faults in their hardware.
tvOS 15.6 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation
Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.
tvOS 16 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation
Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.
I really want to believe but I seriously doubt Apple will ever fix this. It seems to be some sort of hardware issue and we all know how bad and slow Apple is at recognizing faults in their hardware.
The release notes for 15.6 or even 16 don't mention anything about fixing Atmos:
tvOS 15.6 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation
Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.
tvOS 16 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation
Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes.
I really want to believe but I seriously doubt Apple will ever fix this. It seems to be some sort of hardware issue and we all know how bad and slow Apple is at recognizing faults in their hardware.
I dont think its a hardware issue. A 15.x.x firmware introduced the exact same issue on the first gen Apple TV 4K.
Its software.
I was under the impression people using the 1st gen didn't have this issue. In fact I've read several account of people saying they only get the issue after buying the 2nd gen for a second TV in their home.
Not sure if in this thread or somewhere else but some people claimed it was related to using the Ethernet port and that the issue vanished after switching to Wifi. In my case I can't use Wifi since the home theater room doesn't have good enough coverage.
I do hope you're right though
I was under the impression people using the 1st gen didn't have this issue. In fact I've read several account of people saying they only get the issue after buying the 2nd gen for a second TV in their home.
Not sure if in this thread or somewhere else but some people claimed it was related to using the Ethernet port and that the issue vanished after switching to Wifi. In my case I can't use Wifi since the home theater room doesn't have good enough coverage.
I do hope you're right though
Posters who have already upgraded to 15.6 have indicated that it solved the issue. FIngers crossed. I might just install the RC (normally avoid installing betas on devices used by other family members but figure this is probably safe!)
I've just updated to TVOS 16 public beta and noticed that any Dolby Atmos music played via the Music app has extremely low volume level now, this was not the case with previous versions, and have been fine for many many months now.
I remember this is how the volume was when Dolby Atmos music was first implemented on the apple tv but was "fixed" later.
Connected via HDMI to my Denon AVR.
Anyone else experiencing this issue again with the new 16 Beta? tried the usual restart and re-set. I've submitted feedback via the feedback app.
I remember this is how the volume was when Dolby Atmos music was first implemented on the apple tv but was "fixed" later.
Connected via HDMI to my Denon AVR.
Anyone else experiencing this issue again with the new 16 Beta? tried the usual restart and re-set. I've submitted feedback via the feedback app.
Maybe sound check has been enabled by the update. Sometimes it happens. If not, is a beta issue.
I am having the same problem. Initially thought my SW was going bad. Then, I noticed the same cracking and popping coming from all of the speakers simultaneously. I've had it happen on HBOMAX and Netflix. I only have fronts, C and SW so I turned off Atmos and I still get the crackling. AVR is a Marantz 6011. I downloaded a firmware update for that and we'll see if they've made a change to compensate. Apple TV is up to date 15.5.
This is a mega problem. People who don't know better might think their speakers are going bad. I haven't wasted my time calling Apple. I've had enough calls with issues where I've been treated like I just discovered plutonium in my corn flakes box. They know it's a problem and whatever low-level individual you get on the phone isn't going to know how to help you besides transferring you all over the cosmos.
This is a mega problem. People who don't know better might think their speakers are going bad. I haven't wasted my time calling Apple. I've had enough calls with issues where I've been treated like I just discovered plutonium in my corn flakes box. They know it's a problem and whatever low-level individual you get on the phone isn't going to know how to help you besides transferring you all over the cosmos.
So I got my Nvidia Shield Pro after all.
I prefer the UI of the ATV but otherwise this is really a superior streaming/media device. It has HDMI audio passthrough, AI enhanced upscaling, and best of all perfect audio sync.
Even if Apple fixes the infuriating Atmos issue, it will never get HDMI passthrough and the audio sync is never really ok in the ATV. I've tried adjusting sync in my Sony STR-DH790 receiver but it seems to change slightly from app to app. In some apps like HBOMax it even seems to change during the same movie or TV show.
