Netflix Dolby Atmos problems with new Apple TV 4k

Hey folks…I think I’ve done it!!!!! Short version: Amazon app not working, read “not connecting to internet”. So, appletv user says he changed the DNS configuration and, viola, the Amazon app worked again. Confusing communication I guess. Well, rewatched Warrior Nun on NetFlix tonight and not one dropout! Not one! Now, this is only one hour on NetFlix but I have never gone this long without the audio issue on this new Appletv 4K!

Change the configure DNS from automatic to manual in settings. Give it a try and report back.

For those of you NOT tech savvy, here’s how you do it:

1. Go to “settings” (the gray wheel app), click
2. scroll down to “network”, click
3. “Ethernet” should be highlighted, click
4. scroll down to “configure DNS”, click
5. scroll down to “manual” click
6. scroll right to “done”, click
7. exit out of “settings” back to AppleTV app screen

Crossed fingers!!,

I have the same problem and think it's definitely ATV 4K 2021. Mine happens with Netflix, Disney Plus, PrimeVideo, HBOMax and Itunes Movies. Everything is brand new recently installed at the beginning of December and hardwired, yet the Fire Stick 4K Max wireless has no problems. Disabling Atmos to 5.1 is not an acceptable solution! Even though if you have a Denon AVR with Auro3D it does sound great. I'm going to have to get a Shield Nvidia Pro, that's what i'm seeing here does work too. Apple has to do better than this.

I’m having similar problems with my Apple TV 4K (2021) also. I have a Denon AVR A-110 receiver and getting tick’s and pops with 2 or 3 second breaks in the music listening to Apple Music Atmos tracks occasionally. I spent about 3 hours with higher level tech support a few months ago and they sent me a new Apple TV box and I got the same issues. I just upgraded my network with gigabit internet and new top cable modem and router. Now getting over 1200 mbps speed and using cat 7 Ethernet cable to router and I am still getting the same issues. I’m also using 8k hdmi cables. Apple tech support knows that this is a software problem but there is just not enough of us out there that have actual Dolby Atmos home theater setups to make it worth fixing. The majority of customers buying Apple TV boxes are listening through sound bars or tv speakers and most Apple Music fans are happy listening with there AirPods. Super annoying as part of my reason for upgrading to a new six thousand dollar receiver was to enjoy Atmos music. I have now canceled Apple Music and Apple TV plus.

Hello,

I came up with something. When you play your movie in the infuse 7 application and the sound is in EAC format (DDP.5.1), dolby atmos starts and works without problems. So there will probably be an error between ATV and Netlix communication.

No. The Gen 1 has never had an issue in the same setup as the Gen 2 "upgrade" that was intended to replace it. The Gen 1 unit has always been on the latest public release of tvOS, and I am currently upgrading it to the just released tvOS 15.3.

When I went to Apple with the Gen 2 Atmos problem, they replaced it with a new unit, which was on tvOS 14.7. With the replacement Gen 2 unit, the Atmos problem was very infrequent, perhaps once every 10+ hours. However, after upgrading it to tvOS 15.2, it would have audio ticks to complete dropouts that required restarting the stream, perhaps as many as a few times per hour.

[Edited by Moderator]

Yeah, i also think it is on the output side.

I've played the troublesome content using AirPlay to the Denon. No issues. So decoding the Atmos stream seems fine. The issue seems synchronization related on the output from ATV to whatever Atmos capable receiver.

I hope you don't find the Shield to be as buggy as I do. I use Plex a lot, so that is likely where many of the bugs are, but I also found the Shield waking up my TV when I was not using it. I turned OFF CEC control hoping that helps. I do like the Google TV interface though.

I currently have both Gen 1 and Gen 2 ATV4K's connected to my Denon so I can test the latest beta on the Gen 2, and then switch back to the Gen 1 so I can watch without Atmos problems.

Sorry you bought expensive HDMI cables. I knew that wasn't the problem as HDMI issues generally manifest in video artifacts before they affect the sound. I didn't pursue Apple support beyond making an Apple Genius appointment at the local Apple store and trying a replacement.

I received a replacement Gen 2 late last year. Based on several reports, I believed that the initial batch of Gen 2 might have had a problem that was later resolved. The replacement came with tvOS 14.7. It did exhibit the Atmos problem, but it was very infrequent. When I updated it to 15.2 (the constant nag screens to update got to me, and I have a Gen 1 as fallback), the problem was at least an order of magnitude more frequent. So 15.x is a lot worse than 14.7, but 14.7 wasn't problem-free. My Gen 1 has never demonstrated the Atmos problem, and is updated to the latest 15.3.

