Netflix Dolby Atmos problems with new Apple TV 4k

The issue isn’t Netflix, and contacting them is a waste of time. I get dropouts on HBO Max, the Apple TV app, and I had a dropout watching Obi-Wan today. The issue is Apple. Netflix doesn’t care because we are in a minority that use Atmos or even notice there’s an issue because of the systems we have. Netflix has 215 million subscribers, and of those, maybe a quarter use Apple TV, and of those maybe 5% have Atmos capable systems. I have a Roku ultra which I plugged in to test, and it works flawlessly with all apps that support Atmos on their device. A vast majority of people just use tv speakers and don’t even have a sound bar, so the amount of complaints that apple is getting is minuscule in comparison. Look at this thread for instance, there’s maybe 20-25 people that post regularly, and honestly, that isn’t going to make a difference in the eyes of apple to get anything moving. Even Macrumors had an article about the issue, and still nothing has changed.

It is just the ATV4K. You can install any other streamer for problem-free Atmos, or you can try one of the workarounds I have suggested -- WiFi or forced 1080p.

A lot of people turn their noses up at the forced 1080p suggestion, but odds are they are seated too far from the screen to tell the difference. Oddly, many are even turning their noses up at WiFi, even though there will be no difference in quality with a good WiFi connection. Some people would rather complain about the Atmos problem.

I have 15.5.1 and check every night for an update. Not willing to give up 4K and switching to WiFi from Ethernet did reduce the frequency of the dropouts/echos, but not enough. The only thing I found works is to restart the box before watching Atmos content, and that usually gives me an hour or two. I did that before the 1:15 second-to-last "Stranger Things" episode tonight and had just one of those chopping dropouts; pressing the back button let me get through the scene.

It's such a shame that this kind of work-around necessary and Apple seems either uninterested or incapable of fixing it.

I had moved my apple tv 4k to wifi and connect it directly to my Lg CX instead of through my denon x4500 which pretty much took care of the issue for me. It was really bad on my system.

Today for kicks i reconnected it through my denon and back on ethernet after i installed 16. So far for the last few hours atmos has been working flawlessly.

I am encouraged.

Tested a full length feature movie with Atmos earlier today on tvos16. A total of 3 dropouts in 2.5 hours. So the problem is still there. My solution has been to install a nvidia shield- no issues with atmos using this device.

So since updating to tvOS 16 I have watched on Netflix four episodes of "Drive to Survive", the movie "Spiderhead", two episodes of "Our Planet" and on AppleTV+ an episode of "5 Days at Memorial". All of these are Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. I haven't had a single drop out while watching. On 15.6 audio usually starting dropping out after 10 or 20 minutes on Netflix. So being able to watch all that content without issues on tvOS 16 is a big step forward for me. Strange that some of you continue to have issues though.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207936

as already said: it's not NF or their app, if possible on your site switch to wlan, no more dropouts. My own experience and confirmed by a lot of users, in many forums.

I'm not having any trouble with the video quality, but my 4K TV (2016 vintage 75" Sony XBR940D) doesn't have Dolby Vision, just HDR-10. It's also at the end of a long HDMI run (equipment is in a separate room) and that's never been a problem either. In my case, it's just the audio that stutters (when it happens, it sounds kind of like a propeller going faster and faster), and it might just be a Denon thing. However, I have no problems playing Atmos Blu-Rays through it and don't recall the problem on any other streaming service. I'll be watching the new "Matrix" movie tomorrow on HBO Max and hopefully it's in Atmos/Dolby Vision so that might be interesting. As I said, switching the AppleTV to 5.1 completely solves the audio problem.

As a test, I connected a ChromeCast with GoogleTV to the Denon and tried "Drive to Survive" using that and it played fine, but I was not offered Atmos. I was hoping that might be a solution. Seems like we need a variety of streamers to solve these problems.

Glad you're enjoying "Drive to Survive". It's a great equipment demo and fantastically entertaining. My son convinced us to start watching F1 just this year and got us addicted (he went to all three days in Austin -- expensive hobby).

I'll see if I can figure out how to report an AppleTV 4K bug.

i cant explain why your setup doesnt have these issues, but i have swapped out all my HDMI cables with 48Gbps 8k compatible cables (total overkill) and it was Apple who thought it might be a hardware issue with my AppleTV 4k...i thought software was more likely since there are reports of people with non-Denon receivers (e.g. MartinLogan) with exactly the same type of issues (plus I can play Atmos content from my Roku and Bluray player without a problem). Also i have gigabit fibre internet so definitely not a bandwidth issue, and everything is using ethernet.

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?

I have the same issue with only Netflix and Atmos. 2021 4K AppleTV passed through a 4K Atmos capable Sony new 2020 model receiver. I usually just close out of the Netflix app and the issue doesn’t happen again for that session. I notice it reoccurs if I pause the show I’m watching. If I don’t touch it playing an episode I normally can make it through that given episode without the sound cutting out. I only have the cut out issue, never popping.

Problem is still there for me. Probably got worse after adding 4 height speakers.

I have a ATV4K 2021 (TV os 15.2) - Belkin 48Gbps - Denon x4700 - High quality HDMI - to Sony 2015 TV

Only on Netflix Atmos content stuttering. Mostly shortly after starting the Atmos title.

Then somewhere during, few times. It sounds like very fast mute/unmute and the interval get increasingly larger over time.

Almost rhythmic.

It will stutter for about 5 - 10 seconds. Extremely annoying.

Hesitant investing in another expensive Belkin ultra cable between Denon and TV. Seems more of a software/buffering issue to me.

16 bits audio format did not fix this either.

The Denon has zero to do with it. Again, I have the Pioneer Elite Atmos receiver and the exact same thing is happening. It's tough to be objective on this stuff but I think the matter at hand had become less severe after the last ATV software update. However, it's still occurs (2021 ATV Atmos cut-outs) frequently on Netflix and it did not, or at least rarely, with the previous ATV.

This would not have occured under Steve Jobs leadership. This is more than an occasional glitch, this is a massive oversight by Apple developers. Quite simply the 2021 ATV doesn't work properly.

I gave up and reinstalled my 2017 Apple TV 4K (and paired the new gen remote).

So far 2.5 days later still no drop outs or other issues. So I hope this continues.

FYI all hdmi cables were replaced, manipulated, and sent to diety to be blessed. Nothing helped but I now know a heck of a lot more about HDMI cables.