Sidebar Sidebar
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

Definitely have been experiencing this as well. Mostly in Netflix and it’s been a bit sporadic with certain shows. I’ll have to pay more attention if the shows it’s occurring on are only Dolby Atmos supported shows.

I have noticed it mainly watching Drive to Survive (does support Atmos) and my TV will show the audio flipping in the top right when it occurs back and forth between Atmos.

Setup:
-Apple TV (newest gen)
-LG OLED
-Sonos Arc via eARC from tv
 
  • Like
Reactions: BorreBoy and GfPQqmcRKUvP
Finally this has been acknowledged by some media outlet — I've had this issue since October last year. It was fine under tvOS 14.

Only happens on Apple TV, and only happens on Atmos content (regardless of streaming service).

There's a 10-page thread on Sonos' own forums here which spans a fair chunk of time, but shows no resolve.

Sonos Arc loud pop then audio loss | Sonos Community

I was playing on my Xbox when the arc suddenly made an extremely loud pop sound and then lost audio completely. The app wouldn’t let me adjust the volume and Alexa wake up didn’t emit its usual tone. I had to remove the power from the arc and reapply which resumed the audio. I’m concerned that...
en.community.sonos.com

For the Arc at least, a temporarily resolve is to restart the device.

The issue also stems with Atmos content from the Xbox Series X and Roku devices also. The common denominator? All three use the Dolby MAT container for Atmos content (Multichannel PCM with some Atmos metadata sprinkled in). I'm guessing something's borked in the encoding/decoding of that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: veterpee, decypher44 and RandySolares
Yes, having this exact same issue and ironically it is also on Apple TV+ content as well to dominantly Netflix. All my sound goes through a Marantz SR6014.
 
  • Like
Reactions: veterpee
Unggoy Murderer said:
Yup, it's been something that I've noticed a lot too. Audio seems to be unbalanced, loudness isn't consistent (like it can be at 50% and fine one episode, then next it's crazy loud so back down to 15%). Doesn't seem to affect specific apps, it's all content as far as I can tell.

Audio can also sound "off", like a speaker is occluded or something. It randomly fades back to normal sometimes too.
Click to expand...

this. THIS. Beautifully put.
 
I have issues with my Yamaha system and AppleTV 4k. Restarting the Yamaha solves the issue (complete restart: not just pushing the power button, but plug-out/plug-in cycle). I never thought this is linked to the AppleTV but I'll check.
 
  • Like
Reactions: benji888
I have the problem constantly with my Apple TV 4K (plugged into Samsung TV/Soundbar if that matters). Pretty much every day when I try to watch something on Netflix or Disney+ there will be no sound (there will be on the menu, and 'responsive' sounds from using the remote, but for the show itself...nothing). Have Atmos turned off and it still happens.
 
B/D said:
Hardwired Apple TV here.
Click to expand...
Same here. Hardwired Apple TV, HDMI direct to a Samsung HW-Q90R soundbar, then to an LG C9. Lots of dropouts and occasional _loud_ static bursts. It's annoying for video, but Apple spacial music is completely unlistenable. Turning off Atmos helps. Turning off Dolby Vision helps. But I bought this equipment to get both of those.

I've had this problem over multiple units. Apple has been ignoring this for years now. Hopefully this article will get their attention.
 
Definitely having this issue. I've been rebooting the AppleTV, which seems to resolve it temporarily. I'm not sure if doing that or turning of Atmos is worse. Seems to be the most common in streaming apps, but happens with local content (through Plex) sometimes too.

Like someone above I thought it might be connectivity-related, but mine is hardwired and we have fiber, and if I run speedtest while it's broken I get my full symmetrical rate.

It's something with the AppleTV itself.
 
Gizmotoy said:
Definitely having this issue. I've been rebooting the AppleTV, which seems to resolve it temporarily. I'm not sure if doing that or turning of Atmos is worse. Seems to be the most common in streaming apps, but happens with local content (through Plex) sometimes too.

Like someone above I thought it might be connectivity-related, but mine is hardwired and we have fiber, and if I run speedtest while it's broken I get my full symmetrical rate.

It's something with the AppleTV itself.
Click to expand...

The worse thing its that its been going on for quite a while now.
 
2021 Apple TV 4k with two paired OG HomePods.
Issues:
One HomePod died within 2 years of purchase and now just flashes + and -.
The other HomePod constantly disconnects from the Apple TV.
The audio goes out of sync often enough across all apps.
The Apple TV Remote constantly disconnects and reconnects.

I have done all the troubleshooting, charging, repairing, resetting, etc that I can.
I have let Apple know about all of the above. They even called me randomly one day to further ask about the dead HomePod and had me send them videos of its behavior. But they didn't offer or do anything in return.

