Netflix Dolby Atmos problems with new Apple TV 4k

Opened a case with Apple and they believe it’s a hardware issue; I decided to exchange it for a brand new one at Best Buy since I was within the return/exchange time period (instead of waiting for Apple to replace it with another unit under warranty); I will test the new one out and soon see I guess whether in my case it was indeed a hardware issue.

I've experienced these issues myself and I'm using 8K 48Gbps HDMI cables everywhere. Also the ATV is hardwired to a 300Mbps fiber connection.

Like I wrote before, I'm not using ARC or eARC either. The ATV goes straight into a Sony STR-DH790 receiver with a 5.1.2 setup. The issues only appeared after I added the height speakers. Zero dropouts before that.

I forced a restart of the ATV and I didn't have any dropouts for a couple of hours when watching Atmos/DV content. It's definitely a software issue.

I also had a Gen 2 ATV4K swapped for a new unit, and it didn't help the Atmos problem. I also found tvOS 15.2 and 15.3 were far worse than 14.7, which was originally on the replacement. However, I also have a Gen 1 unit that has worked perfectly for several years under the same conditions, presumably running the same software. So it isn't that simple.

This is just a WAG, but I believe there is something different about the 2nd gen hardware that tvOS did not take into account or was not optimized for. My hypothesis is that the Gen 2 Atmos problem is due to errors in the creation and/or timing of the MAT 2.0 Atmos signal. Some folks with Gen 2 units appear to have no Atmos issues, while others have varying degrees of symptoms. I believe this is because some AVRs and Atmos decoders are more effective at correcting and/or masking the MAT 2.0 errors.

DragonByte79 just got an HDfury VRROOM, and so far his Atmos problems appear to be gone. This device acts like an eARC device, but extracts the HDMI audio from the HDMI signal. I believe it also provides error correction, so this would tend to support my hypothesis regarding the MAT 2.0 errors. I don’t believe there is any issue with the Gen 2 audio stream decoding or generation of LPCM output, as I would expect that to also affect other audio formats, since the ATV4K still decodes the audio and outputs LPCM, just without the MAT 2.0 Atmos container.

Again, this is all just a WAG.

I just got off the phone with my advisor and they said they found an issue in the logs and it looked like more of a hardware problem rather than a software problem. They are having me send my apple tv in to them and they are going to test and replace it. Said it stemmed from HDMI somewhere in the chain (Port on ATV, HDMI cable itself, or the receiver). Seeing as I have tried 3 different cables and 3 different receivers, its narrowed down to pretty much only the ATV itself. Hopefully they can figure this out for everyone.

Based on the experience of other posters and myself, a replacement unit does not solve the problem. It is therefore a generic problem and not an isolated hardware issue. Apple should be able to test any Gen 2 unit. I have a Gen 1 unit that has no Atmos problems on the same AVR and HDMI cable with the same software, so I agree that isolates the problem to the Gen 2 unit.

However, the problem is far less frequent on tvOS 14.x, so software clearly plays a part in this problem. I have elaborated in other posts that I believe the problem is somewhere in the creation of the Dolby Atmos MAT 2.0 data stream that accompanies the 5.1 LPCM stream, which would explain why we only have issues with Atmos. Log files can be very difficult to interpret with respect to troubleshooting a problem like this one. Apple’s engineers need to take a step back and look at the big picture for relevant clues, rather than focusing on the log files.

My Yamaha RX-A1080 always says 'Atmos/PCM' when playing Atmos content from any app (Netlifx, Disney+,etc)

As others have commented the sound issue seems to be with the 2nd gen 4kTV. I swapped it out for the 1st gen and have had no sound issues at all.

This isn’t a hardware issue. It has to be purely software. I have tried 3 different receivers (multiple brands even), 2 Apple TV’s, multiple hdmi cables, and the issue persists for me inside of Netflix. The support staff at Apple have even acknowledged that there is some software issues the engineers are aware of and are working to fix. Was just updated on this yesterday from my advisor.

As I posted, I replaced the 2021 AppleTV 4K with TVOS 15.4 that fails to play Atmos pretty quickly with my original gen-1 version that's still running TVOS 14.7. That plays Atmos fine. However, it's nagging me to install an update. Does anyone have 15.4 on the original AppleTV 4K and does it have the Atmos problem?

I'm concerned that the Atmos problem may have been introduced after 14.7 on both Apple TV boxes, but I'm also concerned I might not have the latest version of the apps Like Netflix on this box and that might become a problem. Hulu in particular was flaky until I uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Lots of spinning.

I have no idea why Apple is taking so much time to fix this problem unless it's really intractable. My 2021 box just sits on the shelf for now waiting for a fix.

AceManUSC wrote:

I have an ATV 4K 2nd Gen in my living room that is connected via 8k rated HDMI cables to an LG C9 OLED with eARC and then to an LG SN11RG sound bar 7.1.4 (supports eARC and Atmos). So everything is connected to each other using eARC and it’s all seamless. But I get the dropouts on Netflix content that has Atmos. So eARC works in my setup, but it isn’t issue-free. I had this same setup running through my ATV 4K Gen 1 and never had Atmos popping or dropping.

Sounds like what you've got should simply work... Any difference when you plug the ATV4K into one of the soundbar's HDMI inputs instead of the TVs? I realize it should work either way, but we might speculate that your ATV4K's Dolby MAT-encoded (uncompressed) output could occasionally overwhelm your TV's eARC audio passthrough capacity... I found this quote in Nakamichi's The Ultimate Dolby Atmos Guide:

Dolby asserts that listeners will get the best possible audio quality when the final device in the chain does the audio decoding. Therefore, with the exception of built-in TV streaming apps, it is recommended that source devices should be connected directly to the sound system to get the best and most stable Dolby Atmos experience.

Of course, this same assertion from Dolby argues that the Apple TV 4K itself should pass along the Dolby Digital Plus-encoded Atmos stream received from Netflix to the "final device in the chain". But that's why we're begging Apple to add a digital audio bitstream passthrough option in Settings :-).

I get the audio drop outs problem on Disney+, HBO Max, Prime, Paramount + and of course Netflix when streaming Atmos on either Gen 1 or Gen 2 Apple TV 4K.

I solved it, sort of, by changing (downgrading) audio options to 5.1 instead of Atmos capable and then I upmix with Dolby Surround Sound from my AVP and get ample sound from all speakers in a 7.2.4 system. I can also use native apps on the LG TV and use eARC but it is less convenient as I have to select eARC each time. I believe we have more complaints from Netflix simply because it is the most used streamer compared to all others.

Regarding 15.4.1: I disconnected my gen-1 AppleTV 4k from my receiver and reconnected my 2021 AppleTV 4k a few days ago and updated it to 15.4.1. Short answer: not fixed.

We've been watching "Severance" on AppleTV+ but have been using the AppleTV+ app on Sony's GoogleTV system on my A90J using eARCto a Denon AVR-8500HA receiver. Atmos was working well there and the sound was spectacular.

After the update, I switched back to the AppleTV for a couple of episodes. I was pleased to get through the first episode with just a couple of 1/2-second dropouts and thought great! That's tolerable and maybe not the AppleTV's fault. But when starting the next episode, the clicking and stuttering returned and I gave up.

After switching back to eARC, I also noticed the surround sound was much richer. The AppleTV sounded kind of thin by comparison, with less bass and muddier dialog from the center channel. I was actually shocked by how much better eARC sounded, with crystal-clear dialogue. I can only chalk this up to the AppleTV doing the surround sound decoding instead of the Denon receiver. I'm not sure how well the Audyssey room correction works with what's effectively a multi-channel input over HDMI from the AppleTV. I switched back to the AppleTV for a bit to confirm. In particular, the AppleTV+ show logo at the beginning of a program has some fantastic, deep bass. It sounded a bit anemic over AppleTV while it rattled the dishes in the kitchen over GoogleTV which makes me think that Audyssey room correction is maybe not as effective or the AppleTV is not decoding correctly.

I will say that I enjoyed the AppleTV interface, including the "up next" list immensely and the promos were offering some movies on HBO Max that I didn't know were already available. The GoogleTV AppleTV+ app only lists shows in up next that are available in the app -- for me that's AppleTV+, purchased movies and MoviesAnywhere, along with Paramount+/Showtime since I get that discounted through AppleTV channels. Watching other programming over the AppleTV, like Stephen Colbert was fine -- but that's not Atmos.

We desperately need a pass-throuugh mode -- at this point, I can't see returning to the AppleTV full-time without that.

Just watched the Adam project without any dropouts.

I had my Apple TV in a closed closet (only opening in the back) and it felt rather warm. When I installed the Netflix update I at the same time got The Apple TV out of the closet and it's now standing free and doesn't run warm. Since then no dropouts for several days now.

I wonder of the problems are also heat related in the Apple TV. Maybe it is a combination of things and it is worth to try out.

1. Use a good 48GB/s HDMI cable
2. Use the latest FW on the Apple TV.
3. Put the Apple TV where it runs cool enough.

dearreid wrote:

Yes, this happens to me all the time, especially on Netflix. The audio will just cut out completely at some point during almost every Netflix show or movie that has Dolby Atmos. Other apps like Disney+ are also affected, but less consistently than Netflix. Typically if I exit the app, swipe around on the Apple TV homescreen until the UI sounds come back, and then re-enter the app, the sound will be restored. But not really an acceptable workaround for the most expensive streaming TV box.

This is identical to my experience, using a Samsung Frame 2021 and HW-Q800T soundbar. Very frustrating, especially to the rest of my family; this is undeniably the worst Apple product I've ever used. We've just switched back to using the Samsung's built-in apps most of the time, leaving the Apple TV turned off. The Samsung UX is clearly inferior - but it works reliably.

I wanted to add that I am also having this issue. What is interesting is that I think it is partially based on the sound system setup and how your receiver or pre-amp handles audio signals. I had an Arcam AV40 and it has a large front screen that displays the incoming sound format. While using the AppleTV I would see it 'flicker' from Dolby Atmos to multi-channel in all the time but I think the processor was able to just take it in stride and not interrupt the audio stream just drop the extra Atmos stuff. I would very occasionally notice a weird sound artifact like what sounded like the wrong sound coming out of the wrong speaker and that could all be related to this. This would also potentially explain why some people report no issues. It could be their receiver can just drop the extra Atmos stuff and keep playing the multi-channel sound.

Due to other issues with my AV40 (don't ask), I had to switch to a Marantz AV8805A processor. With that when the Atmos drops it causes the entire audio signal to drop and thus I get the stuttering and drops people report. In this case I think when the audio changes in any way the Marantz just works differently in that it tries to relock on the audio or something just the way it handles any changes in audio stream.

So to conclude I think it's clear the AppleTV has issues with Atmos and it's just manifesting itself differently depending on how your receiver or pre-amp handles audio streams but it is clearly not able to maintain a constant Dolby Atmos output.

For reference I have had the Atmos dropping issues on all sources of Atmos including Netflix, Apple TV, Disney Plus, etc. although it does appear to be the worst on Netflix.

Your new results mirror mine. Thanks for retesting and reporting back.

I would wager you will have no Atmos dropouts if you set the ATV4K output to 1080p (independent of internet connection). You may not even notice the difference in resolution, depending on how well your TV upscales to 4K, viewing distance, etc.