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Hello Apple,
my understanding is that the former Apple 4K supports only hdmi 2.0. Due to this (bandwidth limitations) Apple TV 4K only supports atmos through if you are using eArC port on your tv. Now that the new Apple TV 4K supports hdmi 2.1 , will atmos content be passed even without us using eArc ports?
The eARC is for the connection between the TV and audio system, when the TV is used for passthrough of the audio signal. Higher bandwidth ports on the Apple TV do not change any of that. The bottleneck is the connection between the TV and audio system, as defined by the ports and cables, notably the ARC port on your TV.
Apple TV 4K →[HDMI 2.0 or 2.1]→ TV →[HDMI ARC: ~3 Mbps]→ Audio system
Apple TV 4K →[HDMI 2.0 or 2.1]→ TV →[HDMI eARC: ~37 Mbps]→ Audio system
Passthrough of the video signal though an AV receiver does not depend on eARC.
So, no, the Dolby Atmos in Dolby MAT format is the same high bandwidth, too much for regular ARC, and unrelated to HDMI 2.1 on the Apple TV.
The eARC is for the connection between the TV and audio system, when the TV is used for passthrough of the audio signal. Higher bandwidth ports on the Apple TV do not change any of that. The bottleneck is the connection between the TV and audio system, as defined by the ports and cables, notably the ARC port on your TV.
Apple TV 4K →[HDMI 2.0 or 2.1]→ TV →[HDMI ARC: ~3 Mbps]→ Audio system
Apple TV 4K →[HDMI 2.0 or 2.1]→ TV →[HDMI eARC: ~37 Mbps]→ Audio system
Passthrough of the video signal though an AV receiver does not depend on eARC.
So, no, the Dolby Atmos in Dolby MAT format is the same high bandwidth, too much for regular ARC, and unrelated to HDMI 2.1 on the Apple TV.
Great answer and explanation. Then there is one thing I don’t understand.
I have a Sony a8g, which does NOt support eArc.
i have a Sonos arc soundbar (it has a single Hdmi port)
If i use the Sony a8g native Netflix app , i am able to get atmos through the standard arc port. but when I use Apple TV 4K, i cannot.
if the tv itself is able to consume atmos from the tv —>soundbar then why am I not able to get atmos when doing Apple TV —>TV—>soundbar ?
Great question! I expect that your TV smart apps outputs in Dolby Atmos added to Dolby Digital Plus,
while Apple TV outputs Dolby Atmos in Dolby MAT 2.0 (uncompressed) format.
Will the Apple TV 4K pass atmos without eArC?