If you've never noticed this yourself don't start looking for it, otherwise it will be very difficult to unsee (just like bad kerning in text). I've had to train myself to not look at people's lips and other cues that signal when the sync is not perfect.
With the ATV I settled on a 200ms audio sync setting on my receiver and had to learn to live with it or adjust it whenever I started watching something (which I did for some time). With the new Nvidia I can leave it at 0ms and it's rock solid across all the apps I've tried with different codecs (Atmos, DTS, or regular 5.1 Dolby).
Edit:
For completeness I will say the old Nvidia Shield from 2016 that I also own, needed a setting of about 130ms in the receiver, but at least it is constant. It has passthrough, which is great, but apps that don't support it like Netflix will not send Atmos to the receiver. It also lacks DV and the AI upscaling.
The reason I got the ATV was to watch DV + Atmos content which proved to be a failure. I didn't get the newer Nvidia Shield Pro because back then I couldn't get it for less than $450 USD. I now got it for about $200. Not sure if it was a Prime day deal or what.
I prefer the UI of the ATV but otherwise this is really a superior streaming/media device. It has HDMI audio passthrough, AI enhanced upscaling, and best of all perfect audio sync.
Even if Apple fixes the infuriating Atmos issue, it will never get HDMI passthrough and the audio sync is never really ok in the ATV. I've tried adjusting sync in my Sony STR-DH790 receiver but it seems to change slightly from app to app. In some apps like HBOMax it even seems to change during the same movie or TV show.
If you've never noticed this yourself don't start looking for it, otherwise it will be very difficult to unsee (just like bad kerning in text). I've had to train myself to not look at people's lips and other cues that signal when the sync is not perfect.
With the ATV I settled on a 200ms audio sync setting on my receiver and had to learn to live with it or adjust it whenever I started watching something (which I did for some time). With the new Nvidia I can leave it at 0ms and it's rock solid across all the apps I've tried with different codecs (Atmos, DTS, or regular 5.1 Dolby).
Edit:
For completeness I will say the old Nvidia Shield from 2016 that I also own, needed a setting of about 130ms in the receiver, but at least it is constant. It has passthrough, which is great, but apps that don't support it like Netflix will not send Atmos to the receiver. It also lacks DV and the AI upscaling.
The reason I got the ATV was to watch DV + Atmos content which proved to be a failure. I didn't get the newer Nvidia Shield Pro because back then I couldn't get it for less than $450 USD. I now got it for about $200. Not sure if it was a Prime day deal or what.
Last edited:
I was having the same problems with Netflix stuttering. Returned Apple TV to Amazon even though it was past returned date. Had to pay minor restocking fee. Again Apple has provided no support.So I ordered a new Apple TV Box from Apple, this way I could return it with no problems . Did further investigation and ordered new Ultra High Speed HDMI cables from SVS. Seems older High Speed HDMI cables didnt cut it. ATV needs at least 48 gig speed cables, Apple doesnt tell you that, also turned on Audio/Video section in ATV to matching and it seems smooth out stuttering. Time will tell. I have 2 weeks to see if it works.
It has for me on a first gen apple tv 4K. A previous update brought the sounds issues from the second gen apple tv 4k to the first. Now, with 15.6, no more pops, dropouts or stutters.
Not sure if it did, but what I did was change all HDMI cables to ultra high speed and change A/V setting to matched and it seem to settle it down. Apple doesnt tell you that you need to use Ultraspeed HDMI cables that have 48 gig speed.
I was having visual stutters too and also fixed those with a 48Gbps cables because HDR signals need a lot of bandwidth to run at 60fps.
But for me this was completely unrelated to the Atmos sound issues. In fact I got those 48Gbps cables way before I installed my height speakers which is when I started having the Atmos dropouts on the AppleTV.