I also have the issue with repeated dropouts with ATMOS on the 2nd gen. Apple TV 4K.

I'm using a Trinnov Altitude. I've changed cables and about everything else I could think of with no luck. My Nvidia Shield Pro has no issues playing back the same shows using the same HDMI cables.

Apple - please fix this.

I suffered this massively yesterday while watching a film on Netflix on my Apple 4K 2021, plus a few weeks ago I also got it when watching the first episode of the latest Lost in Space series - both times were Dolby Atmos with Dolby Vision going via my AVC to TV.

As the volume is high the burst of pops & clicks was painful - for my ears and my speakers, the latter I fear for if this keeps happening. In both cases I swapped to the TV Netflix App and all was OK, but even with eARC I think it’s still compressed Dolby DD+ Dolby Atmos and not the higher PCM multichannel plus Dolby Atmos?

It‘s only the Netflix App on my Apple 4K 2021, Disney+ and Apple TV+ seem fine. It‘s, hopefully, only the Atmos speakers taking a hit?

Seems unlikely to be a hardware issue? I will share my thoughts on that.

First some background. I had a launch day preordered Gen 2 unit that had the Atmos problem. I went to the local Apple store and they decided to order a replacement unit. That was in December. The replacement came with tvOS 14.7. The Atmos problem was still there, but it was very rare. I eventually caved to all the update nag screens (is that really necessary, Apple?) and installed tvOS 15.2. The Atmos problem increased by more than an order of magnitude. However, I also have a Gen 1 ATV4K that works flawlessly, so I can wait for a fix. I joined the beta program and have both Gen 1 and Gen 2 devices connected to my Denon so I can monitor any progress in fixing the problem.

Since the Gen 1 unit works flawlessly while presumably running the same software, and because the Gen 2 unit worked much better with tvOS 14.x, it would appear that the Atmos problem is a combination of software and hardware. What I suspect is at the root of the problem is that the Gen 2 hardware changed in some subtle way that the software wasn’t optimized for. For example, let’s say tvOS 14.x was written asynchronously for some process(es), such that it was counting on an ATV4K with a known hardware speed. When Gen 2 came along, perhaps the higher hardware speed was borderline too fast such that that process could occasionally go out of sync, causing the Atmos problem. This hypothetical scenario would be easy to miss, but should be fixable with a software update. So, to summarize, I believe the problem isn’t likely a hardware design issue per se, but is hardware related and fixable in software. Again, just my speculation after living with and pondering the Atmos problem.

I am in a unique position as I have many systems. So I have 16 ATV4K. All but 2 are Gen1. All of them are connected to an AV receiver.

I am having the dropout problem on only one system. Previously, this location had an ATV4K Gen1 and was having the dropouts on that one as well.

The affected system is running 7.2.2 and has a Denon AVR-X4400H receiver. Audio goes through HDMI. I have other systems that are running an Atmos speaker setup (only 2, all of the others are either 7.1 or 5.1) and none of them have audio dropouts. The other 2 systems that are running Atmos speakers have a Yamaha and Onkyo receiver.

The audio dropouts only affect the Netflix app.

Rebooting the ATV4K causes the dropouts to decrease significantly. I might get one dropout every 10 mins.

According to my advisor, engineering is now aware and are working with Netflix on the issue. I know on my end Netflix is the worst offender, I don’t think I have had a drop outside of the Netflix app. Hopefully this is the case and they actually did find something in the logs. Either way I sent them an hours worth of logs that have some serious cut outs. They said an update to Netflix should fix it soon. Fingers crossed.

Fair enough. Regarding the vast majority of users not experiencing the Atmos issue, I would say that the vast majority of users do not have Atmos setups, and the majority of those that do use Atmos would tend do blame something else, such as their ISP, before they would suspect their expensive Apple streamer.

I have both the Gen 1 and Gen 2 ATV4K units, and the Gen 1 has never had the Atmos problem, while the Gen 2 (and it's replacement) have consistently exhibited the problem, in exactly the same setup. Since only Atmos is affected -- not picture or other audio formats -- it seems there is something different about the Gen 2 hardware that the software didn't take into account, occasionally causing timing issues or corruption of the Dolby MAT 2.0 Atmos data stream, but that is just conjecture.