a2843 (3rd Gen) Apple TV not outputting 5.1 surround sound

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a2843 (3rd Gen) Apple TV not outputting 5.1 surround sound

I decided to upgrade from a FireStick to the new 3rd Gen Apple TV 4K to pair with my Sonos sound system (Sonos Beam Gen 2 and Sonos One SL (x2) for surround sound). After setup, I noticed the output from the Apple TV was only Stereo PCM instead of Dolby Digital 5.1. I ran a few tests:

Played Netflix directly from my LG TV to my Sonos system, and it played 5.1 without a problem.
Swapped out the HDMI cable from the Apple TV to my LG TV for several others (all HDMI 1.3), and they each yielded only Stereo PCM from Netflix.
Restarted the Apple TV several times, still Stereo PCM only from Netflix, Disney +, etc.

I was getting 5.1 with my old FireStick, so I know my HDMI cables/TV settings allow for 5.1 to pass through from a streaming device to the Sonos system. I've read there are some issues with TVOS 17/18 breaking 5.1, but that seems to be localized to the earlier gens of Apple TVs and not this latest model. Any advice or help would be appreciated, thanks!

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 18

Posted on Dec 26, 2024 2:32 PM

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Answer 1

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Urquhart1244

Level 10

148,006 points

Dec 27, 2024 12:36 AM in response to MrMusk

Verify that your Apple TV box is set to output audio to the TV, then let the TV output that to the soundbar.

If you set Apple TV to output audio directly to the soundbar, then it will use AirPlay or Bluetooth in stereo. What you want instead, is that Apple TV outputs the surround sound over HDMI.

Let us know how that goes.

Apple TV: Settings﹥Video and Audio﹥Audio Output﹥TV speakers.

TV: Settings﹥Sound﹥Sound Output﹥Soundbar (or something similar to that effect)

ARC (HDMI 1.x) doesn’t support uncompressed multichannel audio that Apple TV can output, so you may want to have that compressed as Dolby Digital 5.1 instead:

Apple TV: Settings﹥Video and Audio﹥Audio Format﹥Change Format﹥New Format﹥Dolby Digital 5.1.

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Answer 2

MrMusk Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 27, 2024 12:32 PM in response to Urquhart1244

Thank you for the tip. However, I have settings set to Receiver speakers (TV) on the Apple TV, and then the TV set to output to the Sonos system. I also have toggled the Change Format in Apple TV settings to Dolby Digital 5.1, back to Auto and then back again to Dolby Digital 5.1. Still, the output on the Sonos app reads 'Stereo PCM'. I ordered a new HDMI 2.1 cable to try, but I know my current HDMI cables should support 5.1. I think it may be a software issue with tvOS, but any other ideas?

Below is the Stereo PCM output on all streaming platforms, per the Sonos app:

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a2843 (3rd Gen) Apple TV not outputting 5.1 surround sound

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