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I’m have a Sonos ARC sound bar, but it doesn’t seem like I can get TrueHD Atmos from an Apple TV 4K 2021. It works on my Nvidia Shield Pro, so I think it’s the ATV 4K that’s the issue. I am using Infuse Pro.
Thank you.
The statements made in this answer may be true, but they are misleading w.r.t. the OP’s original question, asking about Atmos compatibility with a Sonos Arc sound bar. I just went through this, with lots of tech support and research. If you have an ARC TV set, the fault is a truly bizzare twist in ATV Atmos output restrictions
-ironically the ATV, despite what it handles internally, will output only DD Atmos True HD (ADDTHD) which requires at least a TV with an eARC HDMI, to pass TRUE HD content to the Sonos
-yes you read that correctly - the ATV which internally apparently uses ADD+, only supports ADDTHD output, it is not capable of outputting ADD+ ! (See Apple Support link at the bottom of my post)
-because the ATV will not output Atmos DD plus (ADD+), if you have an ARC (not eARC) TV set, the ATV drops the best output option down to PCM stereo.
-this is why you see on the Sonos App, that the soundbar is playing DD 5.1 when playing Atmos content from the ATV
-any TV set with ARC, using its own native streaming apps, will properly pass on internal ADD+ via its ARC port to the Sonos
-this is why when playing Atmos content from native apps in the TV set, the Sonos App will show “Dolby Atmos”
-Apple’s “solution” to this Apple created problem, is to require you to use a soundbar or HDMI receiver with at least two HDMI ports, one of which most be a full eARC HDMI input port to connect the ATV, and the other HDMI port connected to the TV set
-it gets even more complicated than Apple lets on, because while a soundbar / receiver may have passthrough ability, that does not mean it will pass through all forms of video content, e.g. Dolby Digital, HDR 10, etc. So when the ATV outputs Dolby Video content, if that is not support by the passthrough, you will get only basic non HDR video to the TV.
-Sonos soundbars have only 1 HDMI port, they do not support full HDMI in with a second HDMI port that can be connected directly to an ATV
-Apple’s own support site, states “Apple TV 4K uses a high bandwidth form of Dolby Atmos that doesn’t work over ARC connections.”
-this is the Apple support link for Atmos audio hookup to an ATV
Set up Dolby Atmos or surround sound on Apple TV with a sound bar or AV receiver - Apple Support
The statements made in this answer may be true, but they are misleading w.r.t. the OP’s original question, asking about Atmos compatibility with a Sonos Arc sound bar. I just went through this, with lots of tech support and research. If you have an ARC TV set, the fault is a truly bizzare twist in ATV Atmos output restrictions
-ironically the ATV, despite what it handles internally, will output only DD Atmos True HD (ADDTHD) which requires at least a TV with an eARC HDMI, to pass TRUE HD content to the Sonos
-yes you read that correctly - the ATV which internally apparently uses ADD+, only supports ADDTHD output, it is not capable of outputting ADD+ ! (See Apple Support link at the bottom of my post)
-because the ATV will not output Atmos DD plus (ADD+), if you have an ARC (not eARC) TV set, the ATV drops the best output option down to PCM stereo.
-this is why you see on the Sonos App, that the soundbar is playing DD 5.1 when playing Atmos content from the ATV
-any TV set with ARC, using its own native streaming apps, will properly pass on internal ADD+ via its ARC port to the Sonos
-this is why when playing Atmos content from native apps in the TV set, the Sonos App will show “Dolby Atmos”
-Apple’s “solution” to this Apple created problem, is to require you to use a soundbar or HDMI receiver with at least two HDMI ports, one of which most be a full eARC HDMI input port to connect the ATV, and the other HDMI port connected to the TV set
-it gets even more complicated than Apple lets on, because while a soundbar / receiver may have passthrough ability, that does not mean it will pass through all forms of video content, e.g. Dolby Digital, HDR 10, etc. So when the ATV outputs Dolby Video content, if that is not support by the passthrough, you will get only basic non HDR video to the TV.
-Sonos soundbars have only 1 HDMI port, they do not support full HDMI in with a second HDMI port that can be connected directly to an ATV
-Apple’s own support site, states “Apple TV 4K uses a high bandwidth form of Dolby Atmos that doesn’t work over ARC connections.”
-this is the Apple support link for Atmos audio hookup to an ATV
Set up Dolby Atmos or surround sound on Apple TV with a sound bar or AV receiver - Apple Support
-ironically the ATV, despite what it handles internally, will output only DD Atmos True HD (ADDTHD) which requires at least a TV with an eARC HDMI, to pass TRUE HD content to the Sonos
-yes you read that correctly - the ATV which internally apparently uses ADD+, only supports ADDTHD output, it is not capable of outputting ADD+ ! (See Apple Support link at the bottom of my post)
Apple TV 4K outputs Dolby Atmos (DD+ formatted) into Dolby MAT format, uncompressed like PCM. Dolby MAT is different from Dolby TrueHD. Devices that support Dolby TrueHD will also need to output in Dolby MAT (including Blu-ray set-top boxes), as part of HDMI conformity. This is why audio systems may not know a difference between the two (unless from meta data communication). Because of bandwidth requirements, users will indeed need audio passthrough from a TV with eARC, or a separate connection via HDMI Audio Extractor with double HDMI 2.x out (e.g. HDFury Arcana). Or a real AV receiver that has Atmos capability.
The issue here seems imho not to be with the connections/setup, but with local file content, its audio format – and BD origin.
Apple TV 4K doesn’t support Atmos TrueHD natively. Instead Apple TV 4K supports Atmos Dolby Digital+ for input, as that is what streaming services use.
Infuse on Apple TV will decode Atmos TrueHD into PCM Multichannel, but stripped from Atmos meta data, so you get 7.1 or 5.1.
Does the ATV 4K support TrueHD Atmos?
