HT200197: Get help with audio, video, or power on Apple TV

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MacFanatic87

Q: ATV4 - Bad sound

Hi,

 

So I've got this issue with Apple Music on the ATV4. The sound is really muffled and distorted. I've changed the output to Auto from 5.1 in Settings and it seems to do a slight improvement, but it's not that significant, sound is still unclear. Songs played on the TV stations or Youtube all sound normal but the Apple Music app songs are all muffled. Apple Music is set to always play highest quality regardless of internet resources. And internet speed is 1Gbps.

 

Config: ATV4

TV: Sony 50W815 (2014 model)

Sound system: Sony DAV-TZ140

ATV4 connects through an HDMI cable to the TV. This is highspeed, latest standard. It connects to the internet through a CAT7 ethernet cable.

 

Please help!!!

Apple TV (4th generation), tvOS 9.2.2

Posted on Aug 5, 2016 11:57 AM

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Q: ATV4 - Bad sound

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Aug 5, 2016 2:26 PM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 10 (120,054 points)
    Apple Watch
    Aug 5, 2016 2:26 PM in response to MacFanatic87

    I realize you said sound is muffled and distorted but there might be something in this support article to help.

     

    Get help with audio, video, or power on Apple TV - Apple Support

     

    If you hear static or don't hear any sound on your Apple TV

    Get help with surround sound. For other issues, use these steps and check the audio after each step:

    1. Unplug both ends of your HDMI cable. Then firmly plug them back in.
    2. Turn off your TV and receiver (if you use one). Unplug your Apple TV from power, then plug it back in. Turn your receiver and TV back on.
    3. Connect your Apple TV directly to your TV instead of using a receiver or HDMI switch, since the issue might be with your receiver or switch.
    4. On your Apple TV, select Settings > Audio & Video.
    5. Make sure Audio Out is set to Apple TV.
    6. Change the Audio Mode from Auto to 16 bit.
    7. On Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation), change the Dolby Digital Out setting from On to Off.

    If there's no sound when you navigate the menu, choose Settings > Audio & Video and make sure that Sound Effects and Music is on.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Aug 5, 2016 2:48 PM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 4 (2,895 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 5, 2016 2:48 PM in response to MacFanatic87

    Hi, could you please describe how ATV, TV, and Sony sound system are connected? Is ATV connected to TV by HDMI? Do you send the sound from the TV over a red/black stereo pair to the sound system? If so, you should definitely set the ATV audio output to Stereo

  • by MacFanatic87,

    MacFanatic87 MacFanatic87 Aug 5, 2016 3:20 PM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 5, 2016 3:20 PM in response to Diana.McCall

    ATV is connected to the TV via HDMI, and the TV is connected to the home theatre through HDMI as well. There is no red/black audio cable. 

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Aug 5, 2016 3:36 PM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 4 (2,895 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 5, 2016 3:36 PM in response to MacFanatic87

    Good. I downloaded the instructions for your home theater system, and it shows only an HDMI Out connection to send video and audio to the TV. Do you know if you're using the ARC (audio return channel) to feed audio back from the TV to the home theater system? The instructions don't mention such a feature, but that would be the only way to hear Apple TV audio through your system. If that does indeed work, then you just need to play with the ATV audio settings to find one that works. In particular, you may need to set the Audio Mode to 16 bit.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Aug 5, 2016 4:03 PM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 4 (2,895 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 5, 2016 4:03 PM in response to MacFanatic87

    On the other hand, if you are in fact only hearing sound from the TV speakers, you should definitely set the ATV output to Stereo.

  • by Winston Churchill,

    Winston Churchill Winston Churchill Aug 6, 2016 1:41 AM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 10 (103,346 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 6, 2016 1:41 AM in response to MacFanatic87

    Check if sound effects, sound check or any setting that affects audio are enabled on the Apple TV settings > audio & video

  • by MacFanatic87,

    MacFanatic87 MacFanatic87 Aug 6, 2016 1:55 AM in response to Diana.McCall
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 6, 2016 1:55 AM in response to Diana.McCall

    So the TV gets sound out to the HT through a stereo cable in the headphone jack. Other than that, it won't work. I think it's because the HT is missing some sort of ARC. It should've had one I think, but it doesn't. Anyway, it shouldn't impact the sound on the ATV, as the sound from the TV through the other sources coming via HT sounds excellent, no muffling, no interference.

  • by MacFanatic87,

    MacFanatic87 MacFanatic87 Aug 6, 2016 1:57 AM in response to Winston Churchill
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 6, 2016 1:57 AM in response to Winston Churchill

    Sound effects is now turned off, that's what I tried first yesterday and there was a very faint improvement, under 10%, but I could hear it a bit more clearer.

     

    Sound check is no longer an option on the ATV4.

     

    P.S. Forgot to mention, before the ATV4, I used an ATV3, which worked perfectly. I still have it and it's connected to another TV. This being said, I'm inclined to think it's something from the settings rather than a fault with the cable or the connection, especially since the other things played on the ATV4 (Hulu, Netflix, USA Now, etc) all sound okay.

  • by MacFanatic87,Solvedanswer

    MacFanatic87 MacFanatic87 Aug 6, 2016 2:11 AM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 6, 2016 2:11 AM in response to MacFanatic87

    I just fixed it now. It turns out that the volume on the headphones was set to 100, and I think it was too much power requested through the jack, this is why the sound was muffled. Now I've set it to 50 and the music sounds okay.

  • by Diana.McCall,

    Diana.McCall Diana.McCall Aug 6, 2016 3:13 AM in response to MacFanatic87
    Level 4 (2,895 points)
    Apple TV
    Aug 6, 2016 3:13 AM in response to MacFanatic87

    Right. As I said, your HT does not support ARC. It actually has rather limited flexibility. The problem with connecting the headphone output to the Aux input on the HT is that the headphone output is low impedance (low voltage, high current) while the Aux input is high impedance (higher voltage, tiny current). These don't work nicely together. Fortunately you were able to strike a balance by lowering the volume. Since all you have is stereo output, you should set ATV audio output to stereo.