PCM audio only if I set ATV to Auto

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PCM audio only if I set ATV to Auto

I have my Apple TV 4K plugged directly into my receiver (Sony STR-D590) via HDMI. If I set the ATV audio setting to Auto my receiver only shows PCM. No matter what I am watching I only see PCM audio on the display. I understand my receiver probably doesn't support Dolby Atmos but shouldn't I see Dolby 5.1 if that is what the current format is?

For example, watching a movie on Plex, the audio is 5.1 AC3 but the receiver only shows PCM. Watching the same movie on my Fire TV 4K, plugged into the same receiver it shows Dolby Digital Plus.

Maybe this isn't a big issue? I just hate that I can never tell what audio format is being played.

Posted on Oct 31, 2021 12:13 PM

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Answer 1

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Urquhart1244

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Level 10

143,118 points

Oct 31, 2021 12:39 PM in response to manapier

Apple TV decodes the source audio to PCM Multichannel when format is set to “Auto”. AAC 5.1 or AC3 5.1 or whatever, it all get translated to uncompressed PCM 5.1 (or however many channels there are).

It works as intended.

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Answer 2

manapier Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 5, 2021 8:47 AM in response to Urquhart1244

I've been doing some troubleshooting and trying other things. I found that with the Apple TV going directly into my receiver I frequently notice audio sync issues. So I plugged the ATV into my TCL TV. The TV is set to auto pass through the audio and in this case the receiver does show the audio format on the display. The only problem I have with this configuration is when I pause content with Dolby Digital audio, there is a a couple of seconds of no audio when I un-pause the video.

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PCM audio only if I set ATV to Auto

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