Dolby Atmos works only on Apple TV+

subhank wrote:

It’s working on all Apple apps. Q-symphony setup really making difference. So changed back to connecting to TV. Changed the HDMI cable to a directional one, Ocean 38 from Best Buy and moved from HDMI 1 to HDMI 4 on TV. Netflix titles doesn’t show Atmos but on the sound bar it says Dolby Atmos when I play content. Same case when I connected to soundbar.

You need to make sure you're using the eARC port on both your TV and Soundbar, in both cases only one of the ports is labeled eARC, and enable eARC and Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). Then, pay much attention to your TV digital output setting, you must select Passthrough, not Auto. If you use Auto, Dolby Atmos will appear on the soundbar screen, but the sound effects won't be all there. That's why I was having a better experience with the ATV4K connected to the soundbar, it was because when I was using the TV I had the Auto setting.

I've tested some Atmos scenes with Q-Symphony both Off and On. Usually there's no real difference aside from a slight volume increase. There was a scene in which, without Q-Symphony I could hear sound effects right behind my head, really close to my ears. With Q-Symphony enabled, those sounds appear to be coming from the TV, ruining the 3D experience.

Music sounds a bit louder but less deep.

I think Q-Symphony can improve the sound of budget/mid-range soundbars, that don't have rear speakers and up-firing speakers like the Q990B, adding some height to the sound, but when a soundbar already has all those speakers and more, it seems to be doing more harm than good.

subhank wrote:

David. Thank you very very much. Please do let me know if you test connecting to TV with pass through settings.

I experimented today. It really seems to be the same, but I've noticed that when hearing atmos songs on Apple Music, it would take a second to wake up the rear speakers, every time I started a song. Once, the rear speakers didn't wake up at all until I restarted the song.

I've also tried Q-Symphony again in Apple Music with atmos, it was very obvious that the TV speakers sometimes mirror the rear speakers, and you won't be able to tell that the sound should be coming from behind you. The song Island in the Sun from Weezer, starts with a guitar intro playing behind you on the right. Enabling Q-Symphony makes the sound of the guitar also come from the TV and you can't tell its position in the room anymore. There's a thread on Samsung's forums where a mod advises to turn off Q-Symphony when using rear speakers: https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/audio-video/swa-9500s-rear-speakers-q-symphony/td-p/5771367

Since Q-Symphony is no good, there's no reason to connect the ATV4K to the TV. Connect to the soundbar for no delays and also because the soundbar supports more audio formats than the TV. If you connect the ARV4K to the soundbar with a high speed with ethernet hdmi cable you can even control it with the Samsung TV remote.

bgmeek wrote:

David_27 wrote:

Yes, Q-Symphony is only working with the TV native stuff now, not for ATV4K.

But I'm getting a very noticeable difference in the Atmos/spatial audio now with the ATV4K connected to the soundbar and Q-Symphony Off. It's like it wasn't working properly before. So good change.

Ah... well that's good to know! Thanks. I just glanced at the soundbar's specs and yeah, who needs a few additional little TV speakers joining in with all that? You may even prefer the sound of "only" the 11.1.4ch soundbar for the 'native TV stuff' too.

Can you report on functional Atmos output with ATV4K apps other than Apple TV+ (as was @subhank's original issue)?

The Q80A TV actually has decent sound for a TV, Q-Symphony was giving clearer dialog but probably not much more. Q-Symphony also stricts you to use Adaptive Sound+ or Game Pro modes, removing the Surround and Standard modes.

Atmos is much better now with the ATV4K connected to the soundbar, both on Apple Music and Netflix. Not sure why. When I was using the TV, Dolby Atmos would appear on the soundbar's mini screen, but I couldn't hear the sound coming from specific places all around me like I do now. Something was messing it up.

But I have to say, the Netflix app on the ATV4K seems to be years behind the Samsung app, it lacks many features like the Double Thumbs Up, notifications in the menu, top movies of the day/week, flash recommendations, the ability to see a smaller screen telling you where you are when moving forward/backwards inside a movie/series.

Which doesn't shouldn't be the case, considering how I keep reading many people claiming that the the app experience is always best on ATV4K.

Nice setup.

Is the ATV4K cabled to the soundbar or the TV? Both should work fine, but your better option is to connect it to soundbar's input. Read this: HDMI port for Apple TV 4K 2022 - Apple Community.

subhank wrote:

So if I connect to TV with pass through setting will it be same as connecting to soundbar?

I haven't tested that as much, but I think it was the same. It should be the same.

You need to select Passthrough always, no matter what.

And I forgot to mention earlier, you also must enable HDMI Expanded input signal on the TV, external devices manager settings.

Update your Apple TV system software to the current version (regular release, not beta), if not done already. How to update your Apple TV - Apple Support

Try this for the misbehaving apps:

1. Force-quit the apps, then relaunch and try again.
2. If the issue persists, force-quit the apps, restart the device, then relaunch and try again.
3. If the issue still persists, delete the apps, re-download and try again.
4. If the issue still persists, then contact the app developers for further assistance.

Yes, Q-Symphony is only working with the TV native stuff now, not for ATV4K.

But I'm getting a very noticeable difference in the Atmos/spatial audio now with the ATV4K connected to the soundbar and Q-Symphony Off. It's like it wasn't working properly before. So good change.

David_27 wrote:

Yes, Q-Symphony is only working with the TV native stuff now, not for ATV4K.

But I'm getting a very noticeable difference in the Atmos/spatial audio now with the ATV4K connected to the soundbar and Q-Symphony Off. It's like it wasn't working properly before. So good change.

Ah... well that's good to know! Thanks. I just glanced at the soundbar's specs and yeah, who needs a few additional little TV speakers joining in with all that? You may even prefer the sound of "only" the 11.1.4ch soundbar for the 'native TV stuff' too.

Can you report on functional Atmos output with ATV4K apps other than Apple TV+ (as was @subhank's original issue)?

I own a QN95A paired with Q990B and ATV 4K 2022.

I gave up on connecting my ATV to my QN95A since I was having audio issues with passthrough with non-dolby content.

Now I connected my ATV directly to the soundbar but I have another issue! The eARC keeps flipping back to ARC every single time I turn on my TV using ATV remote (if I turn on my TV using the Samsung remote everything works ok)...it's driving me crazy...don't you guys have the same issue?

Does it work on Apple Music?

I have a similar setup, the difference is that my TV is a Samsung Q80A.

I will connect the ATV4K to the soundbar since that guide suggests being the optimal configuration.

David_27 wrote:

If you connect the ATV4K to the soundbar, you won't be able to enable Q-Symphony.

Are you sure? The soundbar has a couple of HDMI inputs and the HDMI output goes to your TV's eARC port. I would hope that the Samsung soundbar would be engineered to recognize the Samsung TV's Q-Symphony capability and use it. Wow.

If you're right, I would feel ripped off after that purchase.

My curiosity made me google it... I guess you're right. No Q-Symphony with devices connected to the soundbar's HDMI inputs. I guess all the 'Q' smarts are in the TV. https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/audio-video/q-symphony-issues/td-p/4064323

Bummer.

If you connect the ATV4K to the soundbar, you won't be able to enable Q-Symphony.