Netflix Dolby Atmos problems with new Apple TV 4k

Has anyone been able to tell if the iOS16 fixed this issue? I've done a little bit of testing and haven't noticed any issues yet, but it's a small sample size for me thus far and I'll keep testing.

Also installed 16.0.

Have not been able to test a lot, but so far ok.

But as you know after restart etc. usualy good for a little while. So i will test more and put my import here.

I can confirm that 1st gen 4K ATV continues to drop out in tvOS16 but, so far, 2nd gen 4K ATV is holding up (5 hours of atmos material watched so far).

Yes. Still has the same issue.

I suspected apple was NOT fixing our drop out problem because something new is coming out. Since they announced a gen3 release for Nov 4, 2022 maybe this will be the fix???

I have this issue as well. TVOS 16, LG OLED G2 and a Sonos ARC Soundbar connected via EARC.

Yes! I also have the new AppleTV 4k (released May, 2021) and a Denon AVR8500HA that I purchased last summer (August, 2021). The AppleTV 4k is connected directly to the Denon's "Media Player" HDMI input as my TV doesn't have E-ARC.

There's no problem with most Netflix programs, but when I watch "Drive to Survive", every minute or two, the audio glitches. It goes silent, and then there's something like an echo that gets faster and faster until finally, the sound re-synchronizes. Kind of a stuttering that gets faster and faster for about 5-10 seconds.

The video is fine, and I have a Monoprice certified 48gbps cable between the AppleTV and the Denon -- not that this should matter, since I'd expect the video would go bad before the audio.

If I tell the AppleTV to disable Atmos and deliver 5.1, everything is fine. But it's only 5.1 and "Drive to Survive" has absolutely spectacular sound (it should win awards as an Atmos showcase).

Both Denon and AppleTV had software updates a few days ago, and neither had any effect so I'm running the latest and greatest software.

I understand that AppleTV does not have a "Passthrough" mode so my Denon can decode the streaming audio signal. Instead, AppleTV decodes the lossy Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 stream that Netflix sends to uncompressed PCM audio and then uses something called Dolby MAT 2.0 to send the Atmos metadata information. I suspect something is going wrong in that process, at least with Netflix. It mostly seems to fail when there is a lot of bass-heavy audio going on in "Drive to Survive", like the room-rattling racecar noises (vroom vroom).

Why, oh why, can't AppleTV just pass through the audio and let our receivers do the decoding? Riddle me that!

Is there a way to raise a bug report?

I have my 1080p projector hooked up with a Pioneer receiver. You should try watching 'Extraction' on NF with ATV 4K...It's a nightmare in my case. The video quality goes poor so many times during the movie & the surround sound isn't appealing either.

Last week, I updated all my HDMI cables to Zeskit Maya 48gbps hoping that it would improve the poor video quality, but no luck.

I think you are right about some titles on NF are worse than the others when it comes to ATV's ability to decode atmos as well as maintaining an HD image. I would have blamed my setup if I hadn't tried the same movie (Extraction) on the Windows 10 NF app. It's a day & night difference in both video & atmos quality on the windows app.

Thanks for introducing me to "Drive to Survive", it revived my passion for the F1 :) In my case, I had no audio/video glitches with "Drive to Survive".

All in all, ATV 4K NF app is hot garbage. We can sum up that no matter what one's setup is, most (if not all) users are facing audio (atmos) and video issues randomly. Living in 2021, what a disgrace on both NF & apple's part !!

I have stopped watching NF on ATV 4k, & have to keep switching between windows & ATV sources for different streamings. What a mess!

I had one dropout/propeller sound today watching "The Matrix" on HBO Max in Atmos. Just one, while it happens much more often with Netflix. Backing up 30 seconds played the same section again without audio problems. My 2016 Sony TV only has ARC, not E-ARC so I can't connect the AppleTV that way -- the only way to get Atmos from streaming is to connect the Apple TV directly to the Denon 8500HA's HDMI input. Since there are reports of Sonos having the same problem (and I think someone mentioned Yamaha), that pretty much points to the AppleTV instead of the receiver.

"Question, with your AVR-S960H 7.2 receiver, what are you using to power the overhead speakers or is yours a 7.2 configuration at the moment?"

The Denon is configured 7.1 with the Atmos speakers designated as such through Denon's software assignment setting. When playing Atmos audio content DAtmos is displayed on the Denon’s display and Info button.

Trust me, it's not your avr. I have pioneer & other users have reported issues with ATV 4k + other brands' AVRs.

ATV 4k + Netflix is the issue that probably both companies need to address & probably they never will.

You should open a case with Apple, because it appears they are currently not acknowledging that there is any problem on their end.

They have told me that since many customers are able to connect their Apple TV 4K to their Denon AVR's and not having any problems, that it must be my AVR that is the cause.

Until enough people start opening cases, this won't be investigated further and so won't get fixed is my guess.

I'm wondering the same thing -- I wish the AppleTV 4K (2021) would let my pricey receiver do the decoding instead of decoding the audio itself and then sending the Atmos overlay data separately. Regarding the number of channels, I suspect that it just passes PCM for whatever number of channels the source is encoded at (5.1 or maybe 7.1 but I don't know if any streamers can do that), and then the Denon somehow figures it out or mixes the channels together if necessary.

Just pass through the audio. What's the benefit in the ATV doing it -- other than to work with TVs that can't do the decoding themselves?

There are several threads here reporting this problem, especially in "Drive to Survive" which gets it every single time, as does HBO Max movies. I now have a new Sony TV with GoogleTV built in and I started using that to watch Netflix instead of the AppleTV -- Atmos is completely glitch-free over eARC. Fortunately, it supports the AppleTV app, so I can use it to watch Atmos content everywhere. But I miss the AppleTV "Up Next" feature -- the app does have it, but only for content subscribed through with AppleTV, like AppleTV plus, purchased iTunes movies, and channels (I get Paramount+ and Showtime through AppleTV+ because of a promotion).

Still waiting for someone to integrate everything, including Netflix.

I am wondering if it’s all about AirPods. Maybe a lot of Apple TV customers are buying it to stream the audio to their AirPods while they watch Netflix on their Mac or iPhones or iPads lol.

Perhaps Apple is trying to bring the Dolby atmos experience to airpod users :-)

Shocking. The problem is we have no idea of how many people own the one of the ATV 4K models vs. the HD models. And of those, how many know or care about or even have the capability for Atmos sound and have changed the audio settings to enable Atmos sound.

But you are correct, if Apple is going to pass it off to the streaming services, we need to complain to the streaming services that we are experiencing the issue with. I complained to Netflix on Monday. Who knows what will happen. But if enough folks call and complain to Netflix, maybe something will happen.

Also, complain to the media outlets, youtubers and blogs that cover Apple.