I recently took the Apple TV off of ethernet and on to the WiFi. This has actually calmed a lot of the issues and the Remote no longer disconnects/reconnects at all. Maybe it was in part that I had the ethernet plugged in but also had previously used the Apple TV with my WiFi so those two were competing in a sense. Or maybe it just does better on WiFi that the ethernet. I did troubleshoot my ethernet cable to see if it was faulty and it worked great elsewhere (CAT 5E).
 
ATV 4K gen 2 and Sonos Arc.
Cutoffs and cracked sound sometimes accour when playing Atmos. Netflix, HBO, Disney etc.
 
treehorn said:
I have the problem constantly with my Apple TV 4K (plugged into Samsung TV/Soundbar if that matters). Pretty much every day when I try to watch something on Netflix or Disney+ there will be no sound (there will be on the menu, and 'responsive' sounds from using the remote, but for the show itself...nothing). Have Atmos turned off and it still happens.
Click to expand...
I had a similar issue with a Samsung sound bar, but mine also included the volume dropping really low. I ended up using the experience to justify getting a true 7.2.2 surround sound and the issue resolved.

Do you have one of the newer Samsung TVs that syncs the TV speakers with the sound bar? If so, try removing the sound bar and using only the TV speakers. That might help narrow the issue down.
 
Yes I have had this issue for over a year, but most of my issues are related to non dolby atmos content. Depending on the app, some shows in 5.1 have no audio when you try and stream them. The minute you change the format to disable Atmos it corrects the issue. Then you have to go back and turn it on when you are trying to watch something in Atmos. It has gotten MUCH better in the last 4 months or so, but does still occasionally happen from time to time.

The most frustrating part is when you use the built in apps through the TV, I have not ONCE had the issue. I've upgraded my HDMI both from the Sonos Arc an to the apple TV to the best quality you can buy and it did not solve the issue.
 
bhodgin said:
Yes I have had this issue for over a year, but most of my issues are related to non dolby atmos content. Depending on the app, some shows in 5.1 have no audio when you try and stream them. The minute you change the format to disable Atmos it corrects the issue. Then you have to go back and turn it on when you are trying to watch something in Atmos. It has gotten MUCH better in the last 4 months or so, but does still occasionally happen from time to time.

The most frustrating part is when you use the built in apps through the TV, I have not ONCE had the issue. I've upgraded my HDMI both from the Sonos Arc an to the apple TV to the best quality you can buy and it did not solve the issue.
Click to expand...
The fact that it's limited to some streaming platforms makes me think the problem comes from the streaming service but becomes a playback issue because the AppleTV is not verifying that the data received matches the expected format. As Netflix has a history of misidentifying audio formats I can see a scenario where a 5.1 channel signal is being presented as Atmos, or vice versa, and when the wrong signal arrives the Apple TV doesn't verify it resulting in either intermittent or no audible sound.
 
I have these issues every now and then with my 1st gen 4k atv. Sometimes there'll be no audio at all and I have to do a full power cycle on the atv to get it to work again.
 
I’ve experienced audio issues on my Apple TV ever since the first 4 K version came out. I have it plugged in directly to my Denon receiver and the audio is so low and dull it’s almost unwatchable and some apps. I even worked with apples engineers sending them information and troubleshooting reports etc. no one can fix it same with the new Apple TV the sound is just horrendous on it tried multiple settings try changing things nothing works and comparing it scene to scene on a Netflix show it’s unbelievable the difference
 
  • Like
Reactions: veterpee
I’m having sync issues, at least with amaz Prime, also won’t play content in HDR sometimes when using up next to play content, then I have to go to app and restart app and/or ATV one or more times, eventually going to app it will play in HDR again. Sync issues are not resolved by restarting the ATV. I’ve also had the video cut out (go black) at times, not the audio, for up to a few seconds, this will be with any app. I don’t have Netflix right now, so can’t say on that. My Denon AVR had an update recently and it may be the issue, I’ll try giving it a hard restart and come back here.

ATV 4K 1st Gen. Denon X2500H
 
Apple TV is a buggy mess. Forever having to reboot for the simplest of reasons. Many times a week. Our Roku boxes never have any issues. When it works it’s good but it sure craps out with regularity.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redfirebird08 and veterpee
Apple TV 4K, Onkyo receiver (old but great), 2019 LG OLED C ... occasional out-of-sync problems but more annoying are the screen going blank requiring lots of pressing of the Menu key on the Apple TV or, as often, rebooting Apple TV OR LG OR both. Super frustrating. Primarily a problem when watching Spectrum (Charter) programming.